Everyone’s favorite lessons from last week were learning how to make small, spiral booklets and learning how to identify scat from animals found throughout Yolo County. And yes, we did create scat from clay and paint it various shades of brown. The attention to detail was fun to observe – the children used photos and field guides while they carefully shaped the clay and chose the appropriate paint color.

These lessons were fun, but they had a more important function than you might think. Making the spiral booklets involved carefully folding paper and using scissors which help develop your child’s hand/eye coordination and exactness. Folding the booklets in an accordion manner develops patience and problem solving. Molding scat from clay helps your child develop a stronger pincer grip which is beneficial for pencil grip.