When we are lucky enough to have a few warm sunny days, many of our thoughts turn to spring ahead.  Are those snowbells popping up?  Is the dirt soft enough for digging?  Did you hear birds on your walk to school?  Can we get ready to go outside without snow pants and thick mittens?

We use this excitement to inspire us to bring things we find in nature back to the classroom to build imaginative animal habitats.  We gather sticks, stones, twigs, fallen leaves during our walk to the playground and on our weekend roaming (a favorite place is Punkatasset/Estabrook).  We use what we can find on the ground rather than disturbing any living plants or trees.  

Animal Habitats With Clay

We sort the smaller materials and use them with red clay to make small imaginative forests and terrains.  We incorporate other recycled classroom materials with a similar colors: wooden and metal beads, packing paper, toothpicks and buttons.  

Animal Habitats with Water, Sticks, Stones, and Animals

We use the larger sticks and branches of bushes to create animal habitats in our big plastic trays.  Adding the water is always great fun!  Stones and branches provide places for the animals to rest, hide and eat.  This is art that we can create and then play in!

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You might ask: What do animals need in their habitats?