and kindergarten, at home!
While some people might migrate to warmer climates, and others wish they could hibernate all winter… humans have to adapt. For us this means wearing winter clothes, turning the heat on in the house and eating warm foods.
Let’s listen to the story Sleep Tight Farm by Eugenie Doyle and learn about how a family prepares their farm for the long winter months.
Make a chart of the things you need/have/can to do to get ready for winter.
I could not let this unit go by without sharing the story Fredrick by Leo Leonni. Fredrick is a mouse who should be helping his family gather items for the long winter. But, Fredrick is a dreamer and doesn’t want to gather nuts or other items for winter. Eventually the other mice come to realize that Fredrick did gather something for winter… he gathered memories.
I enjoy this story as it shows children that it isn’t always what you see and touch that is important to “gather”, but there is value in the colors, the textures, the sounds of life.
A fun activity to do with this is to draw to music. Put on instrumental music and have your child draw what he/she feels. What colors do you think of with the music? Do you feel flowing or more choppy? Does the picture maintain a constant feel or does it change as the music changes? This concept of drawing to music often takes a few attempts before children get good at just relaxing and drawing what you feel. It is the visualization of feelings. Some children will draw specific items, and other will draw more abstract. There is no right or wrong… there just is.
Let’s listen to SciShow kids teach us about animals’ winter coats.
Animals with Winter Coats! by Sci Show Kids
How Do Whales, Penguins and Polar Bears Keep Warm? by Sci Show Kids?
Many animals adapt by changing in their coats, layers of blubber and or outer coverings to stay warm. Just as we put on winter jackets or wrap up in a warm blanket.
Want to learn to draw some animals with winter coats? Stop over at Art For Kids Hub: Artic Fox, Snowy Owl, An Autumn bird or a cat in a sweater. Wait those last two aren’t really how animals adapt their coats for the winter!
Today draw a picture of an animal wearing a winter coat. It can be a true image of an animal wearing their winter adaptation OR an animal wearing human clothes to add to their winter warmth.
In the winter, some animals fur change color. Not all animals with fur change color, but some do and scientist have some ideas as to why. One being that they blend better with the snow. They also believe it might be that the lack of melatonin with creates the color allows for air to be trapped in the hair creating a buffer from the elements.
Hares are one animal that changes color. Not all rabbits change but the Artic hare, mountain hare and snowshoe hare are among those who change. (other animals that change color include: artic fox, Siberian hamsters, Ptarmigans [a type of bird], collard lemmings, peary caribou, and weasels)
Let’s listen to the story Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit by Il Sung Na
Now, let’s create a picture of a snow rabbit.
Over the last two weeks, we have discussed how animals get ready for winter. We learned about migration and hibernation. Now lets talk about adaptation. Adaptation is when animals change or adapt to the cold of winter. This change my be a physical change such as the color of their coat or the thickness of their fur.
Let’s listen to the story: Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner. In this story we learn about how animals continue to move and live during the snows of winter. You hear about both animals that are hibernating and those that have adapted to the winter environment.
Today let’s create a chart about animals that migrate, hibernate and adapt to winter. You can either focus on a specific ecosystem of animals (a pond, the forest, your backyard etc…) or just list animals in general. I will list pond animals.
