Discover engaging, hands-on pond science activities for preschoolers to learn all about ponds. Pond life, frog life cycle, feather investigation, & more!
When I said I'd created gifts for the Beaver Patrol, you knew I'd made coordinating cards, right? --------- Dimensional Beaver Cards Materials: brown cardstock white cardstock paper trimmer scissors brown marker black marker craft glue Steps: Prepare the materials. Use the paper trimmer to cut: brown cardstock - 9" x 3.5" white cardstock - 8.5" x 3" With scissors, cut: two white teeth two white eyes two brown ears one brown nose one brown tail Use the brown pen to outline the nose and draw crosshatches on the tail. Use the black pen to draw pupils on the eyes. Fold the brown paper into thirds. Glue two teeth onto the top and two ears on the sides. Center the white paper on the brown paper and glue it in place. It will trap the ears and the teeth. Refold the brown paper, which will add folds to the white paper that is now glued to it. Glue the nose and eyes to the front of the card. Fold a small flap on the end of the tail, then glue that tab to the card. You want the tail to flop down when the card is out of its envelope... .... but fold up for mailing. Quick trivia question: What do you call a group of beavers? Answer: Colony. Steve used all of the beaver cards I made, but I like them so much I may need to make more. Although now that I think about it, are there occasions that really call for a beaver card? International Beaver Day is April 7, so maybe that's just the occasion I need to justify more cards.
The weather is getting warmer here in Colorado, and we have been taking daily walks right after dinner. The other day, we discovered a pond in our neighborhood filled with goslings, ducklings, and frogs, and it has become a favorite spot for my girls. Ever since we discovered the pond, the questions have started rolling ... Read more
As Big Brother is getting older it's really interesting to see both his interests and skills develop into more specific skill sets. Lately he's been really interested in the building of things (mostly stemming from a love of Legos, Magnatiles, and our wooden railroad track.) As he leans that way I'm finding myself looking for other creative ways to develop those interests and skills. A few weeks ago he had the chance to observe a beaver dam up close with my husband on one of their nature walks. This lead to some great questions. A few days later I followed up with a drive to a local man made dam which he was able to inspect from a distance. When we came home I set up this building investigation in the yard. It was inspired by a great tinfoil river activity we did last year from the amazing book 101 Kids Activities That Are the Bestest, Funnest Ever by the team over at Kids Activities Blog. Similar to that experience, we used tinfoil to create a river (this time on our lawn.) This time we set it up on slight slope. The boys and I also collected natural materials from around the yard that might be useful in building the dam. We collected sticks, acorns, rocks, and old reeds from lilies. I added in a few non-natural materials I also thought Big Brother might want to use: modeling clay, popsicle sticks, and lumber scraps. Big Brother's goal was to be able to get his dam to hold enough water so that these three acorn boats could float. It was so interesting to watch his process, which mostly involved trial and error. First he started with just a pile of the wooden natural materials. When he observed the water move through those, he decided to try using more rocks. With each trial he would tweak his design a little, before trying again. In the end I encouraged him (although I was really trying to let it be his process to try using a little clay. I led him to the idea that he had seen mud on the beaver dams.) He started to get into the idea of building a space for the water to collect. He never quite got to the place where all the boats could continuously float, although his last design definitely best slowed down the water. He continued to tinker on his dam a few more days, and even brainstorm other materials he would like to add in. (Including trying to find some clay like mud on our property.) We'll definitely be looking for other ways to invite building experiences. What do your children like to build? This post may also have been shared at some of these terrific link parties.
You don't have to live in Canada to make this beaver crafts for kids! Celebrate this adorable animal for International Beaver Day on 7th April.
This Beaver Craft Template is super fun, easy, and extremely adorable! Your kids will absolutely love making their beaver.
This Brilliant Beaver craft is super fun, easy, and extremely adorable! Your kids will absolutely love making this beaver. This Brilliant Beaver Craft Template includes… Black and white template just Print, Color, Cut, Glue, and Enjoy. Template (Already Colored) just Print, Cut, Glue, and Enjoy. A Beaver Coloring sheet 8.5 by 11 Brilliant Beaver craft poster **This is a digital product, no physical items will be shipped.**
Beaver Dam Cookies - - an easy, chocolate no-bake cookie recipe that makes a perfect snack after a river-themed storytime, trip to the river, or anytime!
Do your kids enjoy making paper bag puppets? Participating in puppet show activities allows them to express and grow in their imagination and creativity. What's fantastic about this is that we'll be combining imaginative play
Ever dreamed about making a beaver craft? Well, dream no more I have an easy-to-make beaver craft, and a template for an easier time.
This beaver craft for kids is made from a couple of paper plates and other basic items from our master list of supplies plus a free template.
I was using all new ingredient for this bin: lentils and blue Activa Scenic Sand that I've seen at my friend's house and wanted to try it too. We have already used many of these forest animals in other sensory bins. A beaver, a wolf and a moose are the latest addition. She absolutely loved playing with sand. It is not kinetic so there was mess all around the bin instantly and I was very happy that I put a plastic tablecover underneath the bin which helped to avoid the sand spreading all over the house. My daughter ruined the dam and built it all over again a few times. She also loved pouring sand in acorn caps and feeding it to the toy animals.
Explore and investigate all about the pond ecosystem and the animals that live there! Check out my pond activities designed for preschool, pre-k, & kinder.
Paper plate beaver craft for kids! An Oregon inspired craft for preschoolers based on a simple geography book as part of the Booking Across the USA Series.
This beaver craft for kids is made from a couple of paper plates and other basic items from our master list of supplies plus a free template.
Others see a Pringles can; I see a beaver. It's a weird gift. I've been doing a lot of beaver-themed crafting recently and there's actually a good reason why. Backing up, you may remember that Steve started an extensive Boy Scout leadership training called Wood Badge in 2016 and completed it at the end of 2017. This year, he is on the staff to train the next batch of leaders. The trainees are split up into 8 patrols, each named after an animal. About a month ago, Steve found out he would be the troop guide for the Beaver Patrol. Steve asked me to pick up snacks for the Beavers' first weekend together. Trevor thought up logs (pretzel sticks) and beaver teeth (mini marshmallows), while I came up with the idea of turning snack-sized Pringles containers into beavers. Read on to learn how I made them. There are affiliate links in the materials list; I make a small commission on any purchases you make after clicking a link, at no extra cost to you. --------- Pringles Can Beavers Materials: Single-serve Pringles cans Brown construction paper 3" circle punch Brown ink White construction paper Scissors Scotch tape Craft glue Googly eyes Steps: Remove the plastic lids from the Pringles cans and save them for a separate craft. Start by cutting brown construction paper the same height as the cans. Wrap a piece around each can, then tape it in place. I chose to leave a small gap so that the Beavers could easily see which flavor each can of Pringles held. Use the punch to cut circles for the faces. With scissors, cut two ears, one oval nose, and one tail for each beaver. Ink the edges of each. Cut two white rectangle teeth for each beaver. Working on one face at a time, glue the ears, eyes, nose, and teeth in place. Use a loop of tape to attach it to the top of the can. You could glue them, but with tape you don't need to destroy the beaver to eat the chips. Tape the tails to the bottoms of the cans. The first thing Steve told me when he got home was that the beavers were a hit with the Beaver Patrol. In fact, they repurposed my beavers to decorate their rocket for a competition. I love the creativity! I especially love that their beaver is holding the Scout emblem. Great work, Beavers!
Get together with the kids to make this adorable Paper Bag Beaver Puppet Craft that's perfect for International Beaver Day on 7th April!
