Skip to main content

Squirrels & Acorns - 4 Hour Class

FRIDAY:

When we were at the park, the children noticed that acorns were on the ground and started collecting them.
 




 
 
Some of the children noticed that some of the acorns were broken. Keane said “It’s because people step on them”. Koen said “Squirrels eat them that’s why they are broken”. With that being said, the children were determined to find more acorns to feed the squirrels. We went around the community centre to look for more acorns.
When we had a bucket full of acorns, the children decided it would be enough for the squirrels to eat. Most of the class agreed that putting the bucket up on a tree is the safest and easiest way for the squirrels to have access to the acorns. We were deciding which tree to put the bucket on when Teacher Matt pointed out that there was a squirrel sleeping in one of the trees.
 


That made decision making easier for everyone. The children all agreed to put the bucket on the tree where the squirrel was sleeping. Teacher Matt climbed the tree and hung the bucket on one of the branches.
 
 
SATURDAY & SUNDAY:

We left the bucket up on the tree, hoping that the squirrels eat the acorns.
 
MONDAY:
 
The children were excited to check the bucket and see whether the squirrels ate the acorns or not.
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
Teacher Emmett took the bucket from the tree. We saw water inside the bucket. Elliot said         “That’s rain water inside. Koen replied with “That’s squirrel saliva.”
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Then, the children discussed if the squirrels ate the acorns or not. Some children said it was too hard for the squirrel to reach. Jayden said “Maybe the squirrel was not hungry”. After all the exchanges of ideas, most of the children agreed to change the location of the bucket. They wanted it higher so the squirrels can easily find them. Teacher Emmett moved the bucket to a higher spot.
 
 
 
 
I am looking forward to how this exploration and discovery will unfold. Will the squirrels eat the acorns? Will the children think of other ideas to help feed the squirrels? Will this lead to another interest? Lots of questions still to be answered!
Until next time,
Patricia
 
 
 
 
 

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

4 Year Old M/W/F Class – I Hear…I See…I Wonder…

We began one of our circle discussions with a question for the children, “What would you like to learn, wonder or hear about?” Here is what they said:    “Skateboarding, Soccer, Perches” (Connor) “Bikes” (Taylor) “Going outside to see if I left my toy” (Jun)  “The Sun” (Jack) “Rollerskating and Swimming” (Daniella)"Skating” (Noel) “Ball” (Sofie) “Scooter and Tricycle” (Masaki) “Shoes” (Ashlan) “When you put something under a pillow you can find it” (Tia) “Soccer” (Kyle) From my list I noticed quite a few of the children were interested in wheels, so at our next circle discussion we looked closely at a scooter and a pair of roller skates – as well as the wheels on a long board. The conversation brought up more questions and answers, which the children confidently discussed amongst themselves. One of the questions was “What makes this a scooter?” The conversation followed with “The scooter has a handle and a brake” and “I know how to ride a long board.” ...

Volunteering at Richmond Food Bank

Today was our last day volunteering at the Richmond Food Bank. I am so grateful we had this opportunity– it has been an extraordinary experience for all of us. I, myself, have been very lucky to work in a community where I have seen dedicated volunteers working countless hours for people and projects they believe in. In my own community centre, the staff devote extra hours for many events, all to help strengthen our community. From these experiences grew a desire within me to try to share this with our children. How can we make them generous with their time and energy for the good of others? How can we teach them to be giving people– people that think of others? Are they too young for these concepts? In my need to answer these questions, I sought to find a volunteer opportunity for them. I thought about many different ideas but the food bank always came out ahead. I was lucky enough to come across an open-minded and risk-taking individual– let's face it, preschoolers gett...

A Love for Cabbage

Another day of working with cabbage-our prized cabbage that I babied throughout the summer. The cabbage that I saved from the demise of cabbage worms, watered, and surrounded with copper to scare away slugs. So, yes, babied. After all that care and love I was hoping the children would enjoy working with this gorgeous vegetable and like the taste of it. The coleslaw was a hit last week but would cooked cabbage get the same positive response? We assembled our ingredients for cabbage rolls and showed all the children. They smelled all the spices that were in the recipe and many of them loved the smell of the fresh garlic! They took great pride in recognizing onion, salt, pepper, tomato sauce and ground beef. I wanted to introduce them to another herb so we passed around marjoram, which many agreed smelled sweet. We pre-cooked the meat just so the children could work with the food without any cause for concern. The smell of the onions and meat simmering sparked the interest of many ...