Hibernating Animal Fun: Dormouse Lesson

Hibernating Animal Fun

A unit of preschool ideas 

for different hibernating animals

Welcome to the second week of my Hibernating Animal Fun unit. I'm sorry I fell a bit behind. 

Each week there will be books I recommend to go with each topic, a craft or two, songs, and motion rhymes/finger plays. 

This is the schedule:

Week 1: Bears

Week 2: Dormouse

Week 3: Chipmunk

We continue to start each class with the song "Good Morning to You" plus the snowy songs/fingerplays I found in a book I reviewed last year called I'm a Little Teapot!: Presenting Preschool Storytime compiled by Jane Cobb. 

We sang: 

Snowflakes

(to the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb)

Snowflakes whirling all around,

all around, all around

Snowflakes whirling all around,

They are covering the ground.

(The original last line was, "Until they cover all the ground," but it didn't sound quite right to me, so I changed it. We fluttered our fingers all around through the song and spread our arms out for the last line.)

And of course our poem/finger play:

The Snow Fell Softly

The snow fell softly all the night

flutter fingers downward

It made a blanket soft and white

spread arms out

It covered houses, flowers and ground,

make pointed house, finger flowers, flat hands

But never made a single sound

get quieter and put finger in front of mouth

The children love this poem.

Then we got into the actual lesson.

Dormouse Lesson

Our book for the class was:

A Bed for Winter by Karen Wallace is about a little dormouse who is searching for a place to spend the winter. She searches different places, but each space already has an animal occupying it. She finally finds a spot in a hole in the tree, which was the inspiration for our Peek-a-Boo Hibernating Dormouse Craft.

Another cute book is Dormouse Dreams by Karma Wilson. We didn't get a chance to read it, but I wanted to make sure to share it.

Craft

Peek-a-Boo Hibernating Dormouse

You can find instructions for making the craft here.

Songs

I took my "Did You Ever See a Polar Bear?" song, and changed the words to a brown bear that was hibernating. Of course, the children love the "Did You Ever See a Polar Bear?" song, so we did sing that first. You can find the words to that song in any of my Arctic Animal Fun posts. As I did with the Polar Bear song, I added a verse for the dormouse

Did You Ever See a Brown Bear?

(To the Tune of Did you Ever See a Lassie?)

by Karen Waide

Did you ever see a brown bear

a brown bear, a brown bear

Did you ever see a brown bear

Sleeping til spring?

Sometimes he's snoring,

And sometimes he's yawning.

Did you ever see a brown bear

sleeping til spring?

Shrug shoulders with hands raised as in questioning for the first three lines.

Fold your hands together with flat palms and place them to the side of your tilted head.
After singing "yawning" pause to make a big yawn and tap your mouth with your hand.

Go back to shrugging and then place hands at the side of your head again.

Did you ever see a dormouse

a dormouse, a dormouse

Did you ever see a dormouse

Curled up in a ball?

Snuggled up in a ball here

Snuggled up in a ball there

Did you ever see a dormouse

Curled up in a ball?

Shrug shoulders with hands raised as in questioning for the first three lines.

Curl up in a ball
Pretend to roll from side to side

Go back to shrugging and then curl up in a ball again.

They're Going to Hibernate

(to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell)

by Karen Waide

They're going to hibernate

They're going to hibernate

hi ho the derry-o

They’re going to hibernate

March in place.

The bear is in the cave

The bear is in the cave

hi ho the derry-o

The bear is in the cave

Arch your hands above your head, joining fingertips, making it look like a cave.

The mouse is in the hole

The mouse is in the hole

Hi ho the derry-o

The mouse is in the hole

They'll sleep all winter long

Cup your hands in front of you, fingertips touching to form a ball.

They'll sleep all winter long

hi ho the derry-o

  

They'll sleep all winter long

Fold your hands together with flat palms and place them to the side of your tilted head.

And we added a third song:

I am Sleepy

(tune of Frere Jacque)

by Karen Waide

I am sleepy, I am sleepy

Hibernate, hibernate

I’ll wake up in springtime

I’ll wake up in springtime

When it’s warm, when it’s warm

First two lines, fold hands to the side of head and tilt like sleeping

Second two lines, reach arms above your head and stretch.

Bear is sleeping, bear is sleeping

in a cave in a cave

He’ll get up in springtime

He’ll get up in springtime

Stay away, stay away!

First line, fold hands to the side of head and tilt like sleeping

Second line form arch over head with fingertips touching

Third and fourth line, crouch down to the floor and spring up (do it for each line).

Final line, hold index finger up and shake for emphasis on each syllable.

Mouse is sleeping, mouse is sleeping

In a hole, in a hole

He’ll get up in springtime

He’ll get up in springtime

Let him rest, let him rest!

First line, fold hands to the side of head and tilt like sleeping

Second line, form hole with hands cupped in front of you, fingertips touching

Third and fourth line, crouch down to the floor and spring up (do it for each line).

Final line, hold index finger up to mouth.

We also added some science to our lesson.

We talked about how hibernating animals aren't just sleeping. We discussed the fact that their heart rate slows down considerably. I used the lemur as an example, as the information was in an article I found online. The lemur's heart rate goes from a normal 200 beats per minute, to just 4 beats per minute! I demonstrated this by clapping 5 times a second and then taking 15 seconds between claps. Then I had the children copy me. It was hard for them to wait for those claps that were 15 seconds apart! We also discussed how a hibernating animals breathing would slow down, though we didn't practice that! Of course that brought up a discussion about lungs, and how the air goes into our lungs and we need oxygen.

I even brought my husband's stethoscope with me, and some alcohol cleaning wipes, so the children could listen to their own heartbeats.

Extra craft

We ended our class by starting an extra craft, which we finished the following week. It is going to be a Hibernating Environment Lift-the-Flap Poster.

Stop by next week for our lesson on the hibernating chipmunk, and to see our finished Lift-the-Flap craft.

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