Elementary 1 is really enjoying this term's project about "animals and habitats".
After learning about a very cold place called Antarctica and studying the Emperor penguins we moved on to a much hotter place, the desert.
Last week we were excited to locate the different deserts on our planet Earth such as the Kalahari, Namib and Sahara desert. The children were very engaged when learning about the animals of the Sahara desert and watching a YouTube clip that shows these animals in their natural environment.
All children loved the camels and dung beetles. The children also showed interest in learning about how people survive in the desert and how nomads travel from oasis to oasis.
As part of our afternoon project we explored the Sonoran desert which is located in North America in parts of the United States and Mexico. This desert is famous for its' enormous Saguaro cacti, some of them are more than one hundred years old. The Sonoran desert is a habitat to animals such as prairie dogs, owls, coyotes, hummingbirds, snakes and javelinas.
The children made beautiful collages of the Sonoran desert.
After that it was time for Elementary 1 to explore the next habitat, a cold one. This week it was all about the Arctic ocean, the tundra and the taiga. The children loved repeating last term's "blubber" experiment and finding out how a layer of fat called blubber helps the polar bear to survive the freezing temperatures of the Arctic. The children made beautiful polar bear prints. They were also introduced to what the word camouflage means and how it helps animals to protect themselves from being discovered and eaten by other animals.
The children made lovely Arctic foxes using white cotton wool as their fur. When being introduced to the taiga Elementary 1 learnt that this coniferous forest is located in the north of Asia, Europe and North America. It is also habitat to many animals such as reindeers, brown bears, wolverines, grey wolves and moose. Throughout the week as part of the children's culture work during the morning work cycle the children created lovely booklets of animals that live in the tundra and the taiga.
Next week we will be back at a warmer place and are looking forward to finding out more about the African savannah also called grassland.
Miss Sylvia and Miss Gabriella
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