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Squirrels and Squirrel nests lesson

February 3, 2013 Ticia 13 Comments

 

As I mentioned last week, we’ve been studying squirrels (head to last week’s post to get the free rodent picture search and to see our other activities).  It’s been fun to learn about squirrels, their habits, squirrel nests (I didn’t know about them prior to learning about them this time).

 

Looking at that last “paragraph,” I think I use parenthetical expressions too often.  I know they’re bad grammar, but I’ve always liked them.  As I read them, I always think of them as one of those asides that get put into plays and movies when characters break the fourth wall.  But, I digress.

 

Squirrels build their nests out of leaves they’ve collected, a few sticks, and whatever soft things they find.  This is my new theory for where all of my socks disappear to.  I think I can find scientific proof for it.  Maybe they climb into my dryer from the vent on the outside………

squirrel nest craft

So I had the kids go outside and gather up some leaves for me.  This is a 5 gallon bucket they found somewhere full to the brim with leaves.  And there’s still piles and piles of it out there.  I guess we need to do some raking………

 

Then they headed upstairs and gathered fabric scraps for me from the basket they are free to use pieces from.

squirrel activity for elementary

I decided to have them draw on the backs of paper from the recycling bin, so they were recycling just like the squirrels were.  Also, Princess had gone through 2 million sheets of paper in the past week, and I was tired of being out of paper.

 

So, they happily drew squirrels that could nest in.

 

squirrel nest craft

Then they started to add a small layer of leaves to be the basis of the nest.  Squirrels have an outer layer of leaves on their nest.

squirrel nest craft

Then they dug into the fabric pile and started cutting and gluing away.  I had a really hard time because Batman immediately grabbed the pinwheel you see him cutting up.  It was a perfectly constructed pinwheel, the points even met in the center.  But, I’d put it in there for them to use (I thought he’d use it whole), so I restrained myself from telling him not to use it.  IT WAS SO HARD!!!!!!!!!!!  So hard!

Eventually they were all done, and shared their creations with me.

Squirrel craftCan you guess which one the girls did versus the boys?  Superman told me his squirrels were having a party and completely covered their nest in decorations………….  You wouldn’t believe the amount of work he put into the decorations, that you now can’t see.

 

But, they understood it and were happy as clams.  Coming soon: Beavers!

 

Let’s see what others did this week:

Each week I’m spotlighting a few posts that were shared previously.  Many posts get linked up later in the week and they don’t always get as many clicks as they deserve, so I’m trying to spotlight a few every week.

 

Source: learningtable.blogspot.com via Ticia on Pinterest

 

I loved this nature study from the Learning Table.  Especially seeing the drawing her son made.  I’m thinking we might have to do a back porch nature study, provided we ever get rain…….

 

Source: ichoosejoy.org via Ticia on Pinterest

 

I wish Stacy Sews and Schools had shared this post on coral reefs last year when we were studying Swimming Creatures…..

 

Source: nodoubtlearning.com via Ticia on Pinterest

 

Over at No Doubt Learning she’s had this great series going on about Arctic Animals.  I had a hard time deciding where to pin it.

 

Photobucket

 

<div align="center"><a href="https://ticiamessing.com/category/science-sunday/" title="Science Sunday"><img src="https://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/g344/Ticia1/AiMScienceSundaycopy.jpg" alt="Science Sunday" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

 

arts and crafts, science 2nd grade, land animals, zoology

Comments

  1. stacysewsandschools says

    February 3, 2013 at 7:03 am

    Thank you SOOOO much for the feature!! YAY!!! 😀

    Reply
    • Ticia says

      February 3, 2013 at 7:56 am

      I loved your Ocean Box, it was begging to be featured.

  2. Lula B says

    February 3, 2013 at 8:06 am

    I totally acnowledge you for keeping quiet when the pinwheel was cut up – I know how hard THAT can be!
    Superman’s piece really is a wonderful testament to the joy of process! When I was growing up, my little brother would draw amazing pictures, full of action and detail, and “then there was a HUGE storm and ENORMOUS waves” and it would all get covered over with black crayon 😀

    Reply
    • Ticia says

      February 3, 2013 at 10:20 pm

      It was SOOOO hard! I was crying inside.

      Yep, that pretty much sounds exactly like most of Superman’s projects 🙂

  3. Phyllis at All Things Beautiful says

    February 3, 2013 at 8:57 am

    I taught my boys how to spot a squirrel’s nest and now they point them out to me all the time. Makes this Momma happy.

    Reply
    • Ticia says

      February 3, 2013 at 10:21 pm

      Ooohhhh, I need to see if we can find some in real life! Why didn’t I think of that?

  4. Claire says

    February 3, 2013 at 12:22 pm

    Yee haa!! I’ve got something to link up at last. I really must do more science in our homeschool! Here’s hoping you’ll rub off on me!

    Reply
    • Ticia says

      February 3, 2013 at 10:22 pm

      It’s the secret reason I host this, it forces me to make sure I’m doing science stuff that is fun and interesting, and not just the book. Because otherwise I’d probably just focus on history…….. That’s where my passion really lies. I like science, it’s just not what excites me as much.

  5. Andrea @ No Doubt Learning says

    February 3, 2013 at 3:50 pm

    Thanks for linking our arctic activities. We DID cover a ton! I wish I had something exciting to link up this week…we’ve been swamped! I’ll have to get a few posts going for this coming Sunday. Have a great weekend!
    Andrea 🙂

    Reply
    • Ticia says

      February 3, 2013 at 10:23 pm

      I’m sure you’ll have something great to link up again soon 🙂

      I know what you mean about being swamped. My brother and his family is in town for the week, we’re also traveling for a funeral, and I have a bunch of editing to do that is complicated by not having a working printer………

  6. Natalie says

    February 5, 2013 at 1:16 pm

    You are a super Mom. I would have probably snatched that pinwheel out and given my own vision. So hard! Excellent idea for the squirrel nest!

    Reply
  7. maryanne @ mama smiles says

    February 8, 2013 at 1:29 pm

    Lol at the girls vs boys squirrel nests!

    Reply

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Ticia Adventures in Mommydom Hi, I'm Ticia! This is the adventures of my family in life and learning. Follow along with us as we share our adventures. We're having a lot of fun and learning as we go.

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