Tuesday, February 16, 2010

February 16th, 2010

We have explored hibernation and migration in our animals in winter unit. Today, we started talking about adaptation. Some animals neither migrate or hibernate, they stay in one place and have to find ways to survive through the winter. We thought some animals might grow extra fur, store up blubber, and store food in the spring to eat in winter.

To find out which animals in our community "stay" for winter and find ways to adapt, we went on an adaptation exploration! We first chose which tools we were going to use during our adventure. Some scientists chose a clipboard, paper and pencil, some chose binoculars, and some chose magnifying glasses.


We explored all over campus.

The first animal we noticed was a dead worm. We thought the worm either had died because it didn't adapt to winter conditions, or because someone stepped on it. We noticed several more worms. We predicted that birds that didn't migrate would eat the worms for food during the winter.


We recorded the worm on our clipboards.

We also found worms that were alive.

We also noticed several squirrels. We noticed the squirrels were looking for nuts. When the squirrel found a nut, he would quickly bury it in the ground. Some squirrels would bury one nut, only to scurry to another secret spot to dig up and eat another nut! We practiced moving quietly and carefully to get super close to the squirrels.



We found nuts that we thought could be a food source for the squirrel in winter.

We found mushrooms. We thought some animals could eat mushrooms for food to survive the winter.



We also heard with our ears birds calling in the trees, and we noticed a bird's nest as well! We were shocked to realize that not all birds migrate!



When we were exploring an acorn, we were shocked to see that a caterpillar had made his home in a broken piece of shell! We talked about how he must be using the shell for protection, and we added pieces of broken acorn to surround him and help him stay safe. We then picked a safe place for him where he wouldn't get stepped on.



We found another caterpillar hiding underground in a hole.

Some of us joined up in teams. One scientist would search for animals with his or her binoculars or magnifying glass, and a scientist with a clipboard would record what they saw!



We also searched for animal habitat.


It was Renee's fifth birthday today. Here is a video of her special birth story told by Ms. Katie (sorry it's sideways, but it is too cute not to show!). Happy birthday, Renee!

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