Pre-K is a HOOT! : Polar Bears...continued!

This week we continued our Polar Bear unit. Let's take a look at the week!

Math - This week we played two math games. The first game we played was a Polar Bear Race Game. The Polar Bear Race Game's objective is to see which Polar Bear can swim through the blue "water" to get to the snow first! The kiddos rolled the dice and took turns moving their polar bear down the circles and to the "snow" finish line! The second game we played was a Polar Bear Paw Measuring Game. The kiddos practiced measuring with objects. We used pom poms, pumpkin seeds, and cubes to measure the length of a Polar Bear paw.

Recess - Fun in the snow!

Science - This week we conducted two science experiments - Snowy Day Tissue Paper Art & Polar Bear Blubber Experiment. The tissue paper art activity combined science with art. The kiddos first layered tissue paper onto water color paper. We then sprinkled a small amount of snow on top of the tissue paper. As the snow began to melt the tissue paper "bled" into the watercolor paper, leaving behind a beautiful wash of color! We used colors that are in the Polar Bear's Arctic environment - shades of blue and some black. The process was a lot of fun and the pictures turned out beautifully!

What protects Polar Bears from cold weather? BLUBBER! Blubber is a thick layer of fat that helps keep many Arctic animals warm. The Polar Bear Blubber Experiment showed the kiddos how Polar Bears keep warm in the arctic environment. As a blubber substitute we used Crisco. We scooped a bunch of Crisco into a baggie, and then put another baggie inside. We spread around the Crisco so we had a nice layer of "blubber" surrounding our hand. The kiddos took turns placing their two hands (one protected, the other bare) in a bowl of ice water. We counted how long each student could keep their hands in the cold water - the longest was 30 seconds! We asked each student, "Which hand is warmer? Which hand is colder?" All the students agreed that the blubber helped keep their hand warm! This experiment helped the Pre-K kids answer the question - Does blubber protect from the cold? YES!

Morning Meeting - During Morning Meeting we did our usual routine - schedule, jobs, weather, calendar, and songs - but we also read fiction and non-fiction Polar Bear books. We filled in a Polar Bear Fact Chart that described Polar Bears - "Polar Bear can _____ . " "Polar Bears are ______ . " and "Polar Bears have _________ . "

Art - On Friday the kiddos made a Polar Bear craft using black construction paper, packing peanuts, and puffy paint! The reason why we used black paper is because the Polar Bear's skin is black underneath its white fur. The packing peanuts were the Polar Bears "blubber" and the puffy paint was the fur!