Grow Up Great
Note: This activity involves taking two walks outside – in the morning and in the afternoon.
Fall is a time when many animals prepare for winter. Because it is hard to find food in some places in the winter, certain animals migrate, or move, to other places where food is more plentiful. A few examples of animals that migrate are birds, bats, fish and butterflies. Some animals, such as snakes, groundhogs and chipmunks, don’t migrate. Instead, they hibernate, or go into a deep sleep, in the winter. However, other animals, like squirrels, prepare for the cold winter months by storing food in the fall.
These lessons are aligned with the Common Core State Standards ("CCSS"). The CCSS provide a consistent, clear understanding of the concepts and skills children are expected to learn and guide teachers to provide their students with opportunities to gain these important skills and foundational knowledge.**
Fall is a time when many animals prepare for winter. Because it is hard to find food in some places in the winter, certain animals migrate, or move, to other places where food is more plentiful. A few examples of animals that migrate are birds, bats, fish and butterflies. Some animals, such as snakes, groundhogs and chipmunks, don’t migrate. Instead, they hibernate, or go into a deep sleep, in the winter. However, other animals, like squirrels, prepare for the cold winter months by storing food in the fall.
Squirrels can be found in our everyday environment. Squirrels gather nuts and seeds during the fall and bury them in the ground or hide them in their nests. When winter comes, they find the nuts and seeds they have buried and eat them. Scientists have learned that some squirrels are very tricky about how they hide their food and even bury fake nuts. To protect their food from other animals, they dig holes but bury nothing in them. They just pretend in order to make other animals think something is buried there!
- Some children may not want to remove their shoes or get their feet wet. Let them make tracks with their hands instead.
- Hibernation Station by Michelle Meadows
- The Busy Little Squirrel by Nancy Tafuri
- Time to Sleep by Denise Fleming
- Tracks in the Wild by Betsy Bowen
- Animals in Winter by Henrietta Bancroft
While we believe that the books and resources recommended may be of value to you, keep in mind that these are suggestions only and you must do your own due diligence to determine whether the materials are appropriate and suitable for your use. PNC has no sponsorship or endorsement agreement with the authors or publishers of the materials listed.
There are currently no Common Core Standards for pre-k, but these lessons are aligned as closely as possible to capture the requirements and meet the goals of Common Core Standards. However, these lessons were neither reviewed or approved by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices or the Council of Chief State School Officers, which together are the owners and developers of the Common Core State Standards.
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