Since the beginning of the school year, dinosaurs and anything prehistoric related has always been an interest in the Brown Bear room. Although it never took off as a theme, the children are always engaged in conversations about prehistoric life. Whenever I read an article about a newly discovered dinosaur (or planet), I bring up the conversation during circle. When I read an article in early March about the discovery of a woolly mammoth and how scientists want to bring it back to life, the children thought that was amazing. They thought it would be great to go on a mammoth ride. They began talking about other animals they want to bring back to life; mainly dinosaurs and a saber tooth tiger. Different animals were mentioned and the conversation ventured into the difference between extinct and endangered. A few children knew the difference and were able to explain the difference to their friends. Extinct means that the animal is no longer alive and endangered means that the animal is almost "all gone." In order to support this interest of the children, I checked out a few books from the library of both animals that are extinct (mammoths and dinosaurs) and endangered animals (tigers, camels, and elephants). Such books included Almost Gone and Gone Wild. The children showed much interest and requested that I read about the different animals every day during circle. Before I go to the library, I always ask the children what books they would like me to check out. Books about woolly mammoths, tigers, dinosaurs, princesses, and dragons were requested. I also brought books about sharks (which was a giant hit), spiders, rhinos, and camels. I also found a chapter book called The Mammoth Academy that has been a huge hit with the children. I've only been reading it for two days and we are already on chapter 6; halfway through the book! The conversation that took place in regards to why animals were endangered was that their habitats were being destroyed, not enough food to eat, and/or climate change. A few children knew about over-hunting and this too was discussed - buffaloes, elephants, and possibly mammoths.
Children began bringing in toy animals for sharing and Charlotte brought in her dog. The children have been looking for worms and other insects outside. I brought in more books from the library that was not so much about endangered animals but cultural books in which animals were the characters. I also brought in pictures of tigers and dolphins from my days at Marine World. During my research on this theme, I had the idea of "adopting a tiger" from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). In my previous preschool, the classroom adopted a tiger and we received a plush tiger, along with photos. To develop social, writing, and cognitive skills, the children were allowed to take the tiger home for the weekend and write and draw about their time with the tiger in a "Tiger Journal." During the Monday morning circle, the child talked about what they did with the tiger during the weekend. This is one idea I have for the Brown Bear class.
As you may all know by now, we are also taking a field trip to the Oakland Zoo. This is a great way to support the Brown Bear's interest in animals, both endangered and extinct. After the field trip, the teachers will observe the interests of the children and support that interest. In addition to talking about animals, we have also talked about ways to take care of plants, trees, and flowers. This has been supported by books that relate to gardening and the habitats of animals. It is our goal to bring all these themes together by building, maintaining, and taking care our own habitat - our playground garden areas. We plan on building birdhouses and feeders, as well as ordering butterflies so the children can observe firsthand the metamorphosis of the butterfly. Sky and I are also looking to fill out tanks with different insects and possibly a turtle. With living organisms in the classroom, supported by books, conversations, our garden, projects, and field trips, we believe that this theme is a great way for the children to learn about animals, both alive and extinct, as well as caring for animals and our Earth.
- Jose Castellanos
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