Invent an Animal

So it is cloudy and rainy here so I thought today would be a great day for an inside, crafty kind of activity. I think a version of this activity can be found in the Project Learning Tree Activity Guide, but I am not positive about that. I taught this to several classes of fifth graders back in college and it was a huge hit, messy, but a lot of fun!

This one can be super simple for little ones or can be a great learning tool for older kids (the fifth grade type age). With older kids I give them some guidelines for what their animal has to be able to do, examples would be fly, live in the water, eat ants, climb trees, dig holes, eat fish, run really fast, etc. Then give them a ton of different supplies starting with clay or playdough for the body usually is the easiest and then they can add things like pipe cleaners, tooth picks, feathers, beads, Q-tips, string, cotton balls or whatever else you might have laying around the house. Using all the materials they have to try and create a NEW animal that can do the things you told them. You can combine lots of different characteristics or just do one at a time.

The learning part of this activity is teaching them about adaptations. Animals (and even plants!) have things called adaptations which are something that an animal has (something physical on their body like a long neck) or something that an animal does (like flying) that helps them to survive in their habitat. The activity encourages the kids to examine what kind of adaptations it takes to be able to move certain ways, eat certain things or live in certain conditions.

If you are doing this with younger kids I would skip the guidelines part all together and just let them experiment with inventing their own animal with all the supplies. As they are building you can ask them questions to get their imagination going about where their new animal might live, how it moves, what it eats, what might eat it, etc. This way they are still learning and creating just in a simpler fashion.

My two year old is not quite ready for this activity yet or I would have tested it out and taken some pictures. I promise very soon to do describe an activity on here that I can SHOW you all!!

Happy 40th Birthday Earth Day!

What a better day to start this project than the day that celebrates what this blog will be all about!

I have no idea who will happen upon this blog, find it useful once in a while or read it all the time but it makes me happy just to have an outlet to share my knowledge and experiences with other moms, parents, teachers and anyone else that might be interested!

So let's get started!! I am going to start out slow and simple with a well tested and favorite activity of many educators out there, the scavenger hunt! Now you might be thinking, "really? a scavenger hunt? I need someone else to tell me how to do a scavenger hunt with my kids?" No probably not but maybe I can give you a new twist on the way you have been doing it or a way to incorporate different age levels into the same activity. Or maybe you don't need any help at all just a reminder of the idea that you had buried somewhere way back in your bag of tricks.

Scavenger hunt ideas from the simplest to the most advanced:

3D Scavenger Hunt -
For the youngest of nature goers (my two year old can do this!). Simply pre-collect some items that your child is familiar with along with some that they might not already know. Place the items out on the ground in an area where they can found. Point to the items and then encourage your child to try and find an item that matches. Some examples of what to include - pine cones or varying size and shape, flowers (this could be a way to practice colors as well!), leaves of varying size and shape, rock, pine needles, feathers, etc. If you have an older child doing this as well you can challenge them to find the exact same kind of leaf, flower or pine cone not just generally the same thing.

Basic Scavenger Hunt -
Take your child on a walk with a list of a wide range of items to look for. You can be as specific or as general as you feel comfortable (chickadee or bird, either will work!). Here are some great things to include; a place where an animal could hide, a natural animal home, a man-made animal home, a hole that is not in the ground, a path where animals walk, a thorn, animal scat (also known as poop!), a sign of the season, a leaf that has two colors, something that is red (or any color!) and whatever else your imagination can come up with!

Sensory Awareness Scavenger Hunt -
Make sure your child knows and understands what their senses are and how to use them. Review the senses before you start this scavenger hunt and be sure to pay close attention to exactly what your child is touching and smelling. Here are some ideas for what to include;
To touch - something soft, something sticky, something rough, something smooth, etc.
To smell -a flower, a green leaf, a brown (dead) leaf, the ground where a puddle use to be (in other words a place that might still be moist), a tree
To listen to - a bird call, the crunching of a leaf, the wind rustling the trees, a frog calling, etc.
To see - anything mentioned in the previous hunts!
To taste - this could be neat to do at the beginning or end of the hunt as a snack. Tell your child you are going to "find" an apple (or any other fruit or vegetable!). Then blindfold them or have them close their eyes and taste different fruits and vegetables until they "find" the apple.

Competitive Scavenger Hunt -
For older kids that like to compete! Give them a list and have them race to find as much as they can. Then challenge them to come up with their own lists of things to find to give to each other.

Storybook Scavenger Hunt -
Select a nature themed or nature related book. Read the book pointing out and paying close attention to what is in the text and pictures of the book. Once you finish, go back through the book with your child and ask them to point out things in the book that you might be able to find, then head outside with the book in hand! Again, this version can be as generic or specific as you are comfortable with.

Okay, I am sure there are other versions of this activity out there and if you have one I would love to hear it. Hopefully there is one here that you had not thought of before and are excited to head outside and try!!

Happy Hunting!! So to speak! HA!