Theme: Animals above & below the snow
Our Homeschool class discovered a subnivean tunnel (thin line in center of photo) earlier this month!
We had a wonderful first Monday together! We began our day listening to the story, Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner. Some of our friends have heard this story before, but reading is fun because there are always new details to discover! You can watch/listen to the animated version of the story with your naturalist(s) below. We learned that some animals live in a special world beneath the snow–one full of tunnels and burrows. The snow acts like a blanket to keep the animals warm. When the top layer of snow begins to melt, we can sometimes see these subnivean (“below the snow”) tunnels! When you are out for your next hike together, take a look around. We even discovered that some of the animals in the story live inside the nature center! We walked around, pointing out these furry and feathered friends–the beaver, owls, deer, bear, fox, and snowshoe hare.
After snacktime, we decided to sit at the picnic table directly in the sunshine. It felt warm! We listened to the chickadees singing, “Cheeseburger! Cheeseburger!” Next, we investigated animal furs and skulls, comparing them to each other and the animals we touched in the nature center. We discovered that some animals have very thick fur to keep them warm in the snow. We also noticed the fox was smaller than the coyote and had smaller paws. We even learned about a black-and-white-striped animal, the badger! These animals are mostly nocturnal and spend most of the day in their burrows underground. They like to live by themselves and are less active in the winter.
When it was time to play, we noticed the snow was melting and the ground was a bit icy. On our hike through the Pine Forest, we waddled like penguins and walked in the snow to keep off the ice. We noticed woodpecker holes, dog tracks, and tiny mushrooms! In the field by the Nature Playscape, we built a snow bunny, talked about our favorite animals, and played a silly game. Ms. Paige shouted out different animals and we had to move around the field just like they would–we hopped like kangaroos, jumped like frogs, slithered like snakes, swam like dolphins, and flew like butterflies. We then pretended to be spiders and bugs on the Nature Playscape spider web before finishing the day with a coloring sheet at the pavilion. We requested arts and crafts for next week and we are looking forward to it!
