Should I stay or should I go...or should I sleep?

This week we talked about animals in winter.  As the temperature gets colder, animals prepare for the cold and the lack of available food by either hibernating, migrating or staying here and adapting to the winter.

Some of the students created puppet shows to demonstrate how different animals cope with winter.  Check out a few photos of puppet show fun below!

To finish off the week inside, we had Nature class outside to enjoy the fresh snow!  Sledding was a hit with both the toddlers and the preschoolers. 

Even April, the pony, joined in on the winter fun!

Whooo came for a visit?

Carpenter Nature Center was our special guest this week!  Naturalists Alan and Kristin brought two of their feathered friends, a Great Horned Owl and a Red-tailed Hawk.

We learned that both owls and hawks can turn their heads almost all the way around to help them look for food.

 Owls and hawks are both birds of prey, also called raptors.  Raptors are birds that have very good eyesight for 

finding food, strong feet for holding food, and 

a strong, curved beak for eating.

    

Leading up to this special event, our students learned about owls by researching, dissecting owl pellets and creating owl eyes.  Check out some pictures below!

The children really enjoyed dissecting owl pellets to look for bones of mice, shrews and voles.  Here are a few funny quotes overheard during the activity.

"I found the foot of a duck!"
"I think this is a drumstick."
"Wendy, I can't find the wishbone."
"I found a tube that carries blood.  I think it's from a squirrel."

Thanks-giving

'Tis the season to show our gratitude and be thankful for the wonderful things we have.  Here at Children's Country Day School, we are thankful for:

Friends to play with

Hard work to get our hands dirty

Beautiful outdoor places to explore

Fascinating books to read

And the beauty of nature!

Now you see us...now you don't!

Camouflage is such a fun concept to talk about with children. The idea that animals play hide-and-seek with us and other animals is a fun one to explore.

Some of us played a game of Camouflaged Critters.  The children pretended to be hungry birds looking for their lunch in the grass.  Scattered, colored pieces of yarn were spread across the grass as worms. 

We learned that it would be much safer 

to be the brown worms. :)

Other friends made beautiful artwork to 

 demonstrate how camouflage works.

Even playing a good old-fashioned game of hide-and-seek can help us understand how camouflage works.

A game of "Thicket" was a great way to play in

 the woods and learn about camouflage.  

First, one person counted to 10...REALLY LOUD!

 Then, we ran to hide in the woods.

 Can you find us in the pictures below?

 Sometimes, even people can be camouflaged!