Why Live Here?
Explore the needs of living things and animal habitats through hands-on activities, including tie-ins to math and literacy.
Children are guided through various explorations that will allow them to construct knowledge and develop skills about different animal habitats, including a habitat’s role in providing sources of food and shelter. The workshop begins with a classification exercise to introduce “living” vs “non-living” things. In the first exploration, the children will design an acorn that is later hidden near a tree to demonstrate that animals may choose their habitat based on food availability. In the second exploration, they will learn that habitats provide shelter and build a bird’s nest using various materials. Also includes songs, rhymes, a storybook, tie-ins to math and literacy and tips for working with 3 to 6 year-olds.
What You Need
Physical Requirements
- A large open space for the children to sit together.
- Wall space to hang posters.
- Sorting posters in the Introduction should be hung near the sitting area.
- The tree for Exploration #1: Why do Squirrels Need Nuts? should be hung away from the sitting area.
Introduction
- “Living” and “Non-Living” sorting posters
- “Living” and “Non-Living” images (1 per child)
- “Plants” and “Animals” sorting labels (optional)
- Cloth bag
- Masking tape or sticky tack
Exploration #1: Why do Squirrels Need Nuts?
- Large tree poster
- Crayons or markers
- Acorn pictures (1 per child)
- Toy squirrel
- Masking tape or sticky tack
- Acorn photo (optional)
Exploration #2: Build a Bird Nest
- Real bird’s nest
- Eggs, plastic (1 per child)
- Clothespins (1 per child)
- Crayons (optional)
- Nest building materials, such as:
- Plastic leaves
- Twigs
- Straws
- String
- Fabric scraps
- Synthetic feathers
- Ball of brown plasticine or other non-hardening clay (optional- 1 per group)
- Birds Build Nests storybook
- Marker
Guide:
Safety Notes
The safety rules for this workshop:
- Do not touch anything unless told to do so.
- Do not put any of the materials in your mouth (especially the twigs and straws).
- Do not hit anyone with nest materials.
What To Do
Activity Prep
- Match the number of pictures of living and non-living things with the number of children in the group. Be sure to have a balance between images of living and non-living things.
- Hang the large tree poster in a space away from the sitting area. You may also choose to hang the “Living” and “Non-Living” sorting posters in the sitting area where they will be visible to all the children at this time.
- Spread the bird nest materials in ‘clumps’ around the room for Exploration #2: Build a Birds Nest. Ideally each type of material should be placed in different parts of the room.
- Print Acorn pictures for Exploration #1: Why do Squirrels Need Nuts? (1 per child and extras).
Introduction
- To gain the children’s attention, you may wish to begin by doing a brief finger play such as “Open Them, Shut Them” (on page 12 of the Wings of Discovery- Why Live Here manual).
- Ask questions about the difference between living and non-livings.
- Each child will have a turn choosing an image from the bag and will place it on the appropriate sorting poster.
- As the images are being sorted, discuss what characteristics makes each one a living thing or a non-living thing (Does it need water? Does it need food? Does it grow?).
- For younger children, briefly discuss the differences between animals and plants using pictures.
- For older children, have students sort the remaining images of living things into groups of plants and animals.
- Discuss the similarities between plants and animals.
To ease the transition to the first exploration, it is recommended that you begin with the song “Squirrel, Squirrel” or the fingerplay “Five Little Squirrels” found on page 16 of the Wings of Discovery- Why Live Here manual.
Exploration #1: Why do Squirrels Need Nuts?
- Hold the toy squirrel behind your back and squeeze it.
- Let the group guess where the noise is coming from.
- Show the squirrel and ask them questions about whether they are plants or animals, what they need to live and what they eat.
- Show the picture of an acorn (or a real acorn).
- Explain that acorns are nuts that contain seeds that squirrels eat.
- Hand out paper acorns to each child to colour and write their name on it.
- When the children are finished colouring, collect all of the acorns,
- Have the children cover their eyes while you or the educator pretends to hide the acorns around the room. All the acorns should be hidden near the tree.
- You may wish to “fool” the children by making small noises in different areas around the room while you are “hiding” the acorns.
- They will pretend to be squirrels and use their senses to find their hidden acorn. Ask them to stand near where they found them.
- Discuss the five senses they used to find the acorns. You may need to review the senses before they can answer the question.
Exploration #2: Build a Bird Nest
- If this exploration follows Exploration #1: Why do Squirrels Need Nuts? you may want to tie the two together by discussing where squirrels live.
- Show the real nest. Explain to them that this nest was abandoned and not to touch any nest that they see because it could be an animal’s home.
- Optional: pass the nest around the group (you may want to put it in a clear plastic bag first).
- Read Birds Build Nests storybook.
- Separate the children into groups of 2.
- Explain that they will be pretending to be birds and will be making a nest to support their eggs and keep them from rolling away or touching the ground.
- Give each child a clothespin (use a marker to put his or her name on the pin) and each group two eggs. They will be using the clothespin to pick up bird nest building materials around the room.
- Demonstrate the pinching action on the clothespin.
- Allow each child time to collect materials with their clothespin.
- They can search or exchange for more materials after they start building.
- Once everyone has successfully created a nest, have each child or pair show their nest and briefly describe what they did and the materials they used. You can lead the presentations by asking the following questions:
- Was it easy to build your nest?
- What types of materials did you use?
- Which materials were best for making your nests? Why?
Wrap-up
- Ask the group questions about what they learned today.
- Discuss possible careers (ask the children what they would like to be when they grow up).
Discovery
Living things need water and energy (food) to grow. Animals and plants are types of living things. Plants make their own food using nutrients from soil, water and sunlight, whereas animals obtain energy by eating plants and other animals. Plants and animals look very different- plants have roots, stems and leaves while animals have bodies, limbs and a head.
A habitat is a place where an animal lives. A good habitat meets the needs of living things (food, water, shelter/protection, space, etc…). For example, Grey Squirrels live near trees because that is where they can find their food. Trees also provide squirrels with shelter and a place to hide their seeds for the winter.
A nest is a place where an animal lives and raises their young. Nests help keep birds, squirrels and other animals safe from predators. Nests can be made out of grass, sticks, mud, spider webs and any other materials they can find.
Young children are naturally curious. Inquiry-based learning experiences help to foster curiosity and develop the skills that set the foundation for future learning. In this workshop, the skills practiced include asking questions, making observations, drawing conclusions, working as a team and thinking creatively.
They learn that animals live almost everywhere – from ponds and forests to towns and tundra. All living things share the Earth and it is important to protect animal habitats for future generations.
- The key to working with young children is to be flexible. Consider alternative ways of presenting the explorations to keep their interest up. Young children tend to have an attention span equal to their age; for example, a four year old has an average attention span of four minutes.
- Refer to page 27 of The Wings of Discovery- Why Live Here manual for additional tips for working with ages 3-6.
- Depending on the attention spans of the group of children and the time allowed for the workshop, you can choose to do one or both of the main activities (Exploration #1 and Exploration #2). With younger children, you may find it best to present the explorations over two visits. If unsure, consult with the classroom educator.
- If weather permits, Exploration #1: Why do Squirrels Need Nuts? can be done outside.
- For Exploration #1: Why do Squirrels Need Nuts? if oak trees are growing outside the area, you may want to do all or part of the activity outside.
- For Exploration #1: Why do Squirrels Need Nuts? if you do not have oak trees in your area, substitute a common seed for the acorn. Use the seed template found in the Appendix of the Wings of Discovery- Why Live Here manual to make seed pictures.
- If time permits and the educator is interested, ask the children to hide their seeds around the room just as squirrels do when they store food for winter, when food is harder to find. In a few days, have the educator ask the children to try and remember where they hid their acorns. Explain that squirrels need to have good memories to remember where they have hidden all their food.
- For Exploration #2: Build a Bird Nest, you may choose to give each group a ball of brown plasticine as “mud”.
Web
New York Wild: Squirrel web cam and information about Eastern Grey Squirrels.
Canadian Wildlife Federation- Eastern Grey Squirrel.
Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ Club-Grey Squirrels in Fletcher Wildlife Garden.
Bird, David M. (2010). Birds of Canada. Toronto, ON: Dorling Kindersley Ltd.
Boring, M. (1998). Birds, Nests and Eggs. Chanhassen, MN: Creative Publishing International.
Thorington, Richard W., Jr. and Katie Ferell. (2006). Squirrels (The Animal Answer Guide). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Woods, S.E., Jr. (1980). Squirrels of Canada. Ottawa, ON: National Museums of Canada.
Attachments
What's Happening?
Living things need water and energy (food) to grow. Animals and plants are types of living things. Plants make their own food using nutrients from soil, water and sunlight, whereas animals obtain energy by eating plants and other animals. Plants and animals look very different- plants have roots, stems and leaves while animals have bodies, limbs and a head.
A habitat is a place where an animal lives. A good habitat meets the needs of living things (food, water, shelter/protection, space, etc…). For example, Grey Squirrels live near trees because that is where they can find their food. Trees also provide squirrels with shelter and a place to hide their seeds for the winter.
A nest is a place where an animal lives and raises their young. Nests help keep birds, squirrels and other animals safe from predators. Nests can be made out of grass, sticks, mud, spider webs and any other materials they can find.
Why Does it Matter?
Young children are naturally curious. Inquiry-based learning experiences help to foster curiosity and develop the skills that set the foundation for future learning. In this workshop, the skills practiced include asking questions, making observations, drawing conclusions, working as a team and thinking creatively.
They learn that animals live almost everywhere – from ponds and forests to towns and tundra. All living things share the Earth and it is important to protect animal habitats for future generations.
Investigate Further
- The key to working with young children is to be flexible. Consider alternative ways of presenting the explorations to keep their interest up. Young children tend to have an attention span equal to their age; for example, a four year old has an average attention span of four minutes.
- Refer to page 27 of The Wings of Discovery- Why Live Here manual for additional tips for working with ages 3-6.
- Depending on the attention spans of the group of children and the time allowed for the workshop, you can choose to do one or both of the main activities (Exploration #1 and Exploration #2). With younger children, you may find it best to present the explorations over two visits. If unsure, consult with the classroom educator.
- If weather permits, Exploration #1: Why do Squirrels Need Nuts? can be done outside.
- For Exploration #1: Why do Squirrels Need Nuts? if oak trees are growing outside the area, you may want to do all or part of the activity outside.
- For Exploration #1: Why do Squirrels Need Nuts? if you do not have oak trees in your area, substitute a common seed for the acorn. Use the seed template found in the Appendix of the Wings of Discovery- Why Live Here manual to make seed pictures.
- If time permits and the educator is interested, ask the children to hide their seeds around the room just as squirrels do when they store food for winter, when food is harder to find. In a few days, have the educator ask the children to try and remember where they hid their acorns. Explain that squirrels need to have good memories to remember where they have hidden all their food.
- For Exploration #2: Build a Bird Nest, you may choose to give each group a ball of brown plasticine as “mud”.
Resources
Web
New York Wild: Squirrel web cam and information about Eastern Grey Squirrels.
Canadian Wildlife Federation- Eastern Grey Squirrel.
Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ Club-Grey Squirrels in Fletcher Wildlife Garden.
Bird, David M. (2010). Birds of Canada. Toronto, ON: Dorling Kindersley Ltd.
Boring, M. (1998). Birds, Nests and Eggs. Chanhassen, MN: Creative Publishing International.
Thorington, Richard W., Jr. and Katie Ferell. (2006). Squirrels (The Animal Answer Guide). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Woods, S.E., Jr. (1980). Squirrels of Canada. Ottawa, ON: National Museums of Canada.
