We started with a month long focus on birds... the kids loved this topic and constantly came back to it every time we tried to introduce new materials to spark interest in other topics! We made bird feeders from toilet paper rolls -- here's how we did it:
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| spread peanut butter (or NoNutButter in this case) |
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| Roll in birdseed |
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| Add holes and string to hang! |
We played in a birdseed sensory bin! The kids loved this bin and couldn't get enough of it. When we were finally finished with it, we threw the birdseed outside of our classroom windows and we attracted quite an array of bird species!
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| Bird Seed Sensory Bin |
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| Bird Seed Bin |
We painted bird feeders:
I introduced the book "Over in the Meadow" by Ezra Jack Keats
Here's the bulletin board that we made to go with our counting story:
... which opened up interest to other creatures including bugs and small animals! We took a field trip to the science museum and got to see many bugs up close - so cool!
We followed up with a variety of activities about bugs and spiders. Here are pictures of some of the 'insect-like' creatures my students made from playdoh.
We ended the year with pond/frog activities.. The pond sensory bin, with bugs, lily pads, blue & green flat glass stones, dragonflies and a variety of funnels and contains for scooping and pouring was a hit.
This summer, I'm preparing for a month long unit on Dinosaurs! So excited to do this unit because it never seems to fit into the regular school year and I think that the kids will really enjoy such a fun topic!
