Animals in Winter (KA & KB)

 Animals in Winter

Over the next couple weeks, the kiddos will be learning about animals in winter. We will be discussing the different ways that we are connected to nature, and how the changing of the seasons affects us as humans as well as how it affects animals. 

In the last two days, the kiddos were introduced to The Medicine Wheel. They learnt that this First Nations symbol represents the First Nation's way of life, and that we are all a part of this circle. They also learnt that there are many things in the First Nation's way of life that are connected to the number four. This lead us into a discussion about the four seasons we experience here in Saskatchewan. I prompted the kiddos to think… how are we affected by the changing seasons? What kinds of things do we have to do when the seasons change? This was a great discussion that created understanding with the kiddos that they are in fact connected to and affected by nature. 

Once we were finished having conversations about how winter and the seasons affect us, we discussed how it might affect animals. Many kiddos knew that bears hibernate, but I questioned them further and encouraged them to “wonder” about other animals. You could see the look of curiosity on their faces as they shared their wonders… “I wonder what happens to turtles when the ice freezes?”  and “I wonder what happens to bees and butterflies?”  We then sat down and drew our “wonders” in our journals. 

We finished off with a First Nation's oral story about the coming of the seasons. The kiddos enjoyed using their imaginations to follow the story and make predictions. They are excited to see what the rest of the week has to bring!