The children in School-age 3 at RisingOaks Early Learning | John Sweeney have been curious about the changing seasons, and recently they’ve noticed the weather is getting colder. One chilly afternoon, during our outside time, they began discussing the animals that live outside, asking questions like, "Why do some animals go away in winter?" and "Where do they go?" Inspired by their curiosity, the educators Julia and Christine decided to explore the concept of hibernation with them over the next few weeks.
As the kids swirled into the classroom, they gathered around the provocation educator Julia set up on the table. The table had colouring materials, an iPad, magazines/books from the national geographic, and papers to fill out. Julia began by asking the kids “Has anyone ever wondered where the animals go when it gets cold outside?”, “Do you wonder where they are located through Canada?”, “How do these animals stay warm?”
Chatter rumbled across the room as several children eagerly responded. “They leave Canada cause it’s cold!”, Nico said. “I think they sleep,” added Maria, eyes widening with curiosity.
Julia smiled, feeling the energy in the room. “Yes, you guys are on the right track!” “Some animals do leave while it’s cold and some do sleep, that is called hibernation. Let’s learn more about hibernation and why it happens”.
Julia opened one of the National Geographic magazines filled with images, animal facts, puzzles, and knowledgeable activities. Together, we discussed and viewed animals in various states of hibernation. We reflected on the animals we spotted while exploring the book, animals like bears, groundhogs, squirrels, all found a cozy, safe spot to rest for the winter. They also learnt about how some animals such as geese fly away to warmer places during the cold weather. They learnt that animals hibernate to conserve energy when there isn’t enough food supply during colder months, therefore they need to conserve their energy. They learnt that birds such as geese leave because they can’t get enough food during our Canadian winters.
The children were fascinated by the idea that animals were able to “sleep” for weeks or even months. They were also very curious as to how the birds know where to go and how to get to these “warmer” places. They started to ask questions:
“Do they ever wake during the winter to eat?”
“How do they prepare their areas for sleep?”
“How long do the birds have to fly?”
“Do the birds ever rest?”
Educator Julia the guided the children to the papers set out on the table, using the papers the children are able to gather their thoughts and investigate for answers through books and with the help from educators. “Oh hedgehogs know when to hibernate when their food supply lowers”, “how does the food supply lower asked Finn?”, “it lowers cause of the cold and because of less daylight,” Nico replied. The children awed as they learnt more about these fascinating animals.
Later in the week, the class started a project to create an environment using clay. They moulded and shaped the clay top make a scene. The scenes included their animals, their food, how they slept and also the textures of various things on and around them. As they created their scenes, Julia added the children to think about where their animals are and use elements of this in their designing.
After their clay creations were complete they reflected back on their papers and noticed that there was much more detail on their clay than on their paper. Julia asked why that might be? The kids responded with multiple answers “I got so into the activity I really wanted to show off their environment”, “I wanted to make the environment look as cozy as possible.” The children shared their finished work with the group and smiled with what they had created.
