Themes explored:
Bears, hibernation and bear homes. We have a piece of bear hide to examine and discussed how they stay warm. We discussed what bears do in the Winter, and where they like to hibernate and what they do when they wake up. We made our own little cave homes and pretended to hibernate like the bears. We explored books to see photos of hibernating bears and to identify grizzly and black bears in field guides. We enjoyed the stories "The very sleepy bear" and "Bear snores on".
Ice melt and snow conditions. Fun was had by all as we broke up the ice on the path, clearing the way to expose a little river of ice melt. We learnt about how to cleave the ice and discussed snow conditions and ice melt.
Floating. We made soap carved boats which we tested if they would float down the temporary river of snow melt on the pathway or on the big puddle at the bottom of the hill.
Skills embraced:
Fire and match lighting. We continued practicing lighting matches safely, how to hold a match and how to drop it safely. We discussed protocols around permission to access and use matches.
Sawing and hammering skills with tools. We constructed with hammers and nails and cut fallen branches with saws to add to our bear caves/shelters.
Carving and fine motor control. We completed our soap carving boat projects today and added sails to our little puddle-faring vessels.
Strength and persistence. We took to the slippery hills for some much requested sliding and climbing. The conditions made it a difficult climb up. Some used the rope we set up to assist them. All were persistent with the challenge and soon were sliding back down several more times.
Assessing risk and communicating with others to determine strategies to navigate risk. Some of the class took their bear hibernation to bear tree climbing. With some challenging trees in the area tempting children to reach new heights, some great discussions arose among the children around what strategies could be used to get up and down and which types of branches are strong for climbing.
Seeking assistance when appropriate. Our tree climbers were excellent at assessing when they were at the limit of the risk they could safely navigate and asking for assistance, while also challenging themselves sufficiently to feel proud and accomplished.
Connection questions:
What did you learn about bears? What would they be doing right now? Where do they like to hibernate?
Did your boat float? Do you have any ideas why it floated, did the shape help?
Did you climb trees? Did you have fun? Did you find it more difficult or exciting to climb in amongst lots of branches or high on the platform of branches balanced across the trees?
Did you enjoy breaking off the ice chunks, what did you use to break them off? Did you sail your boat down the river on the pathway?
Did you practice using matches? Did your matches light easily?