A Storybook Trail during Maple Syrup Season

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     Have you ever found that you scout out a destination, pile the kids into the car and spend the better part of the day driving to your activity only to come home and then find out that you had one practically in your backyard? Well that’s what recently happened to me. As you probably know by now, I absolutely love books and I also love nature and combining the two is a win-win situation and so, I love storybook walks. I had found a couple in Ohio and then scanning through the Metro Parent magazine one day, I found that there is one right in Chelsea. The Chelsea District Library, in partnership with Washtenaw County parks, puts up a Storybook Trail in Baker Woods Preserve. Because I am homeschooling right now, I thought a storybook trail would make an awesome field trip and get us out in nature, while still learning, and the story being featured just happened to align perfectly with our current subject focus: maple syrup!

     Since the beginning of March is when the sap really gets flowing and maple madness begins, my daughter and I visited the maple syrup farm, H&H Sugarbush, in Chelsea during their Michigan Maple weekend to learn firsthand all the ins and outs of tapping trees, boiling sap and making pure maple goodness. We got to walk through the woods to see the taps and lines and then visited the sugarhouse itself to see the huge evaporator. Oh, what a smell! We left with two kinds of syrup (one amber and one dark), maple cream and maple candy and went directly home and made some pancakes.

     Then the next day we visited the Storybook Trail mentioned above and they happened to be featuring a book on maple syrup called Maple Syrup from the Sugarhouse by Laurie Lazzaro Knowlton. In the story you get to join a family as they go about making maple syrup step-by-step, from placing the taps to boiling down the sap. This was a great compliment and finish to our own experience at H&H Surgarbush, as we were able to reflect on all that we had seen as we read the story and explored the trail.

     I truly believe that the best way for children, and really anyone, to learn is through first-hand experience and that is what our fieldtrip to H&H Sugarbush Farm provided and the Storybook Trail reinforced all that she saw and learned in a great setting. So look for seasonal goings-on in your area and pair them with a story book for a unique learning opportunity.

Happy learning!

-Kate @ BTBL

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Author

We are three generations that seek a way to get back to basics. It’s not that we eschew technology, but sometimes simpler is better, especially in raising our children. Mom was a reading teacher, Amanda is an early childhood educator and Kate a children’s literature specialist and former school librarian along with the latest additions, a daughter (now 5) for Kate, and two sons (now 3 and 1) for Amanda. We advocate reading aloud, the simple toys that use imagination and encourage creativity and learning in the kitchen, which can be a fun mess but also teaches life skills. Join us in raising healthy, happy, inquisitive and intelligent children.