Talk to the children about how some animals hibernate during the winter, and show the class pictures of animals that hibernate. Read aloud several books about hibernating animals. Find songs and poems about animals preparing for winter, particularly ones that coordinate with movement or fingerplays. Make a cave or hollow tree with an opening the size of a teddy bear. Have the children collect leaves and small twigs that the “bear” will use to build a nest. Bears hibernate from early October until April or May, but you can have the class “bear” hibernate from Thanksgiving until the children return from winter break, or just during winter break.
During the winter, ask the children if they have seen any animals that are awake. Take them on a winter walk to look for animals such as cardinals, rabbits, foxes, deer and moose. Explain that other animals, such as squirrels, badgers and skunks, take naps and wake up to snack. Take another winter walk shortly after a snowfall to look for animal tracks in the snow. Help the children use a rolling pin to flatten white play dough for “snow.” Give them plastic animals that are awake during the winter. Tell them to push the animals’ feet into the “snow” to leave footprints.
In the fall when ducks, geese and other birds are migrating overhead, take the children outside to watch how they fly in groups or a “V” shape. Tell the children to be very quiet and listen to the noises they make. Show the class pictures of monarch butterflies. They migrate to Mexico for the winter and fly back in the spring. Tell the children that migration is like taking a vacation someplace warm until the warmer weather of spring arrives. Cut out line drawings of monarch butterflies for the children to color in orange and black with white spots. Hang the butterflies from the ceiling with string.
Polar bears live where the temperatures can drop to -90 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter. They walk on ice and snow and don’t get cold. Polar bears have a thick layer of fat, called blubber, and a heavy coat of fur to keep them warm. Have the children pretend to be a polar bear swimming in icy water. Tell them to make a fist with their hand and put it into a loose, rubber glove. Cover the glove with thick layer of vegetable shortening, put the hand in a gallon-size plastic bag, wrap the bag with fur or faux fur, and put the hand in a second gallon-size plastic bag. Tell them to put their free hand in a bucket of ice water and take it out after a short time. Tell them to put the covered hand in the ice water and to describe the difference.