We have been learning about animals that live in the Arctic. I have taught the children (by showing them on our globe) the difference between the Arctic (North Pole) and Antarctic (South Pole). We are now learning about the different animals that live in the Arctic. In a week or so we'll talk about the animals (mainly penguins) that live in the Antarctic.
I have enjoyed reading this book to the children as it has helped them learn about a few of the animals of the Arctic.
A popular activity in our classroom right now is this iceberg activity. I put a bunch of bowls and cups of water in the freezer to make mini-icebergs. To do this work, the children sit at the two tables shown below. They request an iceberg from a teacher and the iceberg is placed onto the blue tray which represents the ocean. They can then use the small animals and figurines to act out arctic scenes. There is a basket with a towel which they may use to dry their hands if they get too wet or cold. This has been a really fun sensory activity for the children. The arctic figures we are using are from the Arctic TOOB by Safari Toys. You can often find these TOOBS in the hobby section of Hobby Lobby.
Thanks for sharing! Ill have to get the dolphins toob so we have all the animals too!
To: directress@live.com
Posted by: Laura | January 26, 2011 at 11:49 AM
Great! Im glad you enjoyed it. Thanks so much for sharing. Ill try to check out your link!
To: directress@live.com
Posted by: Laura | January 26, 2011 at 11:49 AM
I just wanted to share that I love this book and activity.
I have the arctic toob and found the Narwhal in the dolphins and whale toob.
Now we have all the characters that are in the book!
Posted by: Lisa | January 25, 2011 at 09:09 PM
Hi, Loved this activity! My girls really had fun! I posted a link on my blog about it! Thanks!
http://discoverydaysandmontessorimoments.blogspot.com/2011/01/antarctica-winter-fun.html
Posted by: Stephanie | January 25, 2011 at 08:17 PM
Sounds good! Thanks for sharing!
To: directress@live.com
Posted by: Laura | January 25, 2011 at 03:52 PM
i set up an arctic animals sensory table today! You gave me the idea, but i changed it. First off I don't have a fridge/freezer in my classroom so it really wouldn't have been practical for me to have ice, but I will remember that for the future. Instead I broke up a big chunk of Styrofoam. I put in some duplo polar bears and penguins and a few seals/sea lions. They're bigger than what you have but the perfect size for our sensory bin. I showed it to the kids today and told them it will be open for use tomorrow, they were sad they couldn't play with it today, but very excited tomorrow. It will most likely get very messy, but I'm excited to see how they play with it.
Posted by: Jessica | January 24, 2011 at 09:31 PM
What a great idea for winter!
Posted by: Kristi @ Creative Connections for Kids | January 21, 2011 at 10:42 PM
We made icebergs this week too only our students added giraffes, cow, and dinosaurs to the mix of animals. LOL!
Posted by: Deborah | January 21, 2011 at 09:20 PM
Great, Joy! Im so glad you likedthis idea.
Laura
To: directress@live.com
Posted by: Laura | January 21, 2011 at 12:53 PM
Great! Im so glad you could find the animals. I am sure it would be veryfrustrating to not have access to the materials you want. Take care,
Laura
To: directress@live.com
Posted by: Laura | January 21, 2011 at 12:52 PM
Thanks for sharing this. I did this with my 2 children yesterday (21 months and 6 years old). They both loved playing with the ice and the animals that we had. I even added in some bowls of blue colored water and we acted out one of the books that we have recently read. It kept them busy for a long time.
Posted by: Joy | January 21, 2011 at 09:00 AM
Hi
So often, I can't get the materials that American teachers and home-schoolers use. Today, I struck it lucky. I liked this activity and managed to buy the arctic animals for a similar price to the price listed on the site you provided.
Usually, I have to pay a much higher price for the item or astronomical prices for postage or we simply can't access the item (Don't get me started on the jumbo push pins!!). As for dollar stores that sell small, useful items for counting etc.... hopeless.
Anyway, I was so excited to find the arctic animals that I am now putting together a couple of other related activities to compliment this one. Thanks for the inspiration.
Lin
Posted by: Linny | January 21, 2011 at 12:32 AM
They also sell them at Michaels, and I love those toobs. They totally rock. Love your iceberg.
Posted by: Ticia | January 20, 2011 at 09:00 AM
We did an iceberg and penguins activity last year but yours in the blue tray/ocean look beautiful. I'm sure the children must have loved it!
Posted by: min | January 20, 2011 at 12:09 AM