This can be a messy project, but children will thoroughly enjoy it. Use your sensory table to create a pond using water, mud and small sticks. Work with children to build a dam in the pond by stacking sticks as a beaver would and holding them in place with mud and other pond debris such as pine needles and leaves. When creating the dam with children, discuss how beavers use their front teeth to chew through wood and their tails to move logs into place.
Paper bag beaver puppets are simple to make and are good scissor practice for preschoolers. Have children cut the following shapes: two white circles and two smaller black circles for eyes, two brown circles for ears, two white rectangles for teeth and one brown oval for a tail. Give each child a brown paper lunch sack and a glue stick for attaching the beaver parts to the bag. Use a black marker to draw the nose.
Create a simple paper plate mask for children to wear to celebrate Canada Day. Cut eye holes in paper plates and give a plate to each child in the class. Use brown paint to color the entire mask and allow it to dry overnight. Have children use white construction paper to cut out two rectangular teeth and use a glue stick to attach them to the plate mask. Use two brown circles for ears and attach them to the plate with glue or staples. Draw the rest of the facial features onto the mask with a black marker. Attach a length of yarn or elastic to the back of the mask with staples to create a comfortable mask for children to wear.
Use a large piece of blue paper to create a pond on the floor of your classroom. Have children collect sticks, leaves and other outdoor items to place around the pond. Use an online search engine to find a printable beaver template. Allow children to color and cut out their beavers and place them around the pond habitat. Allow children to get creative and add other animals to the pond habitat and build dams using sticks and leaves.