Scamper’s Year, by Jeff Kindley

Scamper teaches children about the life of a squirrel as he enjoys the fruits of each season.

Materials

Bag of mixed nuts in the shell
Squirrel shape

Vocabulary

Scamper (to run and jump while playing)

Before Reading the Story

Ask the children to share with you what they know about squirrels. Write their responses down on a piece of paper.

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

Reading the Story

As you read the story, allow the children to make comment and ask questions. Use this to help assess how much each child knows about squirrels.

Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; progresses in abilities to initiate and respond appropriately in conversation and discussions with peers and adults.

After Reading the Story

Ask the children if they can think of any new information that can be added to their knowledge chart.

Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; progresses in abilities to initiate and respond appropriately in conversation and discussions with peers and adults. AND Science/Science Knowledge; expands knowledge and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things, and natural processes.

Discovery

Put out books and pictures of real squirrels. If you have squirrels in your neighborhood, consider feeding them so that the children can observe their funny antics.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; develops increasing ability to observe and discuss common properties, differences, and comparisons among objects and materials.

Music and Movement

Sing Gray Squirrel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1U5i_scF_M&list=PLAd00doYJ7gSnyFdUUk9Uw4C8EiBThjHn&index=1 Have the children do the actions as you sing.

Gray squirrel, gray squirrel

Swish your fluffy tail.

Gray squirrel, gray squirrel

Swish your fluffy tail.

Wrinkle up your funny nose,

Put a nut between your toes.

Gray squirrel, gray squirrel

Swish your fluffy tail.

Creative Arts/Music; participates with increasing interest and enjoyment in a variety of music activities, including listening, singing, finger plays, games, and performances.

Give each child two nuts and let them tap them together for musical instruments as you sing.

Creative Arts/Music; experiments with a variety of instruments. AND Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; enhances abilities to recognize, duplicate and extend simple patterns using a variety of materials.

Blocks

Add natural items to your center to add to children’s structures. (Rocks, sticks, acorns, seed pods, pine cones, etc).

Creative Arts/Dramatic PLay; shows growing creativity and imagination in using materials and in assuming different roles in dramatic play situations.

Art;

Give each child a squirrel shape. Cut out 1 inch squares of tissue paper and show the children how to make balls and glue it to the squirrel shape.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; develops strength, dexterity, and control needed to use tools such as scissors, stapler, paper punch, and hammer.

Sand and Water

Add many acorns to the table. ( A note: acorns that come into the warm for an extended period of time may contain tiny larva which will pop out over time. Use acorns for just a day or two before setting them back outside). Give the children small containers or a balance scale. They can then count the acorns or try to get both sides to be equal.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to use language to compare numbers of objects with terms such as more, less, greater than, fewer, equal. AND Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to use one-to-one correspondence in counting objects and matching groups of objects.

Library and Writing

In the story the squirrel talks about what he likes to do in each season. Challenge the children to think about the activites that they like to do during each season. Help them to write an I like the ____ poem. (I like the summer because I play outside after dinner. I like the fall time because I like Halloween pumpkins. I like the winter because Grandma comes to my house. I like spring because there was a rainbow once at my Grandma’s house”.

Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; develops increasing ability to find more than one solution to a question, task, or problem. AND Social & Emotional Development/Self-Concept; begins to develop and express awareness of self in terms of specific abilities, characteristics, and preferences.

Dramatic Play

Bring in some clothing to represent your two most extreme seasons. Help the children verbalize the names of the seasons as they dress. IE summer and winter

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; shows increasing abilities to match, sort, put in a series, and regroup objects according to one or two attributes such as shape or size.

Math and Manipulatives

Squirrels like to eat nuts. Bring in a bag of mixed nuts in the shell and let the children use them for sorting.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; shows progress in matching, sorting, putting in a series, and regrouping objects according to one or two attributes such as shape, size, or color.

Outdoor Play

Put several hoola hoops on the ground in a spread out fashion. Ask the children to all stand in a hoola hoop. More than one child may stand in the same hoola hoop. The teacher is “it”. When the teacher shouts “Squirrels Change Trees” the children must run from one hula hoop to another without being caught by the teacher.

Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; participates actively in games, outdoor play, and other forms of exercise to enhance physical fitness.

Transitions

Hold your two hands into fists. Bump them together as you say the following poem; 1,2,3, What number do you see? When you say “see” hold up fingers and ask a child to name how many. For younger children start with 1-5 and older children include 1-10.

Mathematics/Number & Cooperations; begins to associate number concepts, vocabulary, quantities, and written numerals in meaningful ways.