Mariposa Kiwanis Preschool Student Aerlin Examining Owl Pellets

The students at Kiwanis preschool in Mariposa recently explored Barn Owl pellets as part of the curriculum theme of “Our Feathered Friends”. The children were fascinated as they took apart the sanitized pellets and discovered small animal bones, fur and feathers.  

Kiwanis Preschool believes that teaching science to young children is important because children naturally enjoy thinking about nature and observing how things around them work. Learning experiences presented in developmentally appropriate activities help children understand the world, gather and organize information, try out new ideas, and gain positive attitudes toward science. These early learning discoveries can lead children to easily transfer their thinking skills to other academic areas later.

Seeing the kids enjoy the learning experience was so much fun for parent volunteers and the instructor. The Feathered Friends curriculum theme was enhanced by an interactive book: “Birds calls” which allowed the children to listen to and identify bird songs. "So What, Saw Whet?” is a read-aloud book by Rochelle Frank, (a local book writer) provided adults a way to share their appreciation of nature and interest in birds. The books were donated by Rochelle. The science center in the classroom had hands-on materials such as bird nests, x-rays of birds, feathers, and a collection of Audubon birds (collected from National Parks across the US). The sensory table contained bird seed, the children had fun making bird puppets, acting out puppet shows and making bird feeders.
The Barn Owl Pellet Dissection Project is a county-wide cooperative effort engaging young children in order to promote an interest in the conservation, preservation, and study of Barn Owls. The Project provided Barn Owl pellets to dissect, research, and study in a classroom setting. In addition, the preschool, received Display Boards to be used to present research findings and make presentations.

The three main goals of the Barn Owl Box Project:

• To encourage Barn Owl conservation and preservation throughout Mariposa County.
  
  
• To reduce the amount of rodenticides (poisons) used throughout our county, which are counterproductive and environmentally destructive to the Barn Owl populations and the Mariposa County ecosystems.
  
  
• To educate and instill in the youth of our county the importance and impact of wildlife behavior, reproductive habits, diet, habitat requirements, and the danger of predators.

The Project was sponsored by the Mariposa Fish and Game Protective Association and penned by Carol Thomas. The Mariposa County Board of Supervisors approved the grant to pay for the pellets and presentation boards. Funds came from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

For more information call Kiwanis Preschool at: 209-742-7042, or visit: MariposaCounty.org/KiwanisPreschool.

To learn more about the Audubon Society visit: Audubon.org.

To learn more about the Mariposa Fish and Game Protective Association visit: MariposaFishandGame.com.

To learn more about California Department of Fish and Wildlife visit: Wildlife.ca.gov.