Littles Learning Link Up: Hibernating Animals Round Up

Welcome to Littles Learning Link Up. 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 preschoolers and/or early elementary children (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.

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.

It's time for this month's Round Up

I've spent the last month sharing the fun Arctic lessons I have been doing with my Pre-K co-op class. I actually have one more craft and a couple more complete lessons to share, but that will have to wait due to the fact that co-op was canceled last week because of bad weather. This week I would like to share a round up of hibernating animal ideas. I mean, we've talked about animals who are used to living up in the extreme cold of the arctic, discussing how they stay warm with their thick fur and layers of fat. I thought it would be fun to share what other animals do who haven't been designed to live in this extreme cold. And yes, this month I will be teaching the Pre-K class about hibernating animals. One or two of the posts shared below might end up as "highlight" posts. 

Hibernating Animals Round Up

Crafts

Make a Bear Cave Craft  from Surviving a Teacher's Salary 

Hibernating Bear Craft for Kids from Still Playing School

The Bear Snores On from Our Crafts ~N~ Things

Where Do Animals Live in the Winter from Our Crafts ~N~ Things

Recycled Hibernating Bear Craft! (And Our Favorite Bear Books!) from Pink Stripey Socks

Hibernating Bear from Our Crafts ~N~ Things

Hibernating Bear Paper Plate Craft and Free Template from A Little Pinch of Perfect

Make a Diorama of Animals that Hibernate in Winter - Printables Included from The Natural Homeschool

Activities

Winter Animals for Preschool Activities from Natural Beach Living

Animals That Hibernate in Winter from Teach Beside Me

Animals in Winter Sensory Activity  - Hibernation Preschool Theme from School Time Snippets

Animals Hibernating in Winter  ~ Sensory Bins for Preschoolers from The Natural Homeschool

Animals That Hibernate in Winter Printable Coloring Pages from The Natural Homeschool

Hibernating Animals Lesson Plans from Mrs. Wills' Kindergarten

Homeschool Unit Studies: Hibernation Unit Study from Look! We're Learning 

Animals in Winter Unit: What is Hibernation? from The Natural Homeschool

Free Hibernation Activities from Lessons for Little Ones 

Hibernation Unit Study Calendar from Year Round Homeschooling

Free Hibernation Unit Study from Year Round Homeschooling

Fun Snack

Bear Snores On Inspired Snack Time from My Storytime Corner

Literacy Snack Idea Hibernate + Free Printable from Primary Playground

Do you have fun "Hibernating Animals" ideas? Feel free to link them up below.

Now onto:

Littles Learning Link Up Features

On my last Littles Learning Link Up post, there were 11 wonderful posts linked up. I will be sharing a randomly selected post and the top clicked-on posts.

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 post is:

Kelli from 3 Boys and a Dog shared Proverbs 13:20 Coloring Pages

And here is this week's most clicked on post.

Tara from Homeschool Preschool shared Preschool Transportation Theme Printables

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 my Toddler Ideas or other relevant board, 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, if applicable. 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 Sunday 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.

I am sharing over at:

Inlinkz Link Party

Arctic Animal Fun: Arctic Fox Lesson

Arctic Animal Fun

A month-long unit of preschool ideas 

for different Arctic animals

Welcome to the second week of my Arctic Animal Fun unit. I am really enjoying teaching the Pre-K class at our homeschool co-op. Back in October I did a Pumpkin lesson which included reading books, songs, motion rhymes, and crafts. For the month of January I decided to focus on something cold. In the past I have done snowmen and penguin activities, so I decided to focus on the Arctic this time around. 

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

This is the tentative schedule:

Week 1: Polar Bears

Week 2: Arctic Fox

Week 3: Walrus

Week 4: Narwhal

Week 5: Orca or Beluga Whale

As I mentioned last week, we start each class with the song "Good Morning to You" as I used to do at the Montessori. Just a song to get us focused on our day. Then I found some snowy songs/fingerplays 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.)

We also did the following 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

Then we got into the actual lesson.

Arctic Fox Lesson

As we did last week, we started out by skimming through the book, What Lives in the Arctic?. This book gives some brief information for a handful of arctic animals. This week I only focused on the details for the arctic fox though. 

Then I wanted to connect our lesson to last week's so I read the book, Ice Bear and Little Fox by Jonathan London.

This book is told as a story but gives factual information about arctic foxes following polar bears to find food. However, in this story the arctic fox ends up helping the polar bear by warning him of danger. In real life the fox would either be picking at whatever the polar bear leaves from a kill or trying to snitch it while attempting to not become the polar bear's meal.

We also read the following non-fiction books, both of which have lovely photographs of arctic foxes:

Arctic Foxes by Emily Rose Townsend has one photograph on each double page spread, with information given in easy to read sentences, usually just one or two per page, in large font. It gives physical characteristics, plus information about where they live and what they do. The book concludes with a glossary, suggested books and websites, plus an index.

Arctic Fox: Very Cool by Stephen Person is actually more appropriate (in my opinion) for elementary school children. There is a lot of information on each page, and more detail. However, I did use the book to share some of the pictures, such as what a den would look like, what baby foxes look like, the difference between their summer fur and their winter fur, plus an encounter with a polar bear.

Craft

We then made our Textured Paper Plate and Tissue Paper Arctic Fox that I highlighted in this week's Littles Learning Link Up. This was a craft that was included in my Arctic Fun Round Up at the beginning of the month.

Science Lesson

This week we focused on how the arctic fox is designed to stay hidden in its surroundings. We talked about the big word "camouflage" which some children recognized once they heard it because of their parents wearing camouflage when going hunting. We saw how the brown fur helps the arctic fox stay hidden in the summer, and how the bushy white fur keeps it camouflaged in the winter.

Then we made a "Camouflage and the Arctic Fox" booklet.

I just folded a piece of cardstock in half. On one side I wrote "Summer" in brown, and on the other, I wrote "Winter" in blue. 

We used brown construction paper cut into a hill shape, plus brown and green markers for the summer side, and more white tissue paper squares and cotton balls for the winter side. Plus I found a fox template on Google, put it in my word processing program, shrunk it down to size and printed out enough for each child to have one brown and one white fox.

Here is my sample of what the finished books were to look like.

Songs

We sang our "Did You Ever See a Polar Bear?" song from last week, but I added a verse for the Arctic Fox.

Did You Ever See a Polar Bear?

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

by Karen Waide

Did you ever see a polar bear

a polar bear, a polar bear

Did you ever see a polar bear

Sliding on the ice?

Sliding this way and that way

Sliding this way and that way

Did you ever see a polar bear

sliding on the ice?

Motions to go with first verse.

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

Then step and slide left and right a few times.

Go back to shrugging for the last line and step to the side one last time.

Did you ever see an arctic fox

an arctic fox, an arctic fox

Did you ever see an arctic fox

following a bear?

Creeping this way and that way

Creeping this way and that way

Did you ever see an arctic fox

following a bear?

Motions to go with second verse.

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

Then put your hands in front of you and pretend to creep.
Then creep quickly left and quickly right on tiptoes.

Go back to shrugging for the last line and finish off by pretending to creep forward.

And we sang one more song I came up with

Oh Can You See the Arctic Fox

(to the tune of Do You Know the Muffin Man)

Oh can you see the arctic fox

Shrug shoulders and hold hands up questioning gesture

the arctic fox, the arctic fox

Continue to shrug shoulders

Oh can you see the arctic fox

Still shrugging

hiding in the snow.

Cover eyes with both hands

You can’t see the arctic fox

Shake head 

the arctic fox, the arctic fox

Continue to shake head

You can’t see the arctic fox

Still shaking head.

he’s camouflaged so well.  

Cover eyes with both hands

Games

Then we played a game where the children had to take a beanbag (that I made with white socks and beans) and toss it onto the white snow on the top of the brown dirt so it would become camouflaged.

And then we played follow the leader to remind us that the arctic fox followed the polar bear. Each child took a turn being the leader.

We ended our class time with the following finger play, also from the book I'm a Little Teapot!: Presenting Preschool Storytime compiled by Jane Cobb.

Dressing for Winter Weather

Let’s put on our mittens

put on mittens

And button up our coat

button coat

Wrap a scarf snugly

throw scarf around neck

Around our throat.

Tug one end down

Pull on our boots now

pull on boots with both hands

Fasten the straps

fasten with fingers

And tie on tightly

Our warm winter caps

pull on cap and tie

Then open the door

turn doorknob and pull

And out we go

step through pretend door

Into the soft and feathery snow

look up and pretend to catch snow

Stop by next week for the Walrus lesson.

Joining in with other homeschoolers at:

Littles Learning Link Up: January 10, 2017: Craft Highlight- Sticky Paper Snowman Craft

 Each month you will find:

• A seasonal round-up (toward the beginning of the month)
• A guest post featuring crafts, activities, tips, snack ideas or other early childhood topics. (toward the end of the month)
• Posts where I share what I have been up to with my preschoolers and/or early elementary children (including occasional highlight posts where I share how we used ideas that have been linked up here on Littles Learning Link Up or a part of a past Round 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.

Welcome to the first Littles Learning Link Up Highlight post of 2017! I hope to have highlight posts once a month, but no promises.

A highlight post isn't the same as a feature. With the highlighted post, we will actually be making the craft(s) or participating in the activity. You will get to see how much we enjoyed it, and I will be mentioning any tweaks that I add. Of course I will be linking back to the original post. 

Littles Learning Link Up January Highlight:

In last year's Chock-Full of Snowman Fun Round Up, Katie from Gift of Curiosity shared a cute, and simple, snowman craft called Sticky Paper Snowman Craft. I thought it would be a great activity for the children in the preschool craft at co-op. And I was right. I just didn't get to try it out until a year later as I wasn't teaching preschool at the time my round up posted. 

Sticky Paper Snowman Craft

You will need the following materials:

1 sheet of light blue construction paper per child, cut to make a 1 inch border frame. 

(You need to keep the inner section)

Contact paper to fit over the hole of the frame.

White construction paper circles (in 3 sizes)

Thin stips of brown construction paper for arms

Black construction paper (thin strip for the brim and a small square for the hat)

Markers for buttons and facial features

Little squares of white tissue paper for snow

Here is how we made the Sticky Paper Snowman Craft

I prepared the frames ahead of time and laid them in front of the children sticky side up. Then they started by putting the biggest circle at the bottom of the sticky part.

They then needed to draw buttons on the middle-sized circle BEFORE adding it to the picture.

They then need to flip this circle upside down so the buttons will show in the finished frame. This may be a little confusing for some children. I had to make sure they understood that they would be turning the picture around and would see their lovely creations after we were all done.

Then they drew facial features (eyes, nose and mouth) on the smallest circle, and flipped it upside down to put it on the top of the snowman. Children may need help getting it lined up right, so the face isn't upside down or sideways. Luckily the construction paper comes off the contact paper fairly easily if they haven't pushed down yet. I can't say the same for the tissue paper. That sticks right away!

Children then need to add the arms, brim, and square.

Then they add the tissue paper squares.

When they are satisfied with their creations...

...the back is taped to the back of the picture.

(This was my one tweak to the craft. Katie from Gift of Curiosity had used a white piece of paper. I thought we could see the snow better by using the blue paper.)

All done!

Once again, I love seeing the way one craft can show such individuality.

Let's take a look at that review schedule:

Currently there are no Homeschool Review Crew reviews scheduled to post as the year has just started, and I am not on any reviews yet. However, I should be sharing some children's book reviews soon. We have been using a few products that I will be sharing reviews for over at The Old Schoolhouse website.

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

Speaking of snowmen, here is my Chock-Full of Snowman Fun Round Up from last year.

And here is my Celebration of Snowmen post from a few years ago. 

I am still lining up guest posts. If you would be interested writing a guest post for Littles Learning Link Up one of these months, please leave a comment or contact me via my contact info on my About Me page. I will need to have your email address so I can contact you. I am looking for posts that have to do with young children: crafts, activities, foods/snacks, tips, or other ideas. I am open to suggestions.

Now onto:

Littles Learning Link Up Features

On my last Littles Learning Link Up post, there were 11 wonderful posts linked up! 

There were no clicks, so I will be choosing 2 random posts.

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 1st Randomly Selected Post is:

Amanda from Sicily's Heart and Home shared How to Be Successful By Setting Tot School Goals.

This week's 2nd Randomly Selected Post is:

Carly from Lipgloss and Crayons shared 17 Rainy Day Activities for Kids.

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.

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An InLinkz Link-up