Tots and Me... Growing Up Together

Friday, January 11, 2019

Arctic Animal Fun: Polar Bear Lesson

Arctic Animal Fun

A month-long unit of preschool ideas

for different Arctic animals

As I have mentioned in my Littles Learning Link Up posts, I am teaching the Pre-K class at our homeschool co-op. This is a new class of 3, 4, and 5 year olds, which is different than the nursery class I used to teach where we had babies up through 4 year olds who hadn't gone up to the K-3 group yet. 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

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.

Polar Bear Lesson

We started by finding the Arctic and the Antarctic on a globe. Then we looked through a book that names and gives information about a hand full of arctic animals. I only focused on the details for the polar bear though.

Then I read a book about a polar bear cub:

In this cute book, the baby polar bear's whole world is the den where she is snug and warm with her mother, until they head outside for the first time and she goes exploring. She rolls away down a hill and loses sight of her mom for a little bit. Cub looks for her mom by looking for her black nose, which leads her to find other creatures. Then her mom finds her amid the white snow.

Craft

We then made our Cotton Ball Polar Bears in an Icy Arctic World 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

We discussed the different physical features that keep a polar bear warm in the icy arctic:

the layers of hair

the black skin

and

the thick layer of fat

The children got to experience feeling ice water, both with their bare hand and through a layer of fat.

This activity was suggested in the back of another Arctic book we read:

The children helped me fill a plastic zippy bag with shortening. Then I sealed it and placed it inside another bag. The children each took a turn placing their hand in the space between the filled bag and the outer bag. Then I gently placed their hand in the water.

Songs

I came up with this song to help reinforce the science lesson.

Did You Ever See a Polar Bear?

(to the tune of Did You Ever See a Lassie?)

Did you ever see a polar bear,

a polar bear, a polar bear

Did you ever see a polar bear

with thick shaggy fur?

With thick shaggy white fur

with thick shaggy white fur

Did you ever see a polar bear

with thick shaggy fur?

Did you ever see a polar bear,

a polar bear, a polar bear

Did you ever see a polar bear

who couldn’t keep warm?

He keeps nice and warm

Did you ever see a polar bear

who couldn’t keep warm?

Did you even know the polar bear

the polar bear, the polar bear

Did you even know the polar bear

Has a layer of fat?

A thick layer of fat

Did you even know the polar bear

Has a layer of fat?

Then we sang a different version to get them up and moving:

Did You Ever See a Polar Bear?

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

Did you ever see a polar bear

sliding on the ice?

Motions to go with song.

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.

Game

And to keep them moving, we played Musical Paw Prints.

I printed out polar bear paw prints and had them walk around on them to music. Then we played a game similar to Musical Chairs where I stopped the music and removed a print each time. The child who didn't get on a paw print had to sit at the table.

We finished up by reading the Over in the Arctic: Where the Cold Winds Blow book by Marianne Berkes and a couple of polar bear cub books.

This book introduces children to ten arctic animals with rhyming verse just like the Over in the Meadow song. Each mom or dad animal is introduced with their babies, each animal having one more baby than the last. We also see how each animal moves or "speaks." And for additional fun there are extra animals hidden on each page.

Polar Bear Night by Lauren Thompson is another book about a polar bear cub. This cub ventures out on its own in the middle of the night to see the special lights. While out, she comes across other arctic animals.

In The Snow Bear by Miriam Moss, we see another polar bear cub. This one has lost her mom and starts to create a snow replacement. Different arctic animals come to help until they are called home. Then the little bear is alone with her snow bear until her mom appears while she is sleeping.

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 Arctic Fox lesson.

Joining in with other homeschoolers at:

Homeschool Collection {Monthly Round UP}

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Wordless Wednesday: January 9, 2019 (w/linky) - Bye Bye Melk

Here are some of my favorite pictures of Melk that I haven't shared yet. He has left us for another year. Harold was upset and wondered why he had to leave so soon. I reminded him Melk was here for quite a while. He didn't leave til after Epiphany, after he helped our wise men make it to the manger scene.

Leading the wise men

Hanging out with my Cherished Teddies

Was able to grab a picture as he headed out the door.

Bye bye Melk, we will miss you. See you next Advent.

Looking forward to seeing your Wordless (or not so wordless) Wednesday posts this week.

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 on your Wordless Wednesday post or in a list of Wordless Wednesday linkies. Just link it to my Wordless Wednesday permalink please.

An InLinkz Link-up

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Littles Learning Link Up: January 8, 2019: Craft Highlight- Cotton Ball Polar Bears in an Icy, Arctic World

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 (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.

Welcome to the first Littles Learning Link Up Highlight post of 2019!

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:

I decided I wanted to focus on Arctic animals this month in our Pre-K class at co-op. Last week we focused on polar bears. I will be sharing my Pre-K unit posts on Fridays this month. However, on Tuesdays I will be sharing the craft that we made. This week's craft is a Littles Learning Link Up Highlight post because it was one of the crafts shared in last week's Arctic Fun Round Up.

I really liked Melissa's Free Printable Polar Bear Craft for Kids over at Fireflies & Mud Pies. In my lesson, I was focusing on how a polar bear stays warm, so it was quite appropriate that she used a black template to represent the black skin of the polar bear. And with lots of fluffy white cotton we had very warm polar bears in our class.

Cotton Ball Polar Bears in an Icy, Arctic World

You will need:

Light blue construction paper

Black construction paper

Walking-on-all-fours polar bear template

White acrylic paint

School glue

Cotton swabs

Container for paint

Cotton balls

Googly eyes

Small black pompoms

In preparation I traced the polar bear template that is available on the Fireflies & Mud Pies blog. Yes, I actually put my white paper up on the computer screen and traced it. We are low on ink, so I didn't want to print out a all-black polar bear template. You could also do this craft by printing out any other walking-on-all-fours polar bear template that is available or drawing your own; however, seeing as I am highlighting Melissa's craft, I wanted to use her cute template.

My next step was cutting out enough polar bears for our class. Older children could cut out the bears themselves, but I have some young three year old children, so I decided it would be better to have the templates cut out and ready to go. Plus, I wasn't sure how long our lesson would take.

When we were ready to make our craft, I gave each of the children a piece of blue paper plus the paint and a cotton swab, and I set the polar bear templates in easy reach.

The children used the cotton swabs to dab falling snow on their papers and to "brush" snow and ice for the polar bear to stand on in her arctic world.

We then set the snowy scene in the middle of the table to dry while the children glued cotton balls to the black skin of the polar bear. The other mom and I spread glue all over the template and taught the children how to stretch out the cotton balls so they would cover a greater area. We helped those who were struggling with this step.

While the children were at snack and gym, I glued the polar bears to the icy world.

Then, when the children returned, they glued a googly eye and a black pompom nose onto their polar bears.

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

The Crew year is over, and we won't be getting any new review products until January. However, I do still have a couple of single review products we are working on (these are the ones that I don't publish on my blog, instead they are posted on the Old Schoolhouse Magazine website). We are reading a book called Animals in Time Volume 1: Historical Empires and Civilizations. This also came with an Activity Book. And the children are working on an activity box from Cooper & Kid with their dad.

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

Another Polar Bear Craft

Paper Plate Polar Bear in an Icy World

Some more cotton ball crafts:

Cotton and Paint Snowman

Fluffy Snowflakes

Now onto:

Littles Learning Link Up Features

On my last Littles Learning Link Up post, there were 6 wonderful post linked up. I will be featuring two randomly selected 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:

Rebecca from Miniature Masterminds shared Forest Animals DIY Domino Printable Game

This week's second randomly selected post is:

Nicole from Mama of Many Blessings shared Snowflake Art.

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.