Thursday, November 15, 2012

Who's in the House - Science Play




A habitat is a special place where a plant or animal lives. Just like you have a home or place to live, so do animals and plants. When we talk about an animal’s or a plant's home it is more like a neighborhood than a "house." An animal needs five things to survive in its habitat: food, water, shelter, air and a place to raise its young.

Animals require different amounts of space. Habitats can be big like a forest or they can be much smaller like a burrow. Some animals defend a huge territory or roam over a large area. Some other animals need only a small amount of space and can put up with neighbors that live close.

Just like you have to go to the store to get food, an animal leaves its "shelter" to get the things they need to live. If the population's needs aren't met, it will move to a better habitat.

Different animals need different habitats. A fish, for example, needs clean water in which to live. A grasshopper, however, needs a big space where it can hop and leaves that it can eat.
  
Here are a few habitats we observed:

Doodle Bugs or Ant Lion pits

Several different species of ants

Carpenter bees bore through soft woods to lay eggs and protect their larvae as they develop. Female carpenter bees will chew a tunnel into a piece of wood to build a nest gallery. The bits of wood she chews and deposits outside the nest are called "frass". The tunnel openings usually look about one or two inches deep, but they can be up to 10 feet long! These tunnels usually have several rooms where the bees hold their eggs and food. 

Wasp Nest

 Spider web

 Wood boring insects in a dead tree

We also saw: birds nests, squirrels nests, rolly-polies and slugs under rocks, spider egg sacks, lizards on trees

15 comments:

  1. This is a great idea! I also have a toddler boy and look forward to swipping a bunch more ideas from you! You are so creative! Found you on the Hump Day blog hop....best hop find yet! Thanks!

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    1. Awww. Thanks, you have put a smile on my face with your kindness!

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  2. Visiting from Made by Little Hands Monday again! (Varya @ littleartists.blog.com). Where we live it isn't as easy to find animal/insect houses. I plan on sharing your pictures and the post with my 4 years old - she loves animals and insects!

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  3. I find it amazing that most of us can find all these habitats right in your backyard, but often we don't take the time to notice or observe!

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    1. I agree! I love simple activities like these that remind us to stop and take notice of our surroundings. And you could do this with a child of any age.

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  4. What a fun way to play and learn about science. My 7 year olds would love this too!
    Thanks for linking up to Science Sunday!

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  5. I've been having fun browsing through your blog! I like it here :) So glad you found me at the Ahola hop. Looks like you have a fun link-up too, I'll have to stay tuned.

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  6. What a great idea! Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!

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  7. thanks for sharing on Hey Mom, Look What I Did at Adventures In Mommy Land!

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  8. I love all the habitats in your area! What a fun thing for kids to explore & learn about with their curious minds! Thanks for linking up to TGIF! Have a great week,
    Beth =-)

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