Forrest Friends

Squirrels:
Read, The Nutty Nut Chase" by Kathyrn White & Vanessa Cabban
Action Rhyme: Whisky, frisky squirrel
Color, cut and glue squirrel activity sheet
"Hide-and-Seek Nuts" activity sheet
Go on an acorn hunt and collect acorns. Watch the squirrels scury and bury their acorns. Watch how they crack the nutshell open to eat the nut that's inside. Serve peanuts for a snack, but be cautious of the choking hazard for younger children.
Allow your child to use rubberized tweezers to transfer the acorns from one container to another. Wash an empty egg crate and write different numbers (or draw dots similar to a pair of dice) on the inside of the crate and let your child match the numbers with the number of acorns.

Please excuse the messy hair, we had just come inside after a windy nature walk!

Owls:
Discuss sleeping habits of owls. Discuss the differences and similarities of owls and squirrels. Differences such as: Owls are birds. Birds fly and have feathers. Squirrels have soft fur and scury on the ground and in trees. Similarities such as: Owls and Squirrels both live in trees.

Allow your child to tear pieces of light and dark brown construction paper then glue the pieces of paper onto an the owl color sheet. Cut out the owl.

"Can you see how I see?"
Discuss that owls can only see what's directly in front of their eyes. Cut an empty paper towel roll in half and string together with yarn to make "owl eyes." Your child may choose to decorate this with stickers or drawings with markers or crayons. Take the "owl eyes" outside on a nature walk.

Whooooo! Whoooo!
(sung to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot")

I"m a little owl.  Look at me.

I like to sit high up in a tree.
When it's dark outside and day is through,

You might hear me say, "Whooo!  Whooo!"

Bears:

Read, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you see?"

Then fingerpaint (similar to the illustrations in the book) onto wax paper. After the paint is dry, cut the paper into a desirable shape an hang on a window that receieves a lot of sunlight. A great color review!  A good idea might be to sing the "Where is thumpkin?" song to find the correct finger to use with the paint.  Pointer, the index finger, works well and might keep this project's mess at a minimal.

Check out more books at the library about hibernation.

Color "Woodsy Animals" coloring sheet

At the end of this unit take a trip to Bear Hollow Zoo in Athens and see lots of your favorite Forrest Friends. Be sure to discuss that we respect the animals by staying quiet and distanced from each habitat.