Groundhogs play a special role in a tradition tied to the arrival of Spring, but they also have a hibernation superpower to survive the winter. In this activity, we invite kids to explore hibernation as they build cozy dens for pretend slumbering friends.
The Guide
Step 1: Watch the Tinkergarten Home "Hibernation Station" video lesson.
Hop into your Tinkergarten dashboard to watch the "Hibernation Station" video lesson. Kids can watch how Meghan and other explorers build cozy winter dens, then get inspired to build their own.
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Step 2: Wonder together.
Take a moment to wonder together what the creatures in your area are doing this time of year. Which creatures are active in your outdoor spaces? Which ones have left for the season? Which creatures might still be there, but out of sight, cozying up for the winter? What else is your child wondering about the creatures in your area?
Step 3: Create a hibernation den.
A den for groundhogs: Download and print these images of groundhogs and invite kids to create a cozy groundhog den just like Meghan does in the video lesson. Or, invite kids to make a cozy nest for one of the creatures you observed and wondered about on your walk. Wonder together where would be a good spot to make a cozy den. What could you use to build it? Support kids with gathering sticks, leaves, and other materials. Offer teamwork as feels supportive as kids try out their design. Or, suggest one of these ways to get started:
Use the hole in the bottom of a tree and cover it with branches, greens, etc.
Make a small lean-to against a tree using sticks covered with leaves and grasses.
Dig a hole and build a stick and mud roof over the hole.
Place grasses, leaves and other cozy materials inside a cardboard box.
A hibernation den for explorers! For a simple hideaway, all you need is a bed sheet or tarp and something to drape it over (i.e. tree branch, table, chairs). You can also offer some simple construction materials, like duct tape, bungee cords or string. Work together as a team in imagining, planning and building a hideaway using your materials. Kids can decorate the inside or outside of their den with their favorite nature treasures. Bring favorite books, stuffed animals or special objects inside. If weather allows, leave the den in place for a few days and invite your child to invent new ways to use and play in their special space. Or, if you have snow in your area, try our Build A Snow House DIY activity.
Step 4: Extend Play!
Every year on February 2nd, the famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, is watched as he attempts to find his shadow and predict the course of winter. Hands down, shadow play is our favorite way to celebrate Groundhog Day!
Attach a stick to a printable groundhog to turn it into a puppet. Then, turn off the lights and use a flashlight to enjoy groundhog shadow play. If it is a sunny day, head outside and find your shadow. Try out some of the ideas in our What Can Your Shadow Do DIY activity.
Read here for more ways to celebrate Groundhog Day!
Why is this activity great for kids?
Using found objects to create a cozy space for a pretend groundhog supports problem solving, creativity and imaginative play. When kids pretend, they develop cognitive flexibility—the ability to bend the rules, imagine new worlds and substitute one idea for another. Part of persisting through obstacles in life is thinking and acting flexibly. And, thinking about the needs of another creature supports kids in developing empathy.
People use critical thinking skills to gather information, evaluate it, screen out distractions and think for themselves. These skills help us identify which knowledge to trust and how to use new and old knowledge together to decide what to believe or do. People also use these skills to develop arguments, make decisions, identify flaws in reasoning and to solve problems.
Also referred to as “higher-level thinking,” critical thinking draws on many other skills that matter (e.g. focus/self control, communication, making connections, and even empathy). Kids won’t fully develop critical thinking until adolescence or even adulthood, but remarkably there is lots that you can do to help your kids build its foundation during preschool and early school ages.
How do little kids build a base for such a complicated set of skills? A key building block to critical thinking is the ability to develop theories about the world and to adjust your theories as new information becomes available. Kids can practice this as they attempt to solve mysteries or actively wonder about why things are as they are. As a family, the more you ask questions, make predictions and allow kids to take active part in discovering the answers to their questions, the stronger you make their foundation for critical thinking. As kids grow out of the 3-to 5-year-olds' freewheeling relationship with reality, you can also train them to question information and see the inconsistencies or flaws in certain ways of thinking.
Why does it matter?
In a world that is increasingly saturated with media messages and where information comes from a wide range of sources that differ in quality, critical thinking is more important than ever. Kids need this skill in order to be informed and empowered consumers, to either suggest or evaluate new solutions to complicated problems, to make decisions about our society and its governance, and to form the beliefs that guide their personal and professional lives.
Imagination
Category:
Thinking Skills
What is Imagination?
Imagination is defined in many ways, but one we like is, "the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality." This is no small task to little kids, and yet young childhood is a time in which imagination is developed more than any other. How does imagination develop in childhood? Through an increasingly sophisticated life of make believe.
We all likely have a sense of what we mean by make believe or good old "pretend play." How do experts define it, though? To some, there are different types of make believe that vary in sophistication and make pretend play different than other types of play. For example, kids may use objects to represent something else (e.g. a block becomes a cell phone). Or, they may start to give an object certain properties (e.g. a doll is asleep or a tree is on fire!). Still yet, they may themselves take on the properties of someone or something else.
From there, pretend play evolves into acting out scenarios or stories, those getting increasingly intricate as imagination develops. As kids' pretend play grows more sophisticated, these stories come to involve not only the creative use of objects, but multiple perspectives (e.g. good and bad guys in the same story), and/or the playful manipulation of ideas and emotions (e.g. I am sad, but then become happy after I save the village from certain doom).
Why does it matter?
An ever growing body of research substantiates the many benefits of pretend play including the enhanced development of: language and communication skills; self-control and empathy; flexible and abstract thinking; and creativity. These are the skills that will help kids balance emotions, form healthy relationships, work effectively on teams, stay focused in school, be successful at various jobs and solve the problems of an increasingly complicated world. An individual's creativity in particular, both requires and is limited by her imagination.
Persistence & Grit
Category:
Social Skills
What are Persistence & Grit?
A persistent person can continue on a given course of action in spite of challenges or barriers that arise. In other words, persistence is the ability to stick with something and keep trying. It's partner, grit, is the strength of character, and sometimes courage, to allow one to persist. Those who possess grit don't mind rolling up their sleeves, focusing on the task at hand, and sticking with it to completion despite the challenges that come their way.
Why does it matter?
Talent is helpful, but it's hard work, persistence and grit that unlock talent and turn capable people into success stories. As Thomas Edison so famously said, "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." Practice with being persistent, including the chance to struggle and learn how to overcome struggle, will help kids later have ability to wade through and make sense of confusing new information, navigate difficult situations, and solve tough problems.
Further, studies like those discussed in Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman's NurtureShock tell us that kids will actually perform better when we praise their hard work instead of just telling them how smart or great they are. As parents, we also tend to offer kids activities which are enjoyable and attainable and, as such, too easy. Bear in mind that if we spare them frustration, we actually deny them the chance to work hard and develop persistence and grit.
Age: 0 to 8+
Time: 1 hour+
Materials: Sticks; leaves; grasses; blankets
