This past week we dove into our pond unit (pun intended) by studying pond animals! Turtles, snakes, tadpoles, frogs, and ducks to be exact! We had such a great time with our Mother Goose Time curriculum!
We had so much fun reading our new book about a sweet turtle and beaver, while we ate a yummy "snake" snack (cheese sticks with a little decoration). We used the story telling magnets which came with our curriculum. to reflect on what we read (sequencing for the younger children) and characters, setting, and problem for the older children.
The older children were able to extend the unit by completing a fiction book report (you can grab this enhancement here).
Later in the week we completed four fun crafts! We made turtle pulley toys, wiggly snakes, tadpoles on ribbon, and ducks! What I love about these crafts is how each age can participate and make the projects truly their own. Mother Goose Time includes real life photographs as examples for students, allowing for their creativity to shine during arts and crafts!
From a two year old's plain design, to a four year old's paint stick coverage, and then a six year old's more intricate turtle shell. Each age is able to show their creativity but complete the same project together. Oh - and the two year - pulled his turtle around the house for HOURS.
Mother Goose Time and I agree: fine motor skills are critical to a child's development! These wiggly snakes were perfect for fine tuning these skills!
Take a little peek at how each child was able to create their own ducks with the supplies provided and a real life photograph. They all did such a great job! Creativity at work!
For the older students we extended the lesson during our turtle snack time.
We took an apple to simulate a turtle shell and a feather to simulate a duck and poured oil on both. We tested how difficult the oil was to remove and talked briefly about pollution and keeping our ponds clean.
To wrap up the week, our four through six year old's completed an animal research report on frogs, snakes, or turtles! They then presented their research. It was so fun to watch them dive deeper into the unit. Grab your research packet for Pre-K through 2nd grade here.