Hibernating Animal Fun: Chipmunk Lesson

Hibernating Animal Fun

A unit of preschool ideas 

for different hibernating animals

Welcome to the final week of my Hibernating Animal Fun unit.

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.

Chipmunk Lesson

Our book for the class was:

Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner follows a father and daughter as they travel over the snow on skis while discussing the animals that are hibernating under the snow. I decided to do the chipmunk craft because it shows that some animals wake up and eat before going back to sleep in the middle of winter. So, our chipmunk is awake in our craft, snacking on an acorn.

Paper Plate Hibernating Chipmunk

You can find the details for this craft over in my Littles Learning Link Up Paper Plate Hibernating Chipmunk Craft post.

Songs

Yes, we are still singing "Did You Ever See a Brown Bear?" which I patterned after my "Did You Ever See a Polar Bear?" song which is featured in my Arctic Animal Fun posts. In fact, we are going to be singing that song, as well as reciting "The Snow Fell Softly" during our end-of -year program. As I did with the Polar Bear song, I added verses for each new animal. 

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.

Did you ever see a chipmunk

a chipmunk, a chipmunk

Did you ever see a chipmunk

Waking up for a snack?

Eating this snack and that snack

Eating this snack and that snack

Did you ever see a chipmunk

Waking up for a snack?

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.

The chipmunk has a snack

The chipmunk has a snack

Hi ho the derry-o

The chipmunk has a snack

Fingers in front of mouth, pretending to eat.

Do they sleep all winter long?

Do they sleep all winter long?

hi ho the derry-o

  

Do they sleep all winter long?

Fold your hands together with flat palms and place them to the side of your tilted head.
Then for the last line, lift both hands to the side of your head and shrug shoulders.

And here is our 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.

Chipmunk is sleeping, chipmunk is sleeping

Under the snow, under the snow

He will wake up early

Then go back to sleep

Eat a snack, eat a snack!

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

Second line, crouch down and place hands over head

Third line, stand back up, reach and stretch
Fourth line, fold hands back to side of head like sleeping

Final line, fingers in front of mouth, pretend to eat

Extra craft

We ended our class by finishing the extra craft we started the previous week.

Here is our 

Hibernating Environment Lift-the-Flap Poster.

That is the end of our Hibernating Animals lessons Stop by next week for my Frog Life Cycle lessons post. I haven't decided if I am going to share these in a series or as just one post.

Joining in with other homeschoolers at:

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.

Joining in with other homeschoolers at:

Littles Learning Link Up: March 5, 2019: Paper Plate Hibernating Chipmunk Craft

Each month you will find:

• A seasonal round-up (usually toward the beginning of the month)
• Posts where I share what I have been up to with my early elementary children and the preschoolers I work with at our homeschool co-op (including occasional highlight posts where I share how we used ideas that have been linked up here on Littles Learning Link Up).

Each week, I will host a link up, where you can share either what you have been up to recently, or old posts that may go with the theme.  Feel free to link up more than one post.

Each week I will continue to feature a couple of posts from those that have been linked up. 

I hope you will continue to share your wonderful posts, and I hope you will find something new to try with your child(ren).

It would be great for everyone to stop by and visit the other linked-up posts as well. Check them out, leave some comments, pin those that interest you. Let's make this a real party and socialize with each other.

We are in the middle of our "Hibernating Animals" unit in the Pre-K class at co-op. The first week I shared my Egg Carton Bear in a Paper Bag Cave, and last week I shared my Peek-a-Boo Hibernating Dormouse Craft. You can also check out my Hibernating Animal Fun: Brown Bear Lesson to see the other craft we did for the bear and the songs we sang.

I plan to continue to share my Pre-K unit posts on Fridays, even though it is on Tuesdays that I will be sharing the craft that we made.

Now, onto this week's craft!

Paper Plate Hibernating Chipmunk Craft

I chose to do a chipmunk craft because I wanted to do an animal that hibernates under the snow in a burrow. We did the bear in the cave and the dormouse in the hole in the tree, and now I needed something different. I chose to read Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner, which shares several different animals that hibernate under the snow while a father and daughter ski over the snow. I chose the chipmunk for my craft because, well, I love chipmunks and I was able to come up with a craft fairly easily.

Here's what you will need:

2 paper plates for each project

Brown construction paper

Black construction paper

White crayon

Glue stick

White glue

Black marker

Metal paper fastener (brads)

Cotton balls  

In preparation, I cut an oval shape for the body, a pointed oval for the head, tails, stripes, and legs (one front, one back) for each child. I also cut out several acorns for each of them.

The children glued on each part as instructed.

Then they drew on the white stripes and glued on the acorns.

The next step was making the snowy plate to cover the burrow.

We spread white glue all over the second plate and attached the stretched out cotton balls.

Here are the snowy paper plates:

And here are the chipmunks hiding underneath.

Paper Plate Hibernating Chipmunk Craft

Let's take a look at that review schedule real quick:

A few weeks ago I posted my review for the newest Heirloom Audio Adventures release titled, For the Temple, and then two weeks ago I posted my review of  IXL Learning which Tabitha, Amelia, and Hannah have been using. Last week I shared my review of the newest books in the Secret of the Hidden Scrolls series and Singapore's Dimensions Math.

This month I will be sharing a few more reviews. This week you will find the review for the US Symbols Unit Study from Homeschool Complete. Toward the end of the month I will be posting my reviews of the STEM activities from Tied 2 Teaching and Poetry for the Grammar Stage from Memoria Press

Here are a couple of things I would like to share with you:

St. Patrick's Day Shamrock Fun Round Up

Muffin Tin Monday: St. Patrick's Day Rainbows

St. Patrick's Day Rainbow Sensory Bin

Now onto:

Littles Learning Link Up Features

On my last Littles Learning Link Up post, there were 8 wonderful posts linked up. I will be sharing two randomly selected posts as there were no clicks this week.

Please, don't forget to stop by other posts that are linked up. See what catches your eye, stop by, pin the post to a relevant board, and perhaps leave a comment to let the author of the blog know you have been by for a visit. I know I appreciate others commenting and letting me know they have read my posts, so I am sure others do too.

This week's randomly selected posts are:

Tara from Homeschool Preschool shared Dr. Seuss Preschool Cat in the Hat Crafts

Kristen from A Mom's Quest to Teach shared Crafts: Paper Plate Lamb Masks

Join the Party!

I would love to have you join in this week! What sort of activities do you do with your young children? Do you have some favorite activities you would like to share? I invite you to link up below. I will be pinning posts on one of my relevant boards, and I would love to feature some of the activities each week from what is linked up.

Please know I may share a picture from your post and link back to it, along with sharing how we used your idea in our school time. By linking up you are giving me permission to use a picture from your post. I will ALWAYS give credit and link back. Additionally, if you choose to try out any of the ideas with your child, please make sure you give credit where credit is due.

Linky will be open through Monday night, to give me time to check out all the posts and get the Features organized. Please take the time to visit some of the other wonderful posts linked up.

No button currently, and there won't be one until I can figure it out seeing as Photobucket has changed things. Feel free to still share the picture in place of the button. Just link it to my Littles Learning Link Up permalink please.

I am sharing over at

Inlinkz Link Party