Seedlings: Learning about Animal Adaptations
In the classroom we have been learning about how animals adapt to the changes of winter. We have been singing a new song about hibernation. In the song we ask the questions about animals like, “In the winter, where’s the frog? Sleeping in a pond or log.” We also discovered a new book that tied in nicely to our interests in animal behaviors, “Over and Under the Snow” by Kate Messner with illustrations by Christopher Silas Neal.
This book shows how animals survive the cold winter months in warm underground tunnels and dens. Some animals go into a deep sleep while others are awake and eat from food that was saved in the fall. The lovely illustrations show a father and daughter going skiing into the woods to find tracks that tell a story. The tracks show how animals find water or go hunting for food. Throughout the book we see different animals and learn how each adapts to survive over or under the snow.
During work time this week we offered a collage activity at the art table. The animals from the book were cut out on a tray for the children to choose and glue on to the snow. Children added trees and logs while placing the animals under or over the snow. A few friends decided to put skis on their animals. It was exciting to see how children approached to project in a variety of ways, stacking animals and telling a story of what happened.
“Over the snow, the world is hushed and white. But under the snow exists a secret kingdom of squirrels and snow hares, bears and bullfrogs, and many other animals that live through the winter safe and warm, awake and busy under the snow.”
-Kate Messner
