April 20 - I WONDER

 

Kindergarten students have a duo tang with this, I WONDER, organizer. I would do this with the PreK students too  with a representation project at the end.  

My organizer is filled out to show you how it could look but you can investigate any way you like.

I am very sad to be missing my SPRING RAMBLES with the students. Every year we go rambling (walks where we learn about the world around us) and look for signs of the season.This month we would be looking for plants and animals that show us spring is here.
There are many signs of Spring in Coronach.
1. Birds that flew south return in the Spring. Canadian geese, ducks, snow geese, cranes, robins and meadowlarks.
2. Snow melts and we see plants beginning to grow. We especially watch for the ones that are only seen in the spring like tulips, crocus' and blossoms on trees like the lilacs, saskatoons, chokecherries and apples.
3. The arrival of green grass, leaves on the trees and dandelions are all exciting to see.

This is a collage of some of the things I saw on my Spring Ramble, April 19th. I used this Ramble to start my I WONDER activity.
 I'd found a black and yellow feather on an earlier Ramble, so I investigated to find if my feather had come from the Meadowlark. I came to my conclusion, what do you think, meadowlark or flicker?

I was still interested in the meadowlark and I WONDERED why they sang to get my attention then flew a little ways away and sang again. Were they luring me away from their nest like the killdeer bird does. 

This is what a meadowlark sounds like - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lngs9-X5cPM 

That made me WONDER where do they nest?

Where could I find the answer? My mom knows lots about birds but we can't visit her now so maybe the internet would be a good place to look.

YES! the meadowlark makes a grass cave nest on the ground.

I know robin eggs are blue and killdeer eggs are brown speckled, I WONDER what their eggs look like?

 They are brown and speckled like the killdeer bird but a little bigger.

 This map I found confirmed that we have Western Meadowlarks here. I learned to draw a moose and some insects, I WONDER if I can learn to draw a meadowlark and I WONDER what they eat?

 

 This is my art project .

I also found out they are ground foragers, which means they pick up insects off the ground but sometimes eat grain, seeds and fruit too.

This I WONDER activity pairs very well with EARTH DAY on Wednesday April 22nd.

If possible, please take your student on a SPRING RAMBLE. Talk about the changes that are happening at this time of year, value the natural environment and be curious about it. Share your knowledge about the environment and encourage/assist them in an I WONDER investigation. I can't wait to see what you find to be curious about!