We have read a few books about arctic animals recently. C and R both enjoy learning about the arctic, so I set up an arctic playset for them to enjoy while I rested on the couch. Yes, that's right, I went to the couch; I'm ten weeks pregnant, so it's acceptable. No one got frostbite.
I froze water in a few small plastic tubs. Then I added that ice, some ice cubes, a few scoops of snow from the yard, and water to a baking pan. I brought out the Arctic Toob and let them play.
They were very content for quite a while. I even heard them talking about arctic animals being white for camouflage purposes - learning was going on!
We read:
In Arctic Waters by Laura Crawford is a fun rhyming book with a story that builds with the addition of each new arctic animal (in the style of This is the House that Jack Built"). It is a great introduction to arctic animals.
Over in the Arctic Where the Cold Winds Blow by Marianne Berkes is a spin on the familiar rhyme, Over in the Meadow. Each page introduces a different arctic animal. There are many opportunities for learning in this book - counting, naming the animals, an eye spy, factual details about the animals, and tips from the author.
Thanks to Natalie from Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns for recommending the Arctic Toob. C and R really enjoy playing with it!
I am linking this to the geography linky at Children Grow, Children Explore, Children Learn.
14 comments:
What a fun activity! I think Sammy would have a blast playing in all that ice and snow!
I've had that arctic toob on my mind since reading Natalie's post as well - and I want to say I read about it on Adventures in Mommydom as well? Maybe I'll actually get it, one of these days...
Oh what fun! I have to remember these books for when we study the Arctic or Alaska. Thank you for linking up this week. Feel better soon!
I guess thats one good reason to space out kids, when I was 10 weeks pregnant, I had a 15 month old, so she still needed quite a bit of attention/supervision lol.
This looks like a fun activity and great books.
We love those toobs, they are AWESOME!
They might like the other toobs as well. There's an Old West one that's great for learning about the Western states.
So, I thought that was diaper snow at first...... Shows how little I think people have real snow at their house.
I'm completely in love with this activity! An Arctic Toob is going on my list of must-buys :)
ohhh the first trimester can be so difficult! Love the activity and book selection. Hope you get over the nausea soon! Love your blog!
I love to give my kids water and ice to play with.
BTW, I hope hanging out on the couch is acceptable for non-pregnant ladies too, otherwise I am in deep trouble.
We have an Egypt Toob but I may have to check out the arctic one. I know my kids would absolutely love to have an icy playland like that!
We also loved both of those books. You can also download a fun "mix-and-match" book for marine animals from here - http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com/ForCreativeMinds/Arctic_FCM.pdf. It's awesome that C and R enjoy Arctic Toob - I am sure that real snow adds to excitement. Anna really has no experience with cold, so she only lasted for about 15 minutes of playing with ice.
Fun activity!
Thanks for sharing about the Toobs. I had no idea about them but love that they come in sets rather than trying to gather animals piece by piece.
Kerri
Looks like fun....cold fun! =)
This is GREAT. I just love the idea. Brings the outdoors - in, when too cold to be out.
thanks for this very fun idea.
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