Owl Pellets

An owl pellet is a dense mass of indigestible food that an owl coughs up after digesting a meal. Owls are predators and eat small mammals, birds, and reptiles. Owl pellets may contain bones, fur, and feathers. They offer a wonderful look at what owls in general eat as well as an intimate look at what a particular owl has eaten.

Obtain sterilized owl pellets for your class. Allow enough pellets so that children are in groups of 2-3 per pellet. If you collect pellets yourself instead of ordering pre-sterilized pellets the pellets will need to be sterilized. Sterilize by wrapping pellets in foil and heating them in a 325° oven for 40 minutes.

Start by asking children if they have ever seen a bird eat? How did it eat? What did it eat? What kinds of foods do birds eat? Show them one of the owl pellets and ask them what they think it might be? Tell them it is something made by a bird. Tell them they get to be scientists and explore what the object is.

Give each group/pair of children a pellet as well as a paper plate, dissecting tools, magnifying glass, and small containers. Explain that they can touch, pull apart, and separate the object. Explain that the containers are for them to sort out what they find. As they are examining their pellets ask them questions about they find. What do they notice about the object? What is inside of it? What does it feel like? Allow them to share their ideas and observations. Continue to ask questions and make observations until they come to the conclusion that it is the leftover bones, fur, and feathers from a meal of a bird. Show them pictures of owls. Has anyone ever seen an owl? What did it look like? What do owls eat? Talk about predators. Ask why they think the owl coughed up the bones, fur and/or feathers?

Barn Owl Nest Box

Build a Barn Owl nest box (or several) together as a class. Then find a place to hang them. Check with your local County Conservation Board or local land owners. Plan a field day to help hang the nest boxes (or at least observe). Plan to revisit the site at a later date to check if it is being used. Perhaps partner with CCB or landowner to have someone check it regularly and give photos/updates to the class.

IDNR: County Conservation Boards

http://www.iowadnr.gov/InsideDNR/DNRStaffOffices/ConservationLawEnforcement/CountyConservationBoards.aspx

All About Birds: Barn Owls

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/barn_owl/id

USDA Barn Owl nest Box and Instructions

ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/CA/news/Publications/wild_habitat/owl_nest.pdf

Missouri Department of Conservation How to Build a Barn Owl Nest Box (includes video and audio of Barn Owls)

http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/how/woodworking/how-build-barn-owl-nest-box

Shaw Creek Bird Supply Barn Owl Nest Box Plans

http://www.shawcreekbirdsupply.com/plans_barn_owl.htm

Snacks and Crafts

Provide children with various craft supplies and various natural objects to make their own owls (do this craft outside if possible and allow children to gather their own natural objects). Some ideas are toilet paper or paper towel rolls (cut in thirds), press the tops down together to form the head and ears of an owl. Allow children to decorate as they want. Leaves, bark, fabric or paper scraps can be wings. Googly eyes, small stones, seeds can the eyes. Another idea is to use paper plates to make owls. Allow children to use their imaginations and see what wonderful owls they come up with! Display the owls in the classroom.

For snack time make owl toast. Cut the crust off of toast. Cut into a circle, cut another small half circle off of the top to form the ears of the owl. Use two banana slices with chocolate chips for eyes. Use a small triangle of a graham cracker for the nose. Enjoy!

For this and other fun ideas for exploring owls with young children use Growing Up WILD’s “Owl Pellets”.

Links

Virtual Owl Pellet Dissection

http://www.kidwings.com/owlpellets/flash/v4/index.htm

NWF: Legends of the Guardians Owl Activities

http://www.nwf.org/~/media/PDFs/About/NWF-Movies/LOTG_KidsGuide.ashx

Owls made with a paper towel roll

http://www.frugalfamilyfunblog.com/2010/10/owl-family-play-set.html

The Owl Pages

http://www.owlpages.com/

Wikipedia: Owls

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owl

Owl pellets for sale

http://www.pelletsinc.com/

Sounds Around

Sit quietly and listen. What do you hear?  A clock ticking? Birds singing? Children laughing? Sounds surround us every day, some we actively listen to, such a song on the radio, other sounds we “tune out”, like the ticking of a clock. Nature is full of sounds, birds calling, leaves rustling in trees, small animals scurrying through the underbrush.  For this activity you will be encouraging children to use their sense of hearing.

Take children outside to a natural area near your school.  You are going to make sound maps of the noises you hear. Provide each child with a paper plate, and a pen, or pencil. Have them make a dot (or draw a person) to be themselves in the center. Instruct them to make a dot each time they hear each noise (during the quiet listening time). For example, if they hear a dog somewhere behind them, the dot would go behind them on their sound map. When everyone is ready with their prepared sound maps sit quietly for a few minutes and listen. After you are done listening discuss what you heard. Ask children: What did you hear? Where was the sound coming from? What do you think was making the sound? How was it making the sound? Can you make the same sound?

Have prepared paper cups with the bottoms cut off, show children how to hold them up to their ears. Sit quietly and listen again. Can you hear any better with your cup ears? Why do you think that is? How are your cup ears like animal ears? What are some animals that can hear really well? Why? Talk about animal hearing.

Now it’s time to make sounds of your own. Allow the children time to explore their surroundings to find natural objects to make sounds with. For example, the crunch of dry leaves, banging rocks together, sliding rocks against each other, drumming with sticks on a tree stump, etc…Record the sounds with a voice recorder so you can listen to them together later. Bring the natural “instruments” into the classroom and set up a learning center with them. Play recordings of the sounds they made for children to listen to.

Make and decorate rainsticks:

You will need - cardboard tubes, film canisters or pill bottles, beads, rice or beans, tape, and craft supplies (markers, stickers, paint etc…)

Seal one end of each tube using tape. Fill the tubes with the “sound bouncers”, the film canisters or pill bottles. Add the “noisemakers”, the beads, rice, and beans. Temporarily seal the other end, test the sounds. Experiment with more/less bouncers and noisemakers until children are satisfied with their rainstick’s sound. Permanently seal the other end when they are done. Allow each child to decorate their own rainstick. Listen to all the sounds together and individually.

Play “Sound Bingo”. Make cards/sheets for each child with images of different animals, sounds etc. Play corresponding sound. If the children have the corresponding image for the sound they put a game piece (acorn, pebble, bead, bean) on the image. The first child to fill in row or card yells “Bingo!”.

For this and other great activities use PLT’s Environmental Experiences for Early Childhood “Sounds Around”.

Book List

Baylor, B. and P. Parnall. 1997. The Other Way to Listen. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.

Becker, B. and B. Huang. 1995. The Quiet Way Home. Holt, Henry, and Company

Bouchard, D. and R. Parker. 1996. Voices from the Wild: An Animal Sensagoria. Chronicle Books LLC.

Carle, E. and Jr. Martin, B. 1997. Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? Henry Holt and Co.

Guillain, C. 2009. What is Sound? Heinemann-Raintree.

Graff, N.P. and G.B. Karas. 1998. In the Hush of the Evening. HarperCollins Publishers.

Hickman, P. 2006. How Animals Use Their Senses. Kids Can Press, Limited.

Kaner, E. 1999. Animal Senses: How Animals See, Hear, Taste, Smell and Feel. Kids Can Press, Limited.

Kindermusik. 2010. Sound Bingo. Chronicle Books LLC.

Martin, Jr., B. and J. Endicott. 1988. Listen to the Rain. Henry Holt & Company, Incorporated.

Pfeffer, W., and H. Keller. 1998. Sounds All Around (Lets-Read-and-Find-Out Science 1). Collins.

Rosinsky, N. M., and M. John. 2002. Sound: Loud, Soft, High, and Low. Coughlan Publishing.

Seuss, Dr. 1954. Horton Hears a Who. Random House Children's Books.

Showers, P. and Aliki. 1993. The Listening Walk. HarperCollins Children's Books.

Stephen, D. 2011. Letter Sound Yoga. Tate Publishing & Enterprise, LLC.

Links

Wikipedia: Sound

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound

Naturesongs: Nature Recordings and Photos

http://www.naturesongs.com/

Soundboard: Sound clips in over 20 different categories

http://www.soundboard.com/index.aspx

“What’s Wild?”

Background

It’s time to explore the difference between wild and domesticated animals! Animals that are wild are called wildlife. Wild animals are animals that take care of themselves without depending on people. This means that they get their food, water and everything they need to survive on their own from the environment. Domestic animals are animals that rely on people to provide food, water and shelter for them. Domestication is a process that takes place over a long period of time and involves selectively breeding animals for the traits that we want.

The difference between wild and domestic animals may be confusing for children at times. For example, animals that live zoos are wild animals but their needs are provided for by people. These animals are a special example of those animals and are not how most of the animals of that species live. Encourage children to think about how most animals of the same species live.  Another example is dogs and cats that have been abandoned and are left to care for themselves. They are still domesticated animals; they are just no longer under the care of a person and are no longer tame.

Neighborhood Animal Walk

Start by asking children what comes to mind when they hear the words “wild animal”?  What are some wild animals that they have seen or know about? Can they think of any animals that are not wild? What is the difference? Do any of them have pets or know someone who has a pet?

Take children on a walk through the neighborhood around the school.  Watch for animals. When you see animals ask the children: Is that a wild animal or a not wild (domesticated) animal? Why do they think so? What is the animal doing? Keep a record of the animals that you see. Record the children’s observations.

Classroom (or outdoor space)

Read aloud to the children the two “A Day in the Life” stories on page 73 of the book Growing Up WILD. Have children act out the stories or use a felt board or other visual to make the stories come to life. Discuss the differences in the two animals’ lives. Ask: How does the dog get what it needs? How does the squirrel get what it needs? Which of the animals is the wild animal? What is the difference?

Provide an assortment of plastic and/or plush animals for children.  As a class sort them into baskets according to whether children think they are wild or domesticated. Some animals may fit into either basket (mice, rabbits) so you may need a third basket for animals that can be either.

Provide the felt board and sorting animals for the children during center time to explore and play with. Listen to the stories they make up with the felt board.

If you have a classroom pet allow children to take part in the care of the pet. If they cannot directly take part in the care of the animal they could help the teacher remember, gather supplies, or take turns observing the pet for the day.

For this and other great activities use Growing Up WILD’s “What’s Wild?”!

Book List

Auch, A. 2002. Tame and Wild (Spyglass Books Series). Spyglass Books.

Brett, J. 1989. Annie and the Wild Animals. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Child, L. 2007. I Want a Pet. Tricycle Press.

Giogas, V. 2007. In My Backyard. Sylvan Dell Publishing.

Greydanus, R. and L. Sweat. 1989. Let's Get a Pet (First-Start Easy Reader). Troll Communications, LLC.

Keats, E.J. 2001. Pet Show!. Penguin Group (USA).

Mastin, C., and J. Sovak. 1997. North America Wild Animals. Grasshopper Books.

Meyer, K. 2006. Wild Animals of North America: A Poster Book. Storey Books.

Rockwell, A. 1992.  Our Yard is Full of Birds. Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishers.

Ruurs, M. 2007. In My Backyard. Tundra.

Thornhill, J. 2004. Wildlife ABC and 123: A Nature Alphabet and Counting Book. Maple Tree Press.

Van Eerbeek, T. 2002. The World of Farm animals: An Early Encyclopedia for Beginning Readers. Balloon Books.

Wolf, J. and M. Hafner. 1996. Daddy, Could I Have an Elephant?. HarperCollins Publishers.

“Spider Web Wonders”

Background

Spiders are a very common form of wildlife. They are found in a wide variety of habitats as well as inside most buildings, even our homes. In fact, if you did a quick search of where you are sitting right now chances are you could probably find a spider somewhere close by. 

There are more than 37,000 species of spiders in the world and about 3,000 species in North America.  It is estimated that approximately 550 to 1000 species of spiders call Iowa their home. Of those spiders only two are possibly harmful to humans, the black widow and the brown recluse, and both are VERY UNCOMMON in Iowa. Most spiders are harmless to humans.

Many people think that spiders are insects but they are actually arachnids. They have eight legs, as opposed to insects having six, and they lack antennae. Spiders have spinneret glands in their abdomens with which they produce silk threads used for creating webs and capturing prey. Different spiders weave different webs. The orb-weaver spiders weave webs that are suspended in mid-air and are what most people think of when they think of a “spider web”. These spider webs are only one of many types of spider webs though and other spiders weave sheet webs, tangle webs and funnel webs, to mention just a few. Some spiders do not spin webs at all but instead actively hunt for their prey.

Spider Walk

Start by asking children: Have you ever seen a spider? How did you know it was a spider? What did it look like? What was it doing? Did it have a web? After your discussion take children on a walk to look for spiders and spider webs. Take magnifying glasses if available.  Spiders can be found in a variety of places, check trees, playground equipment, tall grasses and even places within your classroom and school building. When you find a spider ask the children to tell you what they see: How many legs does it have? What shape is its body? What color is it? Does it have a web? What does its web look like? Is there anything on the web? Record how many spiders you find and whether or not they had webs or not.  You can even bring along sketch books and pencils and have the children draw the spider webs and spiders that they find.

Classroom

When you return to the classroom encourage children to share their feelings and observations about the spiders you found. Together make a chart about the spiders you found, for example, show the number of spiders, or the number webs etc. Display it in the classroom.

Read a book about spiders together, try Diary of a Spider written by Doreen Cronin and illustrated by Harry Bliss.

Create an orb web on dark paper using cellophane tape for the “spokes” and double-stick tape for the “spiral”. Show children the tape web. Allow them turns to “tiptoe” their fingers across the web like a spider. What do they notice? Now have them “fly” into the web like an insect would and touch the web with their palm. What happens this time? Spiders don’t stick to their own webs because they “tiptoe” across their webs whereas prey flies into it hitting many sticky strands getting stuck. Discuss different spider webs. Look at pictures of different webs together.

Allow children time to freely play with spider and spider web pictures and toys/replicas of spiders.

Create spider webs using wax paper, yarn scraps, glue and water.  Put glue in a bowl, water it down until you get a soupy consistency. Give each child a piece of wax paper. Using the yarn scraps, dip them in the glue mixture and then place them on the wax paper to create a web pattern. Make sure the pieces of yarn are connected. Allow the webs time to completely dry. Once they have dried, gently peel the webs off of the wax paper, you now have a web that can be hung up. Decorate your classroom windows with the children’s spider webs!

For this complete activity and other great ideas, including songs and snacks, use Growing Up WILD’s “Spider Web Wonders”!

Book List

Berger, G., M. Berger and R. Osti. 2000. Do All Spiders Spin Webs? (Scholastic Q & A). Scholastic, Inc.

Carle, E. 1989. The Very Busy Spider. Penguin Group (USA).

Cole, J., G. Cole and R. Broda. 1995. Spider's Lunch: All About Garden Spiders. Penguin Group (USA).

Cronin, D. and H. Bliss. 2005. Diary of a Spider. HarperCollins Publishers.

Graham, M. B. 1967. Be Nice to Spiders. HarperCollins Publishers.

Kelman, B.D. 1995. Web Weavers and Other Spiders. Crabtree Publishing Company.

London, J. and R. Baviera. 1998. Dream Weaver. Silver Whistle.

Marsh, L. 2011. Spiders (National Geographic Readers Series). National Geographic Society.

McDermott, G. 1987. Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti. Henry Holt & Company, Inc.

Merrians, D. and G. McKeown. 1977. I Can Read About Spiders. Troll Communications, LLC.

Monks, L. 2007. Aaaarrgghh! Spider! Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Parsons, A. and J. Young. 1990. Amazing Spiders (Eyewitness Junior).. Random House Children's Books.

Resnick, J.P. Spiders (Photo-Fact Collection Series). Kidsbooks, Inc.

Trapani, I. 1998. Itsy Bitsy Spider. Charlesbridge Publishing, Inc.

Winer, Y. and K. Lloyd-Jones. 1998. Spiders Spin Webs. Charlesbridge Publishing, Inc.

Helpful Links

Iowa Insects, Spiders and Other Invertebrates

http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/IAN606.pdf

Spiders of North America

http://www.cirrusimage.com/spider.htm

BugGuide: Spider Info

http://bugguide.net/node/view/1954

Wikipedia: Spiders

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider

BugGuide: Spider Taxonomy

http://bugguide.net/node/view/1954/bgpage

“Ants on Parade”

It’s time to explore the fascinating world of ants! There are more than 12,000 species of ants in the world. They live on almost every landmass on Earth except Antarctica and a few small islands. Ants live in complex social groups called colonies.  Ants have a four stage life cycle consisting of egg, larva, pupa and adult.  Ants communicate with chemical signals called pheromones.  They use pheromones to lead other ants to food they find and to find their way back to the colony after they are out looking for food.

Tell children they are going to be scientists and study ants! Start by asking children: Have you ever seen an ant? What did it look like? How did you know it was an ant? Where was it? What was it doing? Record children’s observations.

Have a collection of various food items prepared (bread, fruit, meat, grass, cheese, etc…). Explain to children that you are going to do an experiment to see which food items ants prefer. Divide paper plates into fourths with a marker. Allow children to choose four food items they think the ants will prefer. Ask them: What food items do you think the ants will most like to eat? Why do you think so?

Take children outside and go on an ant “hunt”. When you find ants or an anthill, place the plate(s) nearby and then sit back and observe.  It may take a few minutes for the ants to find the food. Encourage the children to make observations about the ants while you wait. What do they look like? How do they move? How many ants are there?  Count the ants as they visit the food areas. Record the number and the food item. This is your data scientists! When you return to the classroom graph your results and discuss what you learned as a class.

To further the activity, create or purchase an ant farm for your classroom.  Keep an ant journal and check on the ants and their activity daily.

For this and other great ideas use Growing Up WILD’s “Ants on Parade”!

Book List

Allsburg, C.V. 2002. Two Bad Ants. Book Wholesalers, Inc.

Ashley, S. 2011. Incredible Ants. Gareth Stevens Publishing.

Ashley, S., Nations, S. 2003. Ants. Gareth Stevens Publishing.

Brenner, B. 1996. Thinking About Ants. Mondo Publishing.

DK Publishing. 2011. Ant Antics. DK Publishing, Inc.

Dorros, A. 1988. Ant Cities. HarperCollins Publishers.

Edwards, P.D. and H. Cole. 1999. The Wacky Wedding: A Book of Alphabet Antics. Hyperion Books for Children.

Green, E. K. 2006. Ants. Bellwether Media.

Grossman, P. and J.D. Dawson. 1997. Very First Things to Know About Ants. Workman Publishing Company, Inc.

Hoose, P. M., and H. Hoose.  1998. Hey, Little Ant. Random House Children’s Books.

Humphries, T. 2004. Are You an Ant? Kingfisher.

Micucci, C. 2006. The Life and Times of the Ant. Houghton Mifflin Company

Moses, A. and T. Dunnington. 1993. If I Were An Ant. Scholastic Library Publishing.

Pinczes, E. 1999. One Hundred Hungry Ants. Houghton Mifflin Company

Stewart, M. 2010. Ants. National Geographic Society.

Vaughan, J. and T. Gibbons. 1997. Ants (The New Creepy Crawly Collection). Gareth Stevens Publishing.

Links

Guide to Common Ants in Iowa

http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/iiin/iowaantguide.html

Wikipedia: Ants

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ants

Ant Life Cycle Sequencing Cards

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/insects/ant/sequencing/

In A Grasshopper’s World

For this activity you will explore the fascinating world of grasshoppers with young children!

Grasshoppers are insects.  They have six legs, two of which are long and muscular and used for hopping.  Grasshoppers have three main body parts: head, thorax, and abdomen.  They also have two antennae.

Begin by asking children if they have ever seen a grasshopper. Where did you see it? What did it look like?  What was it doing? Record children’s responses and display in the classroom.  Read a story about grasshoppers; try “Are You a Grasshopper?”  by Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries.

Now it is time to go on a grasshopper field study! Take children outside to a grassy area to look for and observe grasshoppers.  Have children bring their own notebooks or field/nature journals to draw pictures or make notes in.  Be sure to remind children to be respectful of the grasshoppers. 

Next create a terrarium together that will house several grasshoppers for a week. Use soil and grass (return to field study area to collect or collect while out observing grasshoppers).  Include places for the grasshoppers to climb and hide.  Providing water is not necessary because grasshoppers do not drink water, they get enough water from the food they eat.  Be sure to provide fresh grass or leafy plants, as well as dry food such as grass seed or oatmeal, every day for the grasshoppers to eat.  Allow children to be active participants in setting up the terrarium. Ask: What do the grasshoppers need? Where should we find it? What should we feed the grasshoppers? Also, talk about how most animals drink water but grasshoppers are unique and they get their water from their food.

Once your terrarium is set up return to your grasshopper field study location and using insect nets and bug jars, carefully capture and collect four to six grasshoppers.  Place grasshoppers in the terrarium.

Over the course of a week give children time every day to observe and monitor the grasshoppers. Ask:  What do you want to learn about grasshoppers? How can you find out the answers to your questions? For younger children you may want to have a set observation for each day.  For example, Day One: observe the grasshopper’s bodies. What do you notice? Count the legs and antennae. How can you tell the grasshoppers have wings? Describe their eyes Day Two: observe the movement of the grasshoppers. Describe how the grasshoppers walk. How do they jump? Are they fast? Do they jump high/far?

At the end of the week when the study is over, return the grasshoppers to the location where you collected them.  Use the information you gathered as a class to create your own book about grasshoppers.

For this and other great activities, including grasshopper craft and snack ideas, use Growing Up WILD’s “In A Grasshopper’s World”.

Book List

Alexander, E., and J.U. Kim. 2010. The Grasshopper Hopped!. Random House Children’s Books.

Allen, J., and T. Humphries. 2002. Are You a Grasshopper? Kingfisher.

Archambault, J. 2006. The Leaping Grasshopper. Jitterbug Books.

Ashley, S. 2011. Incredible Grasshoppers. Gareth Stevens Publishing.

Bosca, F. 2006. The Three Grasshoppers. Purple Bear Books, Incorporated.

Coleman, G. and T. Gibbons. 1997. Grasshoppers. Gareth Stevens Publishing.

Giovanni, N. and C. Raschka. 2008. The Grasshopper's Song: An Aesop's Fable Revisited. Candlewick Press.

Heinrichs, A. R. 2002. Grasshoppers (Nature's Friends Series). Coughlan Publishing.

Leahy, C. 1998. Peterson First Guide to the Insects of North America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Lobel, A. 1986. Grasshopper on the Road (I Can Read Book Series: Level 2). HarperCollins Publishers .

Loewen, N. 2003. Hungry Hoppers: Grasshoppers in Your Backyard. Coughlan Publishing.

Murray, J. 2010. Grasshoppers. ABDO Publishing Company.

Trueit, T. S. 2009. Grasshoppers. Cavendish, Marshall Corporation.

Trumbauer, L. 2000. The Life Cycle of a Grasshopper. Coughlan Publishing.

Links

Wikipedia: Grasshoppers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grasshopper

NWF: Bug Bingo

http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Outdoors/Archives/2011/Play-Bug-Bingo.aspx

 

To Be a Tree

Ask children: How many arms do you have? How many “arms” does a tree have? How do you use your arms? How does a tree use it’s “arms”? Do you have skin? Does a tree have “skin”? How is your skin different from a tree’s “skin”? Does your skin do the same thing? Do you have feet? Trees have feet too, we call them roots. What do your feet do? What to tree roots do?

Take children outside and have them find a place on the grass at least an arm’s length away from other children. Read “Grow from a seed” to them found on page 81 of Environmental Experiences for Early Childhood, have them act out what they hear as you read it.  Encourage children to share their experience when you are done.

Take children on a walk to look for and explore tree parts.  Compare tree parts, i.e. some trees have smooth bark while others have rough bark, leaves are different shapes and sizes, some trees are very tall, others are very small. Ask questions and encourage children to share their observations. Try making a class tree journal: http://www.nwf.org/activity-finder/outdoor-activities/tree-journal.aspx

Make tree costumes with paper grocery sacks.  Precut sacks as shown on page 79 of Environmental Experiences for Early Childhood, making holes for arms, head and cutting up the front to make a vest.  Allow children to decorate their vests by gluing leaves to the vest, and/or making leaf rubbings on the vests.  Give children crowns made of leaves and yarn to tuck into their shoes to represent roots, have them act out the parts of trees!

For this and other great ideas use Environmental Experiences for Early Childhood’s “To Be a Tree”!

Book List

Behn, H. and J. Endicott. 1994. Trees. Henry Holt & Company, Inc.

Burnie, D. 2005. Plant. DK Publishing, Inc.

Burns, D. and L. Garrow. 1998. Leaves, Trees and Bark (Take-Along Guide). NorthWord Books for Young Readers.

Canizares, S. and P. Chanko. 1997. Look At This Tree. Scholastic, Inc.

Cassie, B. and M. Burns. 1999. Trees. Scholastic, Inc.

Charman, A. 2003. I Wonder Why Trees Have Leaves and Other Questions about Plants. Houghton Mifflin Company.

DePalma, M.N. 2005. A Grand Old Tree. Scholastic, Inc.

Florian, D. 2010. Poetrees. Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing.

Gackenbach, D. 1996. Mighty Tree. Harcourt Children's Books.

Gaff, J. 2005. I Wonder Why Pine Trees Have Needles and Other Questions about Forests. Roaring Brook Press.

Gibbons, G. 2002. Tell Me, Tree: All About Trees for Kids. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Goldish, M. 1990. How Plants Get Food. Steck-Vaughn.

Gove, D. and M. H. Mallory. My Mother Talks to Trees. Peachtree Publishers.

Iverson, D. 1999. My Favorite Tree: Terrific Trees of North America. Dawn Publications.

Lavies, B. 1989. Tree Trunk Traffic. Penguin Group (USA), Inc.

Llewellyn, C. 2004. Tree. T&N Children's Publishing.

Miller, D.S. and S. Schuett. 2003. Are Trees Alive? Walker & Company.

Nayer, J. 1994. A Tree Can Be. Scholastic, Inc.

Pascoe, E. and D. Kuhn. 2003. Ecosystem of a Fallen Tree. Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

Peck, J. and V. Petrone. 2005. Way Up High in a Tall Green Tree. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.

Udry, J.M. and M. Simont. 1987. A Tree is Nice. HarperCollins Publishers.

Van Laan, N. 2000. A Tree for Me. Random House.

Worth, B. 2006. I Can Name 50 Trees Today!: All about Trees. Random House Publishing Group.

Links

NWF: Leaf Prints

http://www.nwf.org/Get-Outside/Be-Out-There/Activities/Cook-and-Craft/Make-Leaf-Prints.aspx

NWF: Tree Journalhttp://www.nwf.org/Get-Outside/Be-Out-There/Activities/Observe-and-Explore/Make-a-Tree-Journal.aspx

Enchanted Learning: Leaves and Leaf Anatomy

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/plants/leaf/index.shtml

Leaf Print T-shirts

http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/decorate-kids-t-shirts5.htm

Fishing Fun!

Begin by asking children if they have ever gone fishing?  Where did they go and what did they do?  What do people use to catch fish?  Where do fish live?  Have they ever eaten fish?  Create a mock fishing lake for children to go fishing in the classroom.  Create paper or cardboard fish.  Cut fish shapes out, allow children to color them, attach Velcro.  Create fishing poles with sticks or doles, attach line and attach Velcro to line to catch the fish with.  Provide other fishing gear for children to become familiar with such as real fishing poles, lures (without hooks), fishing vests, tackles boxes, life jackets and fish measuring rulers.  Allow each child time to go “fishing”. 

Explore the wonderful world of fish as a class.  Set up an aquarium or fish bowl so children can watch how fish move, eat and breathe.  Look at pictures of different fish, read books about fish and if possible visit a local fish hatchery, pet store or aquarium.

Take children on a fishing trip to a local lake or pond.  If possible have a fish fry with fish they caught (have back-up store bought or previously caught fish).  Allow children to taste the fish they caught.   

Have children go “fishing” for their snack!  You will need goldfish crackers, pretzel sticks and dip or spread.  Dip pretzel sticks (fishing pole) into dip or spread (bait) and use it to “catch” the goldfish crackers.  See how many fish you can catch at a time!

For this and other great ideas use Growing Up WILD’s “Fishing Fun!”

Book List

Arnosky, J. 1993. Crinkleroot's Twenty-five Fish Every Child Should Know. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.

Clements, A. and Yoshi. 1997. Big Al. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.

Cook, B. 2005. The Little Fish that Got Away. HarperCollins.

Gall, C. 2006. Dear Fish. Little Brown Books for Young Readers.

Gallimard, J. 1998. Fish. Scholastic.

Harris, T. 2000. Pattern Fish. Millbrook Press.

Heinrichs, A.R. 2003. Fish. Coughlan Publishing.

Lionni, L. 1974. Fish is Fish. Knopf Books for Young Readers.

Lionni, L. 1973. Swimmy. Random House Children's Books.

Long, E. 1987. Gone Fishing. Houghton Mifflin.

Pfeffer, W. 1996. What's it Like to be a Fish? (Let's Read-and-Find-Out Science 1). Harper Trophy.

Pfister, M. and J.A. James. 1999. Rainbow Fish. North-South Books.

Prosek, J. 2004. A Good Day’s Fishing. Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing.

Quigley, M. 2007. Granddad’s Fishing Buddy. Dial.

Reed-Jones, C. Salmon Stream (Sharing Nature with Children Book).

Sayre, P. 2007. Trout, Trout, Trout: A Fish Chant. Northword Books for Young Readers.

Stockdale, S. 2008. Fabulous Fishes. Peachtree Publishers.

Turnage, S. and J. Stevens. 1984. Trout the Magnificent. Harcourt Children's Books.

Wells, E. 2006. Wishing I was Fishing. Beaver’s Pond Press.

Winner, C. and B. Lehnhausen. 1998. Trout. Lerner Publishing Group.

Wood, A. and B.R. Wood. 2004. Ten Little Fish. Blue Sky Press (AZ).

Yoo, T. 2007. The Little Red Fish. Dial.