Tot Trek's in Seattle

William and I have made a new discovery in Seattle!  A friend of mine (who has two boys) told me about Tot Trek's, they're basically a kid friendly hike and nature lesson at one of our local parks and Environmental Learning Center.  William loves going on the Tot Trek's and I love them too because I usually end up learning something a long the way!  This particular Tot Trek was called 'Every Living Thing.'  The kids learned that every living thing needs: food, water, and shelter to live. 

The naturalist brought some worms in for the kids to hold and made a worm bed with soil. The naturalist then gave the kids a banana peels to 'feed' to the worms, then told the kids that the worms needed a shelter.  She instructed the kids to collect leaves to add to our worm bed that would act as a shelter for the worm.

The mayor of Seattle recently announced his budget proposal for 2011 and while reading the proposal I was disappointed to see that Tot Trek's like these are on the list of budget cuts.  I'm working on a plea to the City Council to keep programs like these open because I feel they greatly benefit children (toddlers and school aged) in the Seattle area.  It was interesting to find out that programs like these are fully paid for by the tuition they charge for each class.  The naturalist told me that her fee and all the supplies used in the class are paid for by our registration fee.  So, if you are a nanny, like me, or a mom or dad, I encourage you to support programs like these in Seattle to show the City Council and the Mayor that there is a demand for them.  If you want a little extra credit write to the City Council by clicking here!

Okay, I'm getting of my soap box... now.