Winter Ways

 On Friday, our wonderful Four Winds volunteers came into the classroom to teach us about what animals do during the winter months.  They especially focused on animals that hibernate (bears) and animals that are dormant (chipmunks) along with animals that are active throughout the winter months.  See if your child can give you an example of an animal who hibernates and an animal who is dormant during the winter. 

After the puppet show, the children had an opportunity to look at pictures of animal tracks.  Then, the children were split into 4 groups.  Each group had to act out an animal's or insect's behavior during the winter months.  Ask your child what animal/insect they acted out and have him/her share what that particular animal/insect does during the winter.

Then, the children participated in an experiment.  During the workshop, the children learned that animals have fat to help keep them warm when it's cold.  So, the children had to put one of their fingers in ice cold water.  At the same time, they placed another finger, which was wrapped in lard (the fat) in the ice cold water.  They immediately could tell that the lard insulated their finger and prevented it from getting cold unlike the other finger without the lard!