Subject: Science

Play Clay Germ Pets

Follow the recipe below:

1 cup baking soda

½ cup cornstarch

2/3 cup warm water

food coloring or poster paints

 

Mix baking soda and cornstarch in a 2-quart pan.  Add water and stir until smooth.  Cook over medium heat, boil and stir until “mashed potato consistency”.  Pour onto board to cool.  Knead until cool.  For color, knead food coloring into clay (after cooled) until blended, or paint after finished molding.  When your shapes are dry, you can brush with clear nail polish or varnish.

 

  • Have children mold their vision of what a germ might look like.
  • Let it dry overnight.
  • Have the students paint and decorate with various materials, pipe cleaners, buttons, pom poms, pasta.

When germs are finished, display near the washing sink.

Layered Diorama

  • Gather supplies.
  • As your class explores the different layers of the rainforest floor, build a diorama that includes:
  1. floor
  2. understory
  3. canopy
  4. emergent
  • Add pictures of animals, birds and plants that call that level home.
  • Once all the levels of the diorama are complete, staple them all together.
  • Display in your room or in entry way for others to enjoy.

 

Type of tree and the landscape that Lina & Feroza may have seen

  • Discuss with students the type of trees and landscape that might be found in that part of the world.
  • Look up online and do a google search for the following tree:
    • Date Palm (aka Tree of Life)
    • Sand Dunes

Date Palm (aka Tree of Life):

Phoenix dactylifera, commonly known as date or date palm, is a flowering plant species in the palm family, Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit.

Sand Dunes:

 

Critters that Lina & Feroza may have seen

  • Discuss with students the type of critters might be found in this part of the world
  • Do a google search for the following critters:
    • Palestine Yellow Scorpion
    • Afghan Leapard Gecko

Palestine Yellow Scorpion: 

The deathstalker (Leiurus quinquestriatus) is a species of scorpion, a member of the Buthidae family. It is also known as the Israeli or Palestine yellow scorpion  

Afghan Leopard Gecko:

The Afghan leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius afghanicus) is one of the five subspecies of the common leopard gecko, a small to mid-sized lizard belonging to the family Gekkonidae.

Animals in Afghanistan

Talk about and research what animals live in Afghanistan—draw a picture of the student’s favorite animal they discover.

Afghanistan, while often only thought of as a politically volatile place, is also home to some of the most intriguing wildlife to be found on planet Earth. From the lowly mountain mole to the majestic snow leopard, from the elegant gazelle to the inquisitive Rhesus monkey, Afghanistan is host to many kinds of animals, both predator and prey.

List of Animals in Afghanistan

Group Time: How tall is a giraffe?

Ask the children different questions about giraffes, while showing photos of giraffes to the children.

Discuss the giraffe facts:

  • The legs of a giraffe are taller than a person who is six feet tall.
  • Giraffes can walk as fast as 10 miles an hour.
  • Giraffes wrestle by swinging their heads with the winner being the dominant mate.
  • Giraffe babies are 6 feet tall at birth, and in 7 years they can reach 18 feet tall.
  • Giraffes can go several days without water because there is moisture in the leaves that they eat.
  • Giraffes consume 75 pounds of food each day.
  • Giraffes like more than 100 different plants, but Acacia leaves are their favorite.

Explain that adult giraffes can be 18′ tall.  Measure a piece of yarn or string to be 18′.  Show children how long it is.  Ask the children how many of them they think it would take to make 18′.  Write down their estimations, and then have the children lie sown in a line until it is over 18′ long.  Discuss the results.

Giraffe Rock Puzzle

  • Gather rocks of similar shape and texture, not too small.
  • Paint the rocks yellow.
  • Organize the rocks into a shape of a giraffe.
  • Use a permanent marker to create spots on the body of the giraffe.
  • Choose a larger rock for the head.
  • Mix up the rocks and enjoy the puzzle.
  • Place rocks in a small bag for another time.

 

Snack Giraffe

  • Slice bananas just before the activities.
  • Show the students pictures of giraffes.
  • Give each child 5 pretzel sticks and 2 sliced bananas.
  • Instruct them to create a giraffe out of the items given.
  • Take pictures of the students with their creations.
  • Enjoy the snack.

Make a giraffe snack –a tree.

  • Dip pretzel rods in melted chocolate.
  • Sprinkle chocolate covered pretzel rods with green sprinkles to make a yummy tree for a snack.

Grain Art

  • Purchase different kinds of grains: Barley, Wheat, Corn: etc.
  • Provide the students the supplies to the left.
  • Encourage creativity with the grains and glue.
  • PDF file has been provided for various basic shapes if needed.

Brainstorm: Trees Give Us

·  Ask:  Who created the tree?

·  Possible answers to discuss:

          1.  Homes for mammals

          2.  Homes for insects

          3.  Homes for birds

          4.  Food for us

          5.  Food for animals

          6.  Trees make oxygen for us to breath

          7.  Trees take in carbon dioxide that we breathe out

         8.  Anchor soil

         9.  Shade

       10.   Paper

        11.   Heat

        12.   Wood for furniture

        13.   Wood for home

        14.   Tires

        15.   Rubber bands And all sorts of products

        16.  And all sorts of products

Trees Gives Us…

· Watch video clips below.

What is a Tree?

Products of Trees

Painting with Mr. Kindergarten…Christmas Trees

Painting with Mr. Kindergarten…Apples

Planting an Apple Tree with Harry

Life Cycle of an Apple

Apple Field Trip with Harry

What are Trees?

Center Ideas:

·         Set out several items, both objects related to trees and objects not to trees. Invite the children to sort the items.

·         Set out different leaves and lengths of barks, inviting the children to make crayon rubbings of them on sheets of construction paper.

·         Set out a section of a log, inviting the children to count its rings to determine the age of the tree from which it comes.

·         Stand a tree branch in a coffee can full of sand.  Keep the branch in the classroom and decorate it for each season.

·         Set out several different types of seeds, such as apple, peach, pear, and plum.  Explain to the children how all trees start as seeds and grow over several years.  Take the children outside and help them to plant some of the seeds or show the children how to plant the seeds in cups. Over time, encourage the children to check on the progress of their trees, and to water them if necessary.

Song: I’m a Little Tree

Tune: She’ll be Coming ‘Round the Mountain

 

I’m a little tree changing all the time, all the time.

I’m a little tree changing all the time, all the time.

Even though I stay right here

I am changing through the year

I’m a little tree changing all the time, all the time.

 

In the Spring I have little green buds, little buds

In the Spring I have little green buds, little buds

That’s the way you know

That I’m starting to grow

In the Spring I have little green buds, little buds

 

In the summer, I have big green leaves, green leaves

In the summer, I have big green leaves, green leaves

I will come to your aid

For my leaves will give you shade

In the summer I have green leaves, green leaves

 

My leaves will turn colors in the Fall, in the Fall

My leaves will turn colors in the Fall, in the Fall

They’ll turn red and orange and brown,

And fall down to the ground.

My leaves will turn colors in the Fall.

 

In the cold and snowy winter, I will sleep, I will sleep.

In the cold and snowy winter, I will sleep, I will sleep.

In my cozy blanket of snow

I’ll rest up so I can grow.

In the cold and snowy winter, I will sleep, I will sleep

Books on Trees

·         Acorn and the Oak Tree by Lori Froeb.

·         Around the Apple Tree by Karen Viola.

·         Chicka Chicka 1, 2, 3 by Bill Martin Jr.

·         Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree by Eileen Christelow.

·         Tree is just a Tree? by Brenda Silsbe.

Transition – Give the children construction paper cutouts of leaves with numbers written on each. Invite the children to recite “The Number Rhyme” saying the different number each time they recite the rhyme.  The child holding the leaf with the recited number on it lines up to move on to the next activity.  Repeat until all the children are in line.

The Number Rhyme

Number ____ leaf on the tree

Quietly come line up by me.

Cloud in a Jar

  • Start by pouring the hot water into the jar swirl it around a bit to warm up the sides of the jar.
  • Turn the lid upside down and place it on the top of the jar.  Place several ice cubes onto the lid, and allow it to rest on the top of the jar for about 20 seconds
  • Remove the lid, quickly spray a bit of hairspray into the jar, and then replace the lid with the ice still on top.  Watch the cloud form.
  • When you see a good amount of condensation form, remove the lid and watch the “cloud” escape into the air.
  • How does it work?
  • When you add the warm water to the jar, some of it turns to water vapor.  The water vapor rises to the top of the jar where it meets cold air, thanks to the ice cubes on top.  Water vapor condenses when it cools down.

Weather

Rain Cloud in a Jar Activity:

  • Create your own rain cloud in a jar with a clear glass or one-quart jar, blue food coloring, and shaving cream.
  • Fill your clear glass or jar with water about ¾ full.
  • Spray shaving cream on top of the water.
  • Drop several drops of food coloring on top of the shaving cream.
  • Watch it “rain”!

Fruit Loop Season Trees

  • Draw or print a basic outline of a tree trunk and branches on cardstock.
  • Provide the children with fruit loop type cereal.
  • Ask them to sort cereal pieces into colors.
  • Each color set will represent different seasons of the year.
  1. Pink/purple=spring
  2. Green=summer
  3. Yellow/orange=fall
  4. Blue=winter
  • Provide the students with plenty of white glue.
  • Instruct the students to place the loops on the trees as if they were leaves.
  • Allow to dry thoroughly before displaying.

Play Clay Germ Pets

  • Follow the recipe below:

1 cup baking soda

½ cup cornstarch

2/3 cup warm water

food coloring or poster paints

Mix baking soda and cornstarch in a 2-quart pan.  Add water and stir until smooth.  Cook over medium heat, boil and stir until “mashed potato consistency”.  Pour onto board to cool.  Knead until cool.  For color, knead food coloring into clay (after cooled) until blended, or paint after finished molding.  When your shapes are dry, you can brush with clear nail polish or varnish.

  • Have children mold their vision of what a germ might look like.
  • Let it dry overnight.
  • Have the students paint and decorate with various materials, pipe cleaners, buttons, pom poms, pasta.
  • When germs are finished, display near the washing sink.

Follow the Leader

  • Create a stack of cards using vocabulary words.
  • Pick one of the words from the stack.
  • A version of follow the leader can be played.
  • The leader points to a part of the body stated on the card.
  • Students will use the paint brushes to identify the body part.

Magazine Collage

  • Draw a basic stomach outline on a sheet of paper.
  • Give the students some old cooking magazines.
  • Encourage your students to cut out pictures of foods they like.
  • Find healthy foods for their body.
  • Glue the pictures inside the stomach.

Body Tracing

  • Cut and use a long strip of white butcher paper.
  • Have the student lay down on the paper.
  • Trace the student’s body onto butcher paper.
  • Have the student cut out their body shape.
  • The student can draw on eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hair (yarn works well), etc.
  • Have copies of a heart, stomach, muscles, liver, lungs, etc. and have the students add these shapes to their bodies.
  • Discuss what it means to keep our bodies healthy: rest, exercise, nutrition, water, etc.
  • Place ‘body’ shapes around the classroom or perhaps in the hallway.

How do Gummies Grow?

  • Gather necessary supplies ahead of time.
  • Tell your students that all living things grow.
  • Today you are going to see how candy might grow even though it is not living.
  • Explain to your students, “This experiment will take several days…but you will still be able to see the bears, worms, etc. grow”.
  • Fill the first container with water.
  • Another with vinegar.
  • Another with water and baking soda.
  • Another with water and salt.
  • Add one gummi to each solution.
  • Put aside identical gummies for dry comparison.
  • Set a timer for every 60 minutes; your students will want to observe the changes.
  • The next day, use a ruler to measure the length of the giant gummi worm.
  • Compare the dry gummi worm and solution absorbed gummies.
  • Process with your students what might have made the gummies “grow”.

Books on Seeds

  • Carrot Seeds by Ruth Kraus.
  • My Seed Won’t Grow by Steve Metzger.
  • One Child One Seed: A South African Counting Book by Kathryn.
  • Seeds Grow by Angela Shelf Medearis.
  • Silver Seeds by Paul Paolilli.

Snack – Make a seed snack by mixing a tablespoon each of sunflower, pumpkin, sesame seeds, and peanuts in zip-lock bags. (Be sure no child has allergies to these ingredients before proceeding.)

Sensory Table – Set out birdseed and measuring cups and spoons for the children to explore.

Song:  I’m a Little Seed

Tune: I’m a Little Teapot

I’m a little seed,

I’m in the ground,

In my blanket of soil, safe and sound,

Then the sun shines and rains start to fall,

I start to grow so very tall.

Watch the links below:

Sunflower seeds germinate and growth time

My Sunflower Time Lapse

German Shepherd Time Lapse

Growing a Beard

Time Lapse:  A little boy from 1 to 5

BP Tragedy of 2010

  • Define tragedy—disaster, huge emergency.
  • Ask your child to give an example.
  • Tell your child that something terrible happened in our oceans in 2010, the biggest oil spill.

New Children’s Book on Oil Spills

Gulf Oil Spill Effects on Wildlife

Oil Spill Disaster 2010 Gulf of Mexico

  • Coat your child’s hands olive oil.
  1. Ask a few questions
  2. How do your hands feel?
  3. What would happen if it got in your hair?
  4. How could you get this oil off?
  5. What would mom or dad do to get you clean?
  • Tell your child that we will be learning how to take care of the earth in our next lesson.

Additional Activity:

  • Pour olive oil over an old stuffed animal.
  • Massage it into the stuffy.
  • Encourage your child to describe how it might feel to be covered in oil.
  • Put warm water in the mixing bowl.
  • Add dish soap to the bowl.
  • Submerge the stuffy in the bowl. Watch some of the oil rise to the top.
  • Try to remove the rest of the oil.
  • Discuss your child’s questions, concerns and observations.

God Made Them Special

  • Ask your child if everything on the Internet true?
  • Print a PDF of penguins.
  • Look at their wings, feet, body shape, and feathers.

Note:  The following video allows us to use the information we know about penguins in a discriminating way.  Remind your child that everything we know must be evaluated.  God made penguins to swim like they were “flying” through water

Flying Penguins

BBC April Fools Joke

Amazing Footage–Penguins swimming underwater and landing

Penguin Watching

  • Look at Reading’s KWL, review information.
  • Watch the video clips.

Emperor Penguins—The Greatest Wildlife Show

Emperor Penguins in the Arctic

Note:  Penguins moving on the ice—on their tummy

Emperor’s Like Me

  • Add new information to the KWL after watching the video clips

Walk Like a Penguin:

  • Place an adult shirt on your child, backwards.
  • Put a plastic egg on their feet.
  • Encourage your student to crouch down, cover the egg with the shirt tale.
  • Ask your child to pretend to be the daddy penguin, keeping their baby warm.
  • For a little extra challenge—encourage your child to waddle while in a squat position.

How Arctic Animals Survive?

  • Watch video clips.

Arctic Animals:  Amazing Hair

Experiment 1:  Physical Attributes

  • Why do Arctic Animals have shorter ears, tails noses and toes?
  • Think about what will keep your hands warmer; a mitten or a glove?
  • Close off each finger of one glove with rubber bands; this must be very tight. This will be the mitten.
  • Leave the other glove intact.
  • Pour an equal amount of warm water in each glove.
  • Measure and record the water temperature making sure it is the same for each glove.
  • Close the top with rubber bands. Make sure they will not leak.
  • Place both gloves in a cool place, next to one another but not touching.
  • Wait 30 minutes.
  • Watch video clip while waiting.

Just for Kids, All about Artic Animals:  Tundra Connections Webcast DEN

Pour the water from each glove into separate containers.

  • Measure and record the temperature.
  • Which had the greatest decrease in temperature? (It should have been the glove)
  • Apply what you have learned to the size of tundra animals’ ears, tails, noses and toes compared to their temperate counterparts.

Experiment 2:  Polar Bear Blubber Mittens

  • Fill one of the zipper bags about 1/3 full of shortening.
  • Then turn the remaining zipper bag inside out.
  • Place it carefully inside the bag with the shortening so that you are able to zip the one bag to the other. This creates a “blubber mitten” for you to put your hand in.
  • Put your bare hand in the bowl of cold water and see just how cold it is!
  • Next, place your hand in the “blubber mitten”.
  • Now place your mittened hand in the ice water.
  • How cold does the water seem with the “blubber mitten” on?
  • Do you think a nice layer of blubber would be great protection against cold?
  • Walrus, whales, and seals also have wonderful layers of blubber, which helps to keep them warm.

Smells Near and Far

  • Place smelly pieces of food in an ice cube tray (banana, lemon, pickles, onion, garlic, peanut butter, etc.).
  • Cover with water and freeze.
  • Explain to the student that animals have a better sense of smell than people.
  • Blind fold the student; have them smell the ice and guess what the food is that is frozen.
  • Explain that if they were a polar bear, arctic fox, or a seal they would be able to smell the food item even through the ice.
  • Watch video clips.

Shark Nose and Underwater Smell

The Smell of Bear

Super Senses of Animals

Zoo Trip Plan

  • Research the local zoos in your area. Find one that has an arctic exhibit.
  • Use a form of technology (camera, cell phone or video camera) to record the different animals you see.
  • Practice using the chosen form of technology before making your trip.
  • Pick a day, this week, to go to zoo.

Disappearing Icebergs

  • Ahead of time, freeze water in small bathroom cups.
  • Remove ice-filled cups from the freezer.
  • Tear off the paper cup.
  • Put the ice into a disposable bowl.
  • Using an eyedropper, place drops of colored water on the iceberg.
  • Then sprinkle on some salt and observe what happens.
  • The salt will melt away the ice, leaving behind slender shape that resemble an iceberg.
  • Help your child record their observations on black line 2.14.
  • Explore website links below for more information about icebergs.

Britannica School Edition:  Icebergs

  • Watch video clips.

Gigantic Disappearing Iceburgs

ABCNews—Chasing Ice Documentary

A Blubber Experiment

  • Use a globe to locate Alaska, the North Pole and the Arctic.
  • Talk about how humans keep warm in the cold.
  • Ask: How do animals stay warm.
  • Fill two containers with ice water.
  • Have students stick one finger in the ice water and ask them how their finger feels.
  • Then place a hunk of clarified butter, blubber, into sandwich bags.
  • Ask the students if they think their finger would be cold in the blubber?
  • Tell them that they will hypothesize (come up with an educated guess).
  • Encourage the children to stick one finger in the middle of the blubber, surrounding the entire finger.
  • Then place the other hand in an empty bag.
  • Encourage them to dip their fingers into the icy water.

Optional: You can create a handout for the children and have them fill in the blanks.

Question: Will my finger be cold in the blubber?

Hypothesis: I think my finger will be________________________

Experiment: Stick one finger in the blubber bag.  Stick a finger from the other hand in the ice.  Can I tell the difference?

Result: My finger was_______________________

Conclusion: Blubber keeps whales__________________________

Print Material, Arctic Animals

  1. In Arctic Waters by Laura Crawford
  2. Over in the Arctic: Where the Cold Winds Blow by Marianne Burkes
  3. Avati: Discovering Arctic Ecology by Mia Pellertier
  4. The Best Book of Polar Animals by Christiane Gunzi
  5. North: The Amazing Story of Arctic Migration by Nick Dowson
  6. Animal Babies in Polar Lands by Editors of Kingfisher
  7. Artic Foxes by Emily Rosa Townsend
  8. Walruses of the Arctic by Sara Swan Miller
  9. Hush Little Polar Bear by Jeff Mack

Acacia and Baobab Tree

  • Information about the Acacia and Baobab Tree can be found when visiting Encyclopedia Britannic website.

Baobab Tree

Adansonia is a genus of deciduous trees known as baobabs. They are found in arid regions of Madagascar, mainland Africa, Arabia, and Australia. Wikipedia

Secret of Baobab Tree

Acacia ant and the tree

Acacia s.l., known commonly as mimosa, acacia, thorntree or wattle, is a polyphyletic genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae. Wikipedia

Amazing Symbiosis: Ant Army Defends Tree/National Geographic

Step 1: Prep Ahead

  • Make a fresh batch of dough.

Chocolate Mud Playdough

  • 2 cups plain flour (all purpose)
  • 1 cup salt
  • ½ cup cocoa powder
  • 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 Tbsp cream of tartar
  • 2 cups boiling water
  • 4 drops of glycerin

Mix all ingredients in a bowl then combine with 2 cups of boiling water.  Mix together, kneading the dough on a clean surface until it loses all stickiness.

Step 2:  Build Center

  • In a center or dramatic play zone, organize a variety of items a child might need:
  1. Small plastic flower pots
  2. Silk flowers
  3. Dried beans
  4. Large metal spoons
  5. Watering can
  6. Small work gloves
  7. Spray bottle
  8. Egg carton for plant starting
  9. Bouncy balls to represent bulbs
  10. Sticks
  11. Small rocks
  12. Plant tags
  13. _____________
  14. _____________
  15. _____________

Step 3:  Different Activities

  • Literacy—role play different aspects of the theme story.
  • Math-count seeds and flowers, patterns, explore the concepts of full and empty.
  • Physical—rolling, squashing, pinching, squeezing of dough.
  • Role playing—talking about garden centers, flower, seeds, growing, life cycles, selling of plants.
  • Creativity—imaginary play of different role and characters they might find in a plant nursery.

Ocean Theme Snacks

Sea Turtle:

  • Peel and cut a Kiwi into a thick oval slice. Halve Grapes for the legs and head.  Attach candy eyes with a bit of decorator icing. Draw a smile with a food coloring pen.

Starfish Rice Krispies Treats:

  • Heat 3 Tbsp butter and 4 cups mini marshmallows in microwave on high for 3 minutes. Stir after 2 minutes.  Add 6 cups Rice Krispies cereal and sprinkles.  Stir until well coated.  Using cooking spray or wax paper, press cereal mixture into star cookie cutters.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.  Cool on wax paper.

Apple Crab:

  • Core and cut an apple in half. Use one half for the body and cut the other half into 10 slices.  use 8 slices for legs and carve the last 2 slices into claws.  Attach candy eyes with a bit of decorator icing.

Quesadilla Jellyfish:

  • Make a quesadilla with one tortilla folded in half.  Cut tentacles from cheese and veggie turkey slices.  Add candy eyes.

Ocean Pops:

  • Drop a few Swedish fish candies into popsicle molds. Fill with blue juice.  Freeze and enjoy!

Mrs.Plemons’ Kindergarten

Ice Melting Ocean Theme Mini Cups

  • Collect mini plastic cups (fruit cups would work great!).
  • Fill mini cups with water ½ full and tint with green food coloring; add some plastic ocean creatures.
  • Next fill the remaining portion of the cup with water and color it blue; add in some shells and colorful glass rocks.
  • Place frozen mini ocean themed cups on a tray or in the sensory table.
  • Children can observe the ice melting and discover what is in the cups.

For quicker ice melting:

  • The children could sprinkle salt on the frozen mini cups.

Beach Trip

Discuss with students a prior trip they may have taken to the beach:

  • What did you see?
  • What did you hear?
  • What did you find?
  • What did you wear?
  • What did your parents tell you about staying safe?

Beach Safety:

Discuss with the class:

  • Talk about a time when you might have been to the beach and how you stayed safe.
  • What were some of the things your mom or dad did to keep you safe?
  • Watch the video clip below.

Beach Safety:  Red Cross

Let’er Roll

  • Talk about some games Michael might have wanted to do on Christmas morning.
  • Ask: What could he do with trucks and cars?
  • Set up a ramp in your home.
  • Choose one or two cars and trucks to race.
  • Determine which is the fastest vehicle.

“Drink Your Milk”

  • Drink Your Milk is a phrase heard by children all around the world.
  • Teach the children why some people drink milk and why others might not.
  • Have the children share what other products are made from milk.

Teach the children how milk gets from the cows to the grocery store and to their home refrigerators by reading the book: The Milk Makers by Gail Gibbons.

After reading and discussing the book, show the children objects of things that would be found on a dairy farm.

Create a Collage:

Have the children generate a list of things that are made from milk.

  • Then put the children in groups of two or three.
  • Give each group a grocery store circular, a piece of paper, glue and scissors.
  • Let them cut out pictures of items that are made from milk to make a dairy product collage.

Sorting Activity: 

  • Collect lids from dairy products like milk bottles, cottage cheese and sour cream containers etc.
  • Place them in the math center for the children to practice sorting lids by size and color.

Milk Shakes:

Treat the children to a special milk-based and soy-based snack by making a variety of milk shakes.

  • blender
  • milk (dairy, soy, coconut, almond, etc)
  • strawberries
  • banana
  • honey
  • cups
  • straws

Enjoy the tasty milk shake!

Where Does Milk Come From?—Quad Squad

Winter Bird Feeders

Things You’ll Need

  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
  • 3 tbsp. corn syrup
  • 4 cups birdseed
  • Large mixing bowl
  • Wooden spoon
  • Muffin tin, candy mold or other small molds
  • Nonstick spray
  • Pencil or drinking straw
  • Waxed paper
  • Twine or yarn
  • Scissors

Measure the flour, water, gelatin and corn syrup in a large mixing bowl. Stir until well-combined.

Add the birdseed to the flour mixture in the mixing bowl. Stir gently to coat the seed with the mixture.

Spray a muffin tin, candy mold or other type of small mold with nonstick cooking spray. Spoon some of the birdseed mixture into each mold. Poke a hole through the center near the top of each birdseed mold using a drinking straw or pencil.

Leave the birdseed mixture inside the molds for two to three hours. Lay out a sheet of waxed paper on a flat surface. Remove the birdseed mixture from the molds and gently place them upside down on the waxed paper. Allow them to continue to dry for two to three more hours or overnight.

Cut a length of yarn or ribbon about one foot long. String the yarn or ribbon through the hole in each molded birdseed feeder. Tie the ends securely in a knot so you can hang the molded birdseed from a branch or hook.

Pine Cone Bird Feeders

  • Gather pine cones (could include with an outdoor walk).
  • Roll pine cones in peanut butter (almond butter or sun butter for those who cannot be around peanuts).
  • Roll pinecones in birdseed.
  • Wind a string around and through the thickest part of the pine cone.
  • Tie the pinecones to a tree branch.

Facts About Horses

  • Take a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle.
  • Label each side: things I know, things I would like to learn.
  • Ask the students what they know about horses.
  • Write their answer on one side of the piece of paper.
  • On the other side write some of the following facts.
  1. There are over 300 different breeds of horses and ponies in the world
  2. Most ponies are born at night when the herd is least likely to be on the move
  3. They stand within an hour after birth and can follow the herd after several hours
  4. Many horses live and work until they are over 30 years old
  5. Horses typically sleep about three hours a day
  6. Horses sleep longer in the summer than in winter
  7. Foals cannot eat grass when they’re first born because their legs are too long for their mouths to reach the ground
  8. Horse hooves are like fingernails; they keep growing and need to be clipped
  9. Horses are unable to breathe through their mouths
  10. Horses drink about 10 gallons of water per day
  11. A horse’s ears point towards where the horse is looking
  12. The oldest horse lived to be 62 years old

Mammal Classification

Gather a variety of animal pictures, stuffed animals, plastic forest animals etc.

Watch the following link with the children:

What is a mammal?

Review these characteristics of a mammal:

  1. Have hair or fur
  2. Give birth to young
  3. Mothers nurse their young with milk
  4. Have lungs and need to breathe air
  5. Those that live on land have two or four legs and ears that stick out
  6. Are warm blooded

Ask the children to look for characteristics of a variety of animals. Sort the figures, pictures and stuffed animals into mammals or not mammals, using the characteristics above.

Note: Read a mammal book of your choice

What Do I Eat?

  • Brainstorm what forest animals eat.
  • Introduce the three types of eating styles.
  1. Herbivores–eat only plants
  2. Carnivores–eat meat
  3. Omnivores–eat plants and meat
  • Cut apart the blackline masters.
  • Sort pictures into the 3 eating styles.
  • Use a large piece of construction paper.
  • Organize pictures into three columns.
  • Label each column.
  • Glue pictures to appropriate columns.
  • Use white paper to draw food items for each column’s eating styles.

Animal Classification

  • Cut apart the blackline masters.
  • Have the children sort into different groups (teacher may need to assist the children).
  1. habitats
  2. back bones / no backbone
  3. arms and legs / no arms and legs
  4. number of arms and legs
  5. walk / swim / fly / jump
  6. feathers / fur / scales / moist skin

Who’s in the Forest Game

  • Watch video below

Kids Learning Videos:  Animal Sounds For Kids

  • Print blacklines on card stock.
  • Cut them apart.
  • Put cards in one pile, facing down
  • Pick a card; keep the identity of the animal hidden.
  • Make the sound of the animal.
  • If your opponent needs more clues, use descriptive characteristics.
  • Take turns until the cards are gone.

Additional Games:  Memory Matching Games

  • Print 2 sets of blacklines.
  • Cut each part.
  • Shuffle the cards.
  • Lay cards out in 5×4 grid, upside down.
  • Students will take turns selecting two cards to find a match.
  • If cards they select do not match the place them face down on the table again and another student has a turn.
  • Continue to play until all the cards have been matched.

Needle Impressions

  • Choose a cleanable work surface.
  • Make recipe of Kool-Aid dough (if needed).
  • Using a large amount of the dough the children will roll it out and create pine needle impressions.
  • Show them how to make an impression using real or store-bought plastic pine needles.

Note:  You can also use leaves for impression on dough

Chipping Away

· Talk about paleontologists, scientists who study fossils.  They have to work very long and hard to dig out even the tiniest bone.  If they are not very careful they will break the bone that they find.

· Explain to the children that the cookie is a rock and the chocolate chip is the fossil they want to dig out.

· Challenge the child to use a toothpick to get the chocolate chip out of the cookie without breaking the chips.

· After they have unearthed those chips discuss how hard it was to get their fossil out of the rock.

· Explain that when fossils are found in rock, the whole, huge piece of rock is usually transported to a museum, so scientist can work on it using special tools.

Cartoon video

Note: This video does mention that dinosaurs lived a million years ago.

Those Dinosaurs

· The dinosaurs lived long ago,

· And this is what we know (point to the puppet)

· Some were tall, (hold the puppet high)

· Some were small, (hold puppet low)

· Some stood in the swamp, (stand still on all fours)

· Some liked to stomp.  (stomp feet)

· Some ate meat. (pretend to chew)

· Plants are what others liked to eat.  (stretch and pretend to eat leaves)

· Apatosaurus had a long neck (cup hands to measure out a long neck)

· But the meanest one of all (make a mean face)

· Was Tyrannosaurus Rex (hold elbows close to sides and pretend to claw while stomping)

·  Repeat finger play several times

Song

Dinosaur Roar

Tune: London Bridge

 

I’m a great big dinosaur,

Dinosaur, dinosaur,

I’m a great big dinosaur.

Hear me roar (loudly).

 

I’m a little dinosaur,

Dinosaur, dinosaur.

I’m a little dinosaur,

Hear me roar (softly)

Fossil Footprints

  • Prepare dough from the following recipe.

DIY Fossil Dough

1.       Plastic toys or other objects

2.       small cup of instant coffee

3.       3/4 cup cold water

4.       1 cup flour

5.       6 T of salt

6.       cookie sheet or baking tray

7.       baking paper, parchment

Mix the instant coffee, flour, salt and water together to make a dough.  The dough needs to be wet, but not so wet that it sticks to your fingers.  Place the dough on the lined baking tray and flatten with your palm.  Use plastic toys or other objects and press it gently into the dough to make an imprint.  Bake low heat, 150 degrees for a few hours, 3-4 hours.  Remove from the oven and leave to cool. The fossils will harden more when cooled.

Book

Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlet.

Before doing these activities make flower nametag necklaces out of construction paper or foam flowers.  Make the same number in each color: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.  If you have a small group of children the students may have to wear 2 colors for some of the activities.

  • Give children necklaces and introduce the story Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlet. As you read the story invite the children to stand up when the color of their necklace is mentioned.
  • Game-Choose one child to be the “Rainbow Catcher” for this game. The other children line up on one side of the room or playground facing the “Rainbow Catcher”. The Rainbow catcher calls out a color.  Children with that color run across the room or playground to the other side while the Rainbow catcher tries to tag them.  If a child is tagged then they help the “Rainbow Catcher” tag other children.
  • Have cutout fish in different colors and put paper clips on them.  Give each child a little fishing rod with a magnet on it and have them fish for different colored fish.  Have them put them in rainbow color order.
  • Rainbow Bars:
    • 1 package miniature marshmallows
    • ¼ cup butter
    • 6 cups fruit-colored circle cereal
    • Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted.  Add cereal and stir.  Put in greased 9″X13″ pan. You can also spray their hands with cooking spray and give them a spoonful to make into a ball and then eat. You may also do this in the microwave, just remember to use a microwave safe bowl.
  • Transition-while children are wearing their necklaces have them line up by calling out color names.

Simple Cycle

  • Pour water into a bowl.
  • Use a black permanent marker, draw a cloud on the sponge.
  • Cut out the sponge in a shape of a cloud.
  • Place the sponge into the water to turn the cloud into the rain cloud.
  • Squeeze the rain out of the cloud into the bowl.
  • Remember the same water that goes up in the cloud comes back down to the earth in the form of rain, sleet, or snow.

Water Cycle Puzzle (This is a good resource on how to create your own water cycle puzzle).

The Water Cycle

  • Clouds are made up of water droplets.
  • Water droplets fall out of clouds as rain onto the earth.
  • The rain collects in streams and rivers that flow into the ocean.
  • The warm air causes some of the ocean water to evaporate.
  • The water vapor cools as it rises in the sky and re-forms as clouds made up of water droplets.
  • This cycle purifies the water making it safe to drink and use.
  • Color blackline 1.19.

Art/Science-On a warm, sunny day, bring buckets of water and paint brushes out to the sidewalk and invite the children to paint everything.  As the water evaporates, ask the children what they think is happening.  (The heat of the sun makes the water evaporate.)

“Book Bag”

Note:  Book variety is always a challenge.  The “Book Bag” provides opportunity for fresh periodicals.  Send the “Book Bag” home frequently, 1 to 2 times a week.  Read the books when the opportunity presents:  before lunch, after recess, “time” fillers, or chill zone.  Use the fabric pens to decorate the bag to fit the make-up of the classroom.  Make sure an instruction sheet is included with the bag, or add a notation to your first newsletters.

 Suggested topic:  Community friends: fireman, policeman, etc.

Zoo Field Trip

Plan a field trip to a zoo to learn more about the animals from around the world.

If you don’t live close to a zoo, consider the following alternatives:

DVD:

  • Planet Earth series is an amazing portrayal from around the world.
  • National Geographic’s Really Wild Animals.

Animals around the World

Note: blackline masters: 3.18a-3.18g to   complete this activity.

  • Find pictures of animals from the different continents.
  • Print out continent shapes and share with the children the names of each continent.
  • Have the student match the animals with the continent the animals live on.
  • Once you have placed the animals on the correct continent collect the animals and have the student sort the animals again on their own.

Variation to Animals around the world:

  • Collect a variety of small stuffed animals and figurines for your students to sort and place on the correct continent that they live on.
  • Print a variety of animal pictures for sorting, etc.

Cooking Project

  • Make a smoothie (perhaps a green smoothie as the book “Green Smoothie Magic” suggests—see above).
  • Talk about the healthy ingredients in the smoothie and what makes them “healthy foods”.
  • Have children help cut, peel, and prepare fruit for the smoothie.

Smoothie Recipe:  Kid-Friendly Green Smoothie

Servings 3 -4 servings

Calories 209kcal

Author Kristin Marr

Ingredients

1/2 cup coconut water

1 cup plain whole milk yogurt

1 cup chopped pineapple fresh or frozen

1 cup chopped mango fresh or frozen

2 ripe bananas

2 cups greens of choice kale, collards, spinach, or an assortment of baby greens.

Instructions:

In a blender jar, add the liquid ingredients first: water and yogurt. Add the pineapple, mango, bananas, and greens. Blend for 40-60 seconds.

Note: Add 1 cup of ice if you’re using fresh fruit. Skip the ice if you’re using frozen fruit

“Book Bag”

Send the “Book Bag” home frequently, 1 to 2 times a week.  Read the books when the opportunity presents:  before lunch, after recess, “time” fillers, or chill zone. 

Possible book options:

  • But I don’t Eat Ants by Dan Marvin and Kelly Fry.
  • The Children’s Book of Healthy Eating by Jo Stimpson and Helen Stanton.
  • The Alphabet Book ABC’s of Healthy Food: Colorful and Educational by Steven Brusvale.
  • Green Smoothie Magic by Victoria Boutenko and Katya Korobkina.

What is Sand?

Questions to ask the children:

·  What is sand?

·  Where does sand come from?

·  Take a closer look at the sand.

·  Put some sand on a piece of black construction paper and some on a piece of white paper.

·  Use a magnifying glass to show small pieces of seashells, rocks, and some pebbles.

·  Keep the sand to make a footprint keepsake or other art projects (Go to Pinterest for ideas).

How Balls Move on Different Surfaces

  • Go to your local flooring store.
  • Ask to borrow different samples of carpet to use in this experiment.

Note:  They also may have small pieces to use later in a sensory project

  • Predict how a ball would move when pushed along the different types of carpet.
  • Roll a small soccer ball along a cold smooth surface.
  •  Inquire of your students how much effort was needed.
  • Repeat process with carpet samples and different types of balls.

Gross Motor skill with ball

 

“Book Bag”

Note:  The “Book Bag” provides opportunity for fresh periodicals.  Send the “Book Bag” home frequently, 1 to 2 times a week.  Read the books when the opportunity presents:  before lunch, after recess, “time” fillers, or chill zone.

Library Trip

  • Take a trip to your local library.  Look for books about plants, what they need to grow and how they grow.
  •  Suggested:
  1. “Jack’s Garden” by Cole.
  2.  “Flower Garden” by Bunting.
  3. “Sunflower House” by Bunting.
  4. “The Reason for a Flower” by Ruth Heller.
  • Once arriving home, uproot a plant when possible.
  •  Take a close look at the roots, stem, flowers, and leaves.

Note:  Take a peek at Day 1 activity—Baggie Garden

Exploring Books

  • Read “Sunflower House” by Bunting or another book describing and showing how plants sprout from seeds.
  • Wet paper towels and fold them in half.
  • Place them into a resealable bag.
  • Allow some air in the bag and seal it shut.
  • Place bag in the window to receive indirect light.

Exploring Books

Suggested book options:

Oceans:

·         “Ocean—the Definitive Visual Guide” by Robert Dinwiddie and Philip Eales.

·         “The Ocean—Touch & Explore” by Nathalie Choux.

·         “Ocean: A Photicular Book” by Dan Kainen and Carol Kaufmann.

·         “Hello Ocean” by Pam Munoz Ryan and Mark Astrella.

·         “Commotion in the Ocean” by Giles Andreae and David Wojtowycz.

Desert:

·         “Cactus Desert (One Small Square)” by Donald M. Silver and Patricia Wynne.

·         “Deep in the Desert” by Rhonda Lucas Donald and Sherry Neidigh.

Rainforest:

·         “Tropical Rain Forest” by Donald M. Silver.

·         “Rainforest Food Chains” by Molly Aloian.

·        “Trees and Plants in the Rain Forest (Deep in the Rain Forest)” by Saviour Pirotta.

Vet Animal Hospital/Dramatic Play Center

Note:  Young children need guidance for play experience.  Setting up a vet dramatic play center will ensure learning through play. The children will not know that they are learning through their play experience. 

Place the following items in the Vet Hospital:

  • X-ray area
  • planner for appointments
  • patient information forms
  • prescription pads
  • patient sign in sheet
  • shot labels
  • dispensary liquid syringes
  • dog bowls
  • dog collars
  • toy bones
  • empty medicine boxes and bottles
  • stethoscope
  • pet carrier, or 2 laundry baskets with zip ties on one side
  • bird cage
  • lab coats
  • scrubs
  • medical play toys
  • small baby blanket
  • stuffed patients
  • bandages
  • ace bandages
  • mini brush
  • thermometer
  • cotton swabs
  • box of tissues
  • tub for baths
  • flash light
  • cash register
  • masks
  • empty shampoo bottle
  • wash clothes
  • towels
  • scale

Making Music Memories

Here is an easy song about fruits and vegetables  sang to the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”:

EAT YOUR FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Eat your fruits and vegetables, vegetables, vegetables

Eat your fruits and vegetables, they make you healthy and strong.

 

Healthy Foods vs. Unhealthy Foods

Activity:

Make two lists (one of healthy foods and one of unhealthy foods). Have the children cut out healthy and unhealthy food pictures from an assortment of magazines.

Individual Activity:

  • Give each child a large piece of paper and have them fold it in half. Teacher will write “Healthy Foods” and “Unhealthy Foods” headings in each folded column.
  • Have the children paste the pictures in the appropriate column.
  • Discuss with the children the importance of eating “Healthy Foods”.

Optional:

  • Collect a variety of non-perishable vegetable and fruit cans to donate to your local food bank or church pantry.
  • Deliver food together.

Variation:

  • Pick a “Healthy Food” or “Healthy Food Snack” recipe and make this recipe together as a class.
  • Have the children participate in creating the recipe.

Discuss with the children what makes a recipe “Healthy”.

What Fruits and Vegetables Do You Like?

Activity:

  • Compare your list to the items talked about in the video.
  • Watch the video a second time.
  • Stop/pause at each rainbow food clip.
  • Have them identify the fruits and vegetables they recognize.
  • Talk about foods the children would like to try.
  • Bring in several fruits and vegetables and have a tasting party.
  • Invite several children to be blindfolded as they identify by taste samples of food (i.e. carrots, strawberries, pineapple, apples, broccoli, etc.).

Note:  Make a copy of the list.  Add it to your weekly newsletter.  Suggest to parents that they might like to add some of the foods to their shopping list.

Food Groups

Pre-Activity:

Send notice home to the parents asking them to send in empty bags, boxes or pictures of their child’s favorite foods. 

Activity:

Watch the following video clip as an introduction to the food groups.

Fruit Groups

  • Teacher should bring additional items from their pantry.
  • Talk about the different food groups, you may want to buy or print the food pyramid.
  • Ahead of time, the teacher should create tent cards with the different food group names with pictures.
  • Have the children sort each item into the correct food group—fruit, vegetable, grain, and protein.

Create a healthy meal using items out of the food groups…breakfast, lunch or dinner.

These food and nutrition songs are available from a variety of albums. Use them for teaching about fruits, vegetables, food groups, junk food, and healthy snack choices.

Food and Nutrition Songs List