Here is an informational video about woodchuck/groundhogs:
Great video introduction.
Have you ever seen a marmot? Here is a cute video to introduce you to this mammal.
Outdoor Hour Challenge #46
Woodchuck/Groundhog, Prairie Dog, Marmot
1. Read pages 229-232in the Handbook of Nature Study. As you read, highlight or underline some facts you can share with your children. There are observation ideas on page 231 and many of these suggestions are ones that you can continue to make over the next few seasons.
Here is an additional fact sheet on woodchuck:
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/groundhog.html
Information on marmots:
http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/pubs/notebook/furbear/marmot.php
Prairie Dog information with video:
http://www.desertusa.com/dec96/du_pdogs.html
2. Supplemental reading in The Burgess Animal Book for Children: Read Stories 7-8. After you read each story, pause and let your child narrate back some facts they learned from the reading. This could be as simple as looking at the illustrations on pages 48 and 54 and having them tell you a few things about the woodchuck, the marmot, or the prairie dog.
3. Spend 10-15 minutes outdoors on a nature walk. Look for signs of mammals as you walk. Look for tracks, burrows, holes, or scat. If you are able to observe one of this challenge’s featured mammals, be sure to use some of the observation ideas from page 231. Be alert for any opportunity to observe a mammal during your outdoor time. So far we have learned about rabbits and squirrels, but be on the look out for more common mammals like dogs, cats, or horses.
4. After your outdoor time, if you observed a mammal, you can look it up in the Handbook of Nature Study. For your nature journal you can sketch something you saw during your outdoor time. One additional idea is to compare two animals that we have already studied. You can compare a rabbit and a prairie dog or a squirrel and a prairie dog. Make sketches or make a list of the comparisons. You may also use any of the additional resources for your nature journal.
Additional resources for this challenge:
Woodchuck/groundhog notebook page and facts
Groundhog Lapbook and other resources
Groundhog Day printables
Prairie Dog coloring page
Marmot Clipart for you to make your own notebook page
Please note that I have switched to using my Lulu.com account to upload the free pdf files for the Outdoor Hour Challenge. I will try to eventually move them all to Lulu.com. Let me know if you have any trouble with the downloads this week since this is new for me too. :)
Barb-Harmony Art Mom
Thanks to Tina at Jetihoja Academy for the special mammal challenge notebook page. You can find it along with all the other notebook pages here:
Outdoor Hour Challenge Notebooking pages
Thanks Tina!
