This week has focused on all types of birds but we zoned in on owls and it was a blast!
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Owls are such magical creatures! Our Experience Curriculum bird unit included gorgeous photos of owls and a book with a magnetic owl (which we hav
e used several times over the past few weeks). We also studied owls using our Gather Round, Northern American Bird unit. It was on a whim that I decided to incorporate this unit, knowing I had all the fun crafts of Mother Goose Time (Experience Curriculum).
To start off our unit we read through our materials from Experience Curriculum and observed the photographs. We then watched videos linked from our NAB unit with Gather Round. It was time for a fun project once we had a solid understanding of owls. First off was our watercolor paintings. This idea came from Soul Sparklettes! If you don't follow Julie, you should! She is an amazing art teacher, full of incredibly fun ideas!
We used our owl puppet to further explore the functions of an owls body: how big their eyes are compared to other birds, the way their heads turn 270 degrees, and their large talons.
All this learning worked up an appetite, so I *attempted* to make a fun owl snack. It somewhat worked out. ;)
Just a little rice cake, nutella, apple, candy eyes, and sharp cheddar cheese!
Then it was time to really incorporate some science! What we did sounds gross but it was so cool! We dissected owl pellets. Yes, you read that correctly. I flew over to Amazon and ordered barn owl pellets (yes-poop). They came with an awesome guide of bones. We learned so much about the way they eat their prey and our ecosystem at work. It is so important for children to understand life cycles, ecosystems, and food chains. Without them our world would crumble.
That was how we wrapped our unit this week! Stay tuned for more fun this year!
