Why are snowy owls white?

This week was all about the snowy owl! You may have noticed your child come home with an owl puppet this week.  It is a snowy owl and we learned so much about these fascinating creatures! The week began with the question, "Why are snowy owls white?" and you know what, these smart kiddos we have at school quickly yelled out, "to camouflage!" Which brought us to another conversation about what other types of animals and how they camouflage.  The children also leaned about the life of a snowy owl and its physical characteristics.  Did you know snowy owl babies have two names? You can refer to them as an owlet or a chick!  The children also learned about the parts of an owl including wings, feathers and talons (a fancy word for claws).  The children loved making a snowy owl puppet and made sure to give him lots of feathers to keep him extra warm! 

Towards the end the week, we began a discussion about groundhog day.  We talked about the groundhog tradition and what it means if he sees/does not see his shadow.  We asked each child if they think we will have a early spring or another six weeks of winter.  It was very interesting to see who picked which option.  Our little snow bunnies most definitely chose six more weeks of winter! Ask your child which had more votes!

What's up next:

When we come back from our weekend it will be a new month!  February will be here and we have lots of fun things in store for the children.  We will begin the month with a new artist, Mr. Michaelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, aka Michaelangelo for short!  And then jump right into Chinese New Year (it's the year of the monkey!) with studies on Chinese traditions and the monkey, of course!

Lastly, don't forget to vote for us on Wicked Local's 2016 Reader's Choice Awards! CLICK HERE TO VOTE Don't forget to vote for at least 10 of your favorite local businesses for your vote to count! All votes do not have to be exclusively for businesses in Burlington so pick all of your faves from surrounding towns!

Important Dates and Reminders:

February 1: February tuition due
February 15: SEE closed in observance of President's Day
February 27: Monthly Gathering at Celebration Kingdom - check your Evite for more info!
March 1: March Tuiton Due
April 1: April Tuition Due
April 18-22: SEE closed for Spring Break
May 11-12: Picture Day! More info to come in a few weeks

Some pictures from this week's explorations:

The preschoolers made their house as part of learning about habitats.

Mary Beth and the kiddos made a snowman with the snow that fell last weekend.

The making of the snowy owl puppets! We hope they continue to fly all over your house as they have our classroom!

This little owl has been flying around our classroom, too!

A glimpse at small world play in the wintertime.

A very well made block sculpture! The children were busy working on this during free play today.

See you in February!
Joanna