Learning Goal: During winter the weather is cold, the days are short and food is scarce. Animals must prepare, adapt or hibernate to survive.
- Reading= The Mitten by Alvin Tresselt (or Jan Brett), Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson, The After-Christmas Tree by Linda Tyler (or The Busy Little Squirrel by Nancy Tafuri) and Stranger in the Woods by Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick. Letter of the day= M is for mitten.
- Science= Talk about why food is hard to find in the winter. Explain that some animals stop eating and hibernate to save energy. Make a den or cave out of couches, blankets and pillows. Pretend to be bears hibernating through the winter.
- Art= Make birdfeeders out of pine cones, peanut butter and bird seed. Hang outside and observe the feeding birds. Replenish often throughout the winter. Each day for one week, keep track of how many birds you see come to your feeder. Graph your results.
- Play= Pretend to be birds in the forest and use clothes pins (your bird beak) to pick up hidden gummy worms, plastic bugs and nuts. Prepare an assortment of lonely mittens on a clothes line; find the matching mittens and hang them too. Or, count how many people can fit inside a mitten-like sleeping bag!
Fun fact: A bear's heart rate may drop from a normal of 40-50 beats per minute down to 8-12. Bears do not eat, drink, or excrete at all while hibernating, which can be as long as six months.
Learning Goal: During winter the weather is cold, the days are short and food is scarce. Animals must prepare, adapt or hibernate to survive.
