Pretend that you are a chipmunk.  What would you do and where would you go?  This book is a wonderful look at the life and habitat of a chipmunk.

Materials

•             Several sponges
•             Pictures of animals that live underground 
•             Recipe cards for Worms in the Dirt
•             Cottonballs
•             Large serving spoon and bowl.

Vocabulary

•             Burrow (a hole or tunnel home under the ground)
•             Imagining (pretending)
•             Dashing (running quickly)
•             Statue (a sculpture that cannot move)

Before Reading the Story

Look at the cover of the book.  Does anyone know what animal this is?  The child is copying the chipmunk.  She is pretending to be a chipmunk, she is imagining.  Ask the children to raise their hands if they have ever seen a real chipmunk?  Let them share any information they may have about chipmunks.  (I saw a chipmunk on my Grandma’s stone fence one time.  My cat caught a chipmunk and ate it!).

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things, and natural processes.

Reading the Story

 Take your time reading the story and encourage the children to share any comments they have about the illustrations.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; shows growing interest and involvement in listening to and discussing a variety of fiction and non-fiction and poetry.

After Reading the Story

After reading, write what the children learned about chipmunks.  Go back through the book and have the children act out being a chipmunk. (crawl out of your hole/from under the table, look around to see if safe and stretch, dash to the berry bush/a designated place in the room such as the easel, leap from stone to stone, chip out a song, etc).

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates progress in abilities to retell and dictate stories from books ands experiences; to act out stories in dramatic play; and to predict what will happen next in a story.

Discovery

Put the book in the science center and show the children the page with the animals underground. Find magazines or books that show more pictures of animals underground.

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things, and natural processes.

 Make Worms in Dirt snacks.  Put chocolate pudding into individual cups.  Add broken Oreo cookies for rocks and gummy worms.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multiple-step directions.

Music and Movement

 Play Statues with the children.  Put on music and have the children dance.  When the music stops, the children must freeze in their place until the music begins again.

Creative Arts/Music; participates with increasing interest and enjoyment in a variety of music activities, including listening, singing, finger poplays, games, and performances.  AND Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multiple-step directions.

Blocks

Challenge the children to build a tunnel.  After they have built one tunnel ask them if they can build a longer tunnel, a shorter tunnel, a tunnel that some of your plastic animals can fit through.

Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Persistence; demonstrates increasing ability to set goals and develop and follow through on plans.  AND Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense;

Art

 Have the children paint a large piece of paper with brown paint.  Show them how to use sponges to lift the paint off the paper.  This effect resembles dirt underground.  The children can then draw or cut out animals that live underground. 

Creative Arts/Art; gains ability in using different art media and materials in a variety of ways for creative expression and representation.  AND Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; develops growing strength, dexterity, and control needed to use tools such as scissors, paper punch, stapler, and hammer.

Library and Writing

Encourage the children to draw a chipmunk.  After they have finished their drawing, ask them to tell you what their chipmunk is doing in the picture or a chipmunk fact.  Write their words on the bottom of their picture or on another piece of paper that you can attach.  (“My chipmunk is eating an acorn. “” The chipmunk is sitting on the ground””It’s a chipmunk Mommy and her bab

Literacy/Early Writing; begins to represent stories and experiences through pictures, dictation, and in play.  AND Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; grows in eagerness to learn about and discuss a growing range of topics, ideas, and tasks.  

Sand and Water

 Mix sand and dirt together.  Add a small amount of water.  Encourage the children to dig burrows. 

Social & Emotional Development/Self Concept; demonstrates growing confidence in a range of abilities and expresses pride in accomplishments.

  If you have acorns available,these would be fun to add to the water table to float along with leaves. Can the children make the acorns float on top of the leaves? How many acorns will a leaf hold before it starts to sink?

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to use on e-to-one correspondence in counting objects and matching groups of objects.

Dramatic Play

Bring in acorns or poker chips that the children can pretend is food.  They can gather the food into a bowl.  Encourage them to talk chipmunk by saying Chip, chip, chip over and over.  Put a scarf over a table and underneath can be their burrow.

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; shows growing creativity and imagination in using materials and in assuming different roles in dramatic play situations.  AND Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates progress in abilities to retell and dictate stories from books and experiences; to act out stories in dramatic play; and to predict what will happen next in a story.

Math and Manipulatives

Put acorns or cotton balls into a large bowl.  The children grab a handful and count how many they were able to collect.  Use a large serving spoon and let the children grab another handful.  How many were they able to collect this time?  Which pile has more/less acorns?

Mathematics/Number & Operations;begins to use one-to-one correspondence in counting objects and matching groups of objects.

Outdoor Play

Play Animal Walks with the children.  Imagine you are a snake and slither along the ground. Pretend you are a deer and leap across the field.  Pretend you are a mouse and scamper along the path.  Pretend you are a horse and gallop around the pen.  Pretend you are a bee and buzz from flower to flower.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; understands an increasingly complex and varied vocabulary.  AND Physical Health & Development/Health Status & practices; participates actively in games, outdoor play, and other forms of exercise that enhance physical fitness.

Transitions

 Tape pictures of animals to the wall or a flannel board.  On another piece of paper or whiteboard, write the first letter of one animal and say the letter sound.  The child must then come up and take the animal picture off the wall that goes along with the letter sound.  Start with letters that your children might be familiar with such as the first letter in their names. (Can you find the animal whose name begins with the letter R, /R/, R?  The child would then take the rabbit picture off the wall.

Literacy/Phonological Awareness; shows growing awareness of beginning and ending sounds in words.

Resources