Busy, Busy Busy...Busy Little Squirrel!

The Squirrel

Whisky Frisky, Hippity Hop,

Up He Goes,To the tree top!

Whirly, Twirly, Round and round,

Down he scampers, To the ground.

Furly, culy, What a tail!

Tall as a feather, Broad as a sail!

Where's his supper? In the shell,

Snap, cracky, Out he fell! 

~From Favorite Poems Old and New, pp.169~  Seamus has already memorized the first two stanza's!!

I've been as busy as a little squirrel gathering books and ideas for our next learning unit in the Preschool Learning Corner!!  Seamus is taking the lead here and has requested that this fine furry little fellow be his next unit study!  I am more than happy to follow his lead and so off we go into the world of Squirrels and Chipmunks!!  I am taking many cues from MacBeth's Wonderful Squirrel Unit and well as Dawn's fabulous photos and ideas at By Sun and Candlelight, many thanks to both you very squirrely ladies (sorry, I couldn't resist)! 

So here's a run-down of our many busy activities we are about to embark on:

Picture Books (As always, we have a nice list that we will be dipping into daily!)

Moon of the Chickarees by Jean Craighead George

Chipmunk Song by Joanne Ryder

Squirrels (Welcome to the World of Animals) by Diane Swanson

Busy Busy Squirrels by Colleen Stanley Bare

Gooseberry Park by Cynthia Rylant

Squirrel and The Moon by Eleonore Schmid

Squirrels Brian Wildsmith

Favorite Poems Old and New by Helen Ferris Tibbets

The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes by Beatrix Potter

The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin by Beatrix Potter

Chessie the Long Island Squirrel by Sachiko Komoto

Squirrels at My Window by Grace Marmor Spruch

Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock

Woody, Hazel and Little Pip by Elsa Beskow

Rabbits, Squirrels and Chipmunks Take-Along Guide by Mel Boring, Linda Garrow

Gray Squirrel at Pacific Avenue by Geri Harrington, Michele Chopin Roosevelt

Discover:

What do Squirrels eat?

Why do they gather nuts?

What happens to the nuts that are not found by the squirrels? (Look at Oak Tree from our Tree Basket)

Which other foods do they gather?

Where do they make their nests and of what?

Do they "sleep" all winter and what is that called?  (Learn briefly about hibernation)

Why do they have bushy tails?

Math:

Acorn File Folder Game  (in progress)

Gathering and Sorting (different sizes nuts)

Arts & Crafts:

Squirrel Poem Placemat: decorated with drawn and cut out pictures of Squirrels and Chipmunks, stickers, and autumn stamps

Field Trip:

Visit parks to observe Squirrels in their natural habitat!!

Games:

Nut gathering and music play!

We are already busy busy and having fun with Squirrels. Squirrels and Autumn just seem to go together, don't they! 

Thanks for visiting the Preschool Learning Corner and May God Bless you in your learning today!

Comments

[Alice Gunther]

What a complete and joyful list of resources! I love it!

[Suzanne]

Meredith: Thanks for you sweet comments on my blog the other day!

This is wonderful and very timely for us. My dd, ages 5,4,3 have been obsessed with squirrels lately....I, too, shall "follow their lead." Just printed this out. Thanks for posting!