W08+Mar9+Birds+and+Nature

=**Week 8 March 9: Week 1 of Bird Theme**=
 * Linda and Hope**
 * Location: Hemlock Bluffs (maybe start at Linda's house if it's cold)**

**Books:**

 * Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
 * Owls by Gail Gibbons
 * Owl babies by Martin Waddell

(NOTE: Linda and Hope have 8 Owl Moon books between us! No need to get your own copy.)

**Everyone:**
Show and tell item: bird-oriented if you have something to share otherwise your choice Binoculars Nature journal/pencil/s

**Linda's list:**
white board/markers Owl Moon/Owls books Birdsong identiflyer Cookie snack

Hope's list:
Owl Moon/Owl Babies books

SCHEDULE
10:00 Meet either at Hemlock Bluff's shelter or at Linda's house for the first part

(name game -- but instead of an action, make a noise we need to copy)
 * Intro activity**


 * Show and tell**

Talk about birds on the white board -- what makes a bird a bird? What's an owl? What makes an owl an owl?
 * Bird intro with white board:**


 * Read Owl Moon**
 * What's owling?
 * Who has walked in the dark in the snow and listened to the quiet?
 * Listen to bird calls -- "Night Birds"


 * Similes -- go through book again and look for similes**
 * The trees stood as still as giant statues
 * A train whistle blew long and low, like a sad, sad song
 * It was as quiet as a dream
 * I could feel the cold, as if someone's icy hand was palm-down on my back.
 * The snow below it was whiter than the milk in a cereal bowl


 * Create some of our own similes?


 * Snack: Owl cookies?**




 * Hemlock Bluffs:** walk trails with nature journals and binoculars
 * Walk through looking for birds, listening to birds.
 * If the kids have interest/patience, here are 2 activities we could do during the walk:


 * 1. Make a Sound Map **

Record what you are hearing by making a sound map in your nature journal. After listening and recording for a few minutes, look at your sound map and ask:
 * 1) Draw a circle. Pretend that the circle is the space all around you where the sounds you hear come from.
 * 2) Make a little picture of yourself in the middle of the circle.
 * 3) Start listening carefully.
 * 4) Each time you hear a sound, try to tell if it comes from in front of you, behind you, your left side, or your right side. Draw a little picture in the circle that will remind you of what it sounds like. As you listen, think of the way a cat or a rabbit can turn its ears when it hears something. If you cup your hands behind your ears and gently bend your ears forward, you may hear sounds better.
 * Which sounds were natural?
 * Which sounds were made by people?
 * Which sounds were pleasant?
 * Which sounds were annoying?
 * Which sounds were mysterious?


 * 2. Make a Viewfinder (I'll bring a few just in case! LW)**

Fold a 3-inch-by-5-inch card in half the short way. Use scissors to cut into the fold about half an inch from the edge, across the top, and back down to the fold. When you unfold the card, you will have a window, or //viewfinder.// Look through the viewfinder as if you are looking through a camera lens. The viewfinder will help you focus on one thing at a time, whether that thing is close up or far away. To use the viewfinder for recording what you see in your journal, trace the inside edges of your viewfinder on a journal page. When you sketch the scene, the viewfinder will help you see and draw the shapes and colors you really see, right before your eyes. You may want to tape or glue a pocket to the inside back cover of your field journal to hold your viewfinder when you are not using it.