H is for Habitat

Today we learned about animal habitats and the types of homes they live in!

As always, we started the morning with some letter work.

We also got a head start on a later activity by coloring a few pictures of animals and animal homes.

During calendar time, we talked about Daniel in the lion's den.  I think they might have had the same scripture spotlight the week before, but they didn't let on!

We also read this cute poem by George Cooper...

What Robin Told

How do Robin's build their nests?

Robin Redbreat told me -

First a wisp of yellow hay

In a pretty round they lay;

Then some shreds of downy floss,

Feathers, too, and bits of moss,

Woven with a sweet, sweet song,

This way, that way, and across;

That's what Robin told me.

For show and tell, the kids each brought a picture of their own homes.

We then read a selection from A House is a House for Me by Mary Ann Hoberman, a favorite from when I was little!  

We then played a matching game I made by cutting apart a copy of Eric Carle's My Very First Book of Animal Homes.  They had a lot of fun and did a pretty good job!

For snack time we made bird's nests out of chow mein noodles, chocolate chips, and sunbutter.  We even found some early Easter candy and added a few Cadbury eggs!  Yum!

They were VERY messy...

...some of them were a little wary of getting dirty...

...and others dove right in :)

After snacks, we headed outside to make our own animal habitats.  I gave each child a tiny toy animal  (a lion, a zebra, and a giraffe) and a basket. 

They each had a few minutes to gather their building supplies...pinecones, sticks, rocks, pinestraw, etc.

Then they spread out and went to work building their animals a home.  Joseph's was pretty legitimate.  He used pinecones to build walls.  Max and Delainey just dumped the contents of their baskets on top of their plastic animals and called it a day.  Perhaps Joseph should go into zoo construction.  And perhaps Max and Delainey should not. 

And, of course, I brought my assitant out with me so he could keep the kids in line.

After we came back in, we did one last activity, this time matching different animals with their correct habitat.  We then talked about how animals each have specific needs that their habitat has to meet.  

As always, we had a great time learning about animal homes and habitats!