It’s Quite Jarring!: Ecology/Ecosystem Discovery Jars

It’s okay to be an eco-geek with this engaging, woodsy Ecology/Ecosystem Discovery Jar which allows a child to engage in scientific discovery and questioning, view items found in his or her local environment such as twigs, rocks and leaves, and create a mini-ecosystem within a small, contained area. 

Ideas for Ecology/Ecosystem Discovery Jars include a beach scene complete with shells, sand and driftwood, a desert with cactus and sand, and a forest with forest dwelling flowers, leaves etc. You could even add small, plastic animal figurines found in craft stores to the jars for extra pizazz.  

*Please make sure when collecting items for these jars that the items you are choosing from are freely available to you (many arboretums and gardens do not want their flowers/tree specimens taken from park grounds even if they are found on the ground. Most importantly, never touch mushrooms or any plant that may be poisonous to children or pets!*

*Remember to seal the lid of the jar with clear shipping tape so that the more adventurous of your students does not try to take the forest home with them!*

So grab a plastic jar (s), such as the one found at the Dollar Tree, to design your very own miniature woodland, prairie or beach or desert. 

Extension: This activity would be wonderful for an eco-based craft or at your science center! You could have your students go on a short field trip around your neighborhood or school park to gather the natural beauties for the jars. 

In circle time, you could discuss the different textures, sizes, colors and shapes of the items and ask why the students' think these plants live in the area. 

Extra rocks could be painted and given as paper weight gifts to parents for Earth Day!

Stiff, fir leave branches could be used as "paintbrushes" at your easel area. 

What In the World!?: Learning About What's Inside the Earth and Model of Our Moon/Earth Orbit

The children are becoming more worldly about the Earth, the colossal planet we call home. A simple and unique way to teach children about the anatomy of the earth is by creating a simple cross section using a coloring page template or a Cricut Machine diecut from the Stand and Salute cartridge.

Subject: Science: To show that the earth is a living entity, not just a floating ball of matter in outer space and to identify the earth's layers.

The Earth consists of 4 parts: the Crust, Mantle, Outer Core and Inner Core. Make sure to write down some easy facts which preschoolers will comprehend about each of the earth's layers. The information I gathered  was from the following websites:

http://www.kidsgeo.com/geology-for-kids/0020-crust-mantel-core.php

http://easyscienceforkids.com/all-about-earths-layers/

This video from Make Me Genius gives even the littlest children insight into this cosmic complexity by likening the earth's layers to that of a hard-boiled egg. 

The What In the World! Earth Cross-Section

Materials

Earth Template (Double trace this so that you will have a front and back cover)

Red, yellow, orange and brown scrapbook or construction paper

Glue

Scissors 

Word processing system to create titles 

Pinking shears (Fancy scissors that create the tooth-like design on titles) 

Brads or a stapler to create the book-style, cross-section earth 

To Make: 

1. Print out an earth template from Internet by using a coloring page, drawing by hand or using a diecut machine such as Stand and Salute by Cricut cartridge. 
2. Assemble diecut pieces using glue or a glue tape runner (if used Stand and Salute cartridge).
3. If tracing by using a coloring page or hand-drawn template, trace earth twice and cut out using scissors. 
4. Using the back section of your earth, trace and cut out a piece of red scrapbook paper of equal size as the shape of the earth. 
5. Glue the red scrapbook paper to the back section of your earth. This will represent the 1st layer of the earth: The crust. 
6. Continue to create smaller circles which represent the mantle (orange paper), inner and outer core (yellow and brown) out of scrapbook paper to create a stacked circle design. 
7. Glue each layer of paper on top of each other using glue. 
8. Using a word processing system, create titles for each layer of the earth. 
9. For a decorative touch, use pinking shears to give a tooth-like design to your hand-cut titles and glue titles to appropriate areas. 
10. Use brads or a stapler to finish your book-style, cross section earth. 

If laminated, this can be used in the Science Center or as an individual lesson. 

Moon Earth Orbit Model

I also found a wonderful way to show children how the earth revolves around the sun and the moon revolves around the earth through the teacherspayteachers.com site entitled Space Model of Moon Earth Orbit. You will have to sign-up for free in order to download. 

Space Model of Moon Earth Orbit by Melissa Iglesias (Her website is moretime2teach.blogspot.com). Please click on the following link to download this awesome model. 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Space-Model-of-Earth-Moons-orbit-565681

I'd also like to wish everyone a very Happy Easter!