Taking Care of Animals in the Winter

Personal Social and Emotional

Use small world toys (woodland creatures) and put them in amongst natural materials and let the children use their own experiences and draw from the things we will learn throughout the week to help replicate the lives of the animals. The children will work together or alongside others, discussing how to make the habitats or replicate the animals' lives. Encourage the children to listen to each other's ideas and thoughts.

Communication and Language

Share books, videos and photographs showing children animals in their natural habitats, to show children what they eat and where they live, what we can do to help them. Encourage children to discuss what they have seen, what they could do e.g., put seeds out for the birds, dog hair out for their nests, cat food and water for hedgehogs, huts or warm places for the hedgehogs. Model language to help extend children’s vocabulary.

Physical Development

Use construction toys and materials to model building the habitats of the animals we have during winter in this country, (squirrels, hedgehogs, birds) encouraging fine and gross motor skills. Outside fill tuff trays with natural materials that birds or animals may use in nests, such as twigs and feathers. Use balance beams to pretend to be birds, aiding balance.

Literacy

Provide pictures of animals we have in England over winter for children to colour in that have the names underneath. Make sure books and pictures are used to discuss taking care of animals. Model correct terminologies.

Mathematics

Matching animal pictures to their habitats and food. Using natural resources for counting, and arranging by object and size, such a twigs, leaves. Weight and measure when making bird feeders, encouraging gross motor, hand eye coordination. Use different size pots, get them to scoop the lard and roll in the seed.

Understanding the World

Take the children on a nature hunt looking for things in our environment, trees, leaves and signs of wildlife. Encourage children to look for wildlife in their everyday lives. Take the children out regularly to our hedgehog house and replace grass inside.

Expressive Art and Design

Provide a wide range of materials for children to build their own homes. Use big boxes, small boxes and resources to let the children choose how they would like to express themselves.

Focused Vocabulary

Hibernation, habitat, food, look after, build, trees, natural.