educator resources

Volume 1 - Why Live Here?	Volume 5 - Go, Toys, Go!	Volume 9 - Sensational Plants
Volume 2 - Material World	Volume 6 - Let's Build	Volume 10 - Insect Investigators
Volume 3 - Healthy Me!	Volume 7 - Rockhounds	Volume 11 - Weather Watchers
Volume 4 -Symphony of Sound	Volume 8 - Bounce and Roll	Volume 12 - Patterns in Time

 

All web sites were last checked July 30, 2009

Volume 1 - Why Live Here?

www.hww.ca/media.asp

Animal sound clips on the Hinterland Who’s Who web site.

www.arcytech.org/java/population/facts_squirrels.html

www.arcytech.org/java/population/facts_oaks.html

www.arcytech.org/java/population/facts_hawks.html

Facts about squirrels, oak tress and Red-tailed hawks from Archytech (Improving Education Through Technology)

www.childcrafteducation.com

Childcraft sells a variety of literacy-based sets that could be used in the classroom or sent home for students to do with families.  All include a book

www.scholarschoice.ca

Paper pine and deciduous trees from Scholar’s Choice

www.squirrels.org

Information, games, book suggestions, and video clips from the Squirrel Place

www.boobooinc.com/sq/faq.html

Questions and answers about squirrels from BBI Squirrel World

http://newyorkwild.org/squirrels/squirrels2005.htm

Squirrel web cam and information about Eastern Grey Squirrels from New York Wild

http://boreal.com/life-cycles-of-a.../p/IG0026740/

Book and frog life cycle model by Boreal Laboratories (Ontario)

http://naturepavilion.com/frogs.htm

Frog life cycle models, including inflatable models from The Nature Pavilion (USA)

www.edresources.com

Inflatable frog life cycle set from Educational Resources (USA)

http://42explore.com/animhom.htm

Links to web sites about animal homes from 42Explore

www.indiana.edu/~animal/forms/Apr2003.pdf

Types of animal nests from Indiana State University

www.fs.fed.us/r6/nr/wildlife/animalinn/index.htm

Animal Inn is an environmental education program designed to inform children and adults about the importance of dead and dying trees located in the forests, parks and even in their own yards 

www.ofnc.ca/fletcher/howto/htsnags.php

Information on “wildlife trees” from the Fletcher wildlife garden

www.lrconline.com/Extension_Notes_English/pdf/cvtytrs.pdf

Extension Notes article “Cavity trees are refuges for wildlife” from the Ministry of Natural Resources (Ontario)

www.macphailwoods.org/wildlife/deadtrees.html

Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry Project - Wildlife enhancement on Prince Edward Island

http://www.hww.ca/hww2.asp?id=101

Information about raccoon habitat, food, life cycles and conservation from Hinterland Who’s Who.

 

Volume 2 - Material World
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www.oglecountysolidwaste.org/books.htm

Books about waste, recycling and composting from Ogle County Oregon

www.planetpals.com/booklist.html

Extensive list of web links to Earth-friendly books, videos and organizations from Planet Pals

www.songsforteaching.com/environmentsongs.htm

Lyrics and short clips from a variety of songs about recycling from Songs for Teaching

www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/earthday/index.html

Links to Earth Day crafts, songs, games and activities from Kids Domain

www.allspecies.org/neigh/block.htm

Ideas for throwing an Earth Day block party from the All Species Project

www.kidsface.org/

This is the web site for Kidsface mentioned in Activity #9

http://app.nea.gov.sg/cms/htdocs/article.asp?pid=2582

Information on organizing a community recycling event from the National Environment Agency (Singapore)

http://www.kid-at-art.com/ 

Ideas for creating artworks using recyclable materials from Kids-at-Art

www.arc.govt.nz/arc/index.cfm?04834341-4420-4543-9e86-16c16952

eb91&circuit_homepage_uuid=38bca22a-8770-4f32-9c0b-a1ac7095c831

&level1_circuit_uuid=31f2a608-2c13-48f9-baa2-e92be7a723d6&level2_

circuit_uuid=66326b01-16a9-46aa-adc6-4d372393e62d/    

Links to 17 PDFs for teachers on waste education as well as colouring and activity sheets from the Aukland Regional Council

www.earth911.org/master.asp?s=kids&a=kids/kids.asp

Environmental activities for students and teachers arranged by grade from Earth 911 Kids

www.ciwmb.ca.gov/rcp/ 

Recycled product content directory which includes a searchable database of hundreds of products from the Integrated Waste Management Board of California

www.rcbc.bc.ca/ 

www.recycle.ab.ca/ 

www.saskwastereduction.ca/

www.resourceconservation.mb.ca/about/history.html

www.rco.on.ca/

www.recyc-quebec.gouv.qc.ca/client/fr/accueil.asp

www.clean.ns.ca/

Information, fact sheets, links and events from the recycling and waste reduction councils (and similar organizations) of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia

www.county.peterborough.on.ca/departments/index.php?sec=312

County of Peterborough, Ontario’s curbside recycling listing

www.polystyrene.org/

Information about polystyrene products, including questions about what is and isn’t in polystyrene products from the Polystyrene Packaging Council (PSPC)

www.cookingforengineers.com/article.php?id=106 

Recipe for making marshmallows (which resemble foam polystyrene) from Cooking for Engineers

http://www.cancentral.com/ 

History of aluminum cans, educator resources kits and video on how cans are made narrated by a talking pop can from Can Central

www.ehow.com/how_9161_recycle-cardboard.html 

www.ehow.com/how_9163_recycle-aluminum.html

www.ehow.com/how_9160_recycle-plastic.html

Instructions on how to properly recycle cardboard, aluminum and plastic from Ehow.

http://healthychild.org/blog/comments/know_your_plastics/

Explanation of what the numbers on the plastic containers mean from Healthy Child Healthy World

www.kidsrecycle.org/index.php

Tools for students and educators on how to create Zero Waste Schools (K-12) from Kids Recycle! 

http://www.opala.org/solid_waste/How_to_Set_up_a_recycling_program.html

Information about how to set up a Recycling Program from the Honolulu Department of Envrironmental services.  They also have a resource library and learning centre with recycling projects including a recycling sculpture contest and recycling fair.

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blpapermaking.htm

Links to many sites about the history of paper and papermaking from About.com

www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Set/4567/papex.htm 

Instructions for papermaking as posted on the old Beakman and Jax web site

 

Volume 3 - Healthy Me!
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http://kidshealth.org/kid/feel_better/people/going_to_dr.html

Information about check-ups using child-friendly language from Kids Health

www.preschooleducation.com/shospital.shtml

Songs about doctors submitted by educators from Preschool Education

www.mortonhealthcare.co.uk/

Pictures of real instruments used by doctors from Morton Medical

www.doctorsecrets.com/secrets-in-medicine/what-tools-a-doctor-carries

-to-work.html

Pictures of doctor toos from Doctor Secrets

www.doctorsecrets.com/your-ears-nose-throat/ear-wax-removal.html

Tips for safe removal of ear wax from Doctor Secrets

www.doctorsecrets.com/your-ears-nose-throat/ear-infection-cause.html

Information about the causes of ear infections and links to other pages on symptoms and treatment of ear infections from Doctor Secrets

http://my.webmd.com/hw/home_health/hw227459.asp

Instructions for doing a home ear examination from WebMD Health

http://www.oep.org/EducatorsHome.asp

Educator guide to classroom vision problems from the Optometric Extension Program Foundation

www.preventblindness.org/eye_tests/webHOTVtest.qxd.pdf

Printable HOTV eye charts from Prevent Blindness

www.i-see.org/random_snellen/random_snellen.html

Randomized eye chart generator which lets you create randomized letter and picture Snellen eye charts, as well as randomized Tumbling C and E charts from ISee

www.i-see.org/eyecharts.html

Instructions for making your own eye charts from ISee

www.stlukeseye.com/eyeq/Ophthalmoscopy.asp

Brief description of how an ophthalmoscope works from St. Luke’s Eye

www.dupagehealth.org/health_ed/dental_month.html

Ideas for Dental Health Month (February) activities from the DuPage County Health Department

http://webtech.kennesaw.edu/jcheek3/dentalhealth.htm

Links to dental health activities and web sites from the Educational Technology Centre

www.preschooleducation.com/sdental.shtml

Songs about dental health from Preschool Education

www.simplestepsdental.com/SS/ihtSS/r.WSIHW000/st.31819/t.31819/pr.3.html

Simple Steps to Better Dental Health from Columbia University’s School of Dental and Oral Surgery

http://teachingheart.net/teeth.html

Dental health unit from Teaching Heart

www.healthyteeth.org/index.html

Links to information and activities on cavities, dental x-rays, braces, visiting the dentist and experiments from the Nova Scotia Dental Association

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bldental.htm

History and trivia about such dental tools and techniques as dental floss, dentist’s chairs, false teeth and Novocain^™ from About.com

www.louisekool.com

Louse Kool and Galt (Canada) sells a Dental Model which includes a set of giant teeth and a giant toothbrush (item #052-36736)

www.boreal.com

Boreal Laboratories (Canada) sells a set of giant teeth with a giant toothbrush (item #46923-00)

www.cptoys.com

Construction Playthings (USA) sells a Giant Dental Care Model which comes with a set of giant teeth and a giant toothbrush (with real bristles), as well as an instruction manual (item #BWN-736)

www.childcraft.com

Childcraft (USA) has a Dental Care Package which includes wooden puzzles, a cross-section model of a tooth, large plastic teeth and the books Going to the Dentist and Arthur’s Tooth.

 

Volume 4 - Symphony of Sound
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http://library.thinkquest.org/19537/Physics3.html

Easy to understand explanation of the physics of sound from Think Quest

http://science.howstuffworks.com/hearing.htm

Explanation of how our hearing works from How Stuff Works

www.school-for-champions.com/senses/hearing.htm

Good basic information about how the ear works from the School for Champions

www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/physics20/sound/belljar_video.htm

Full demonstration of the bell in the jar experiment from the Saskatchewan Learning Physics 20 Course

http://cnx.rice.edu/content/m12372/latest/

Good information about how the amplitude of sound waves affects dynamics from Connexions

www.rickwalton.com/curricul/lanisoun.htm

An extensive list of words for sounds that animals make from Rick Walton's Stuff for Teachers and Librarians

http://www.dsokids.com/listen/instrumentlist.aspx

Extensive information about the families of musical instruments in an orchestra from The Dallas Symphony Orchestra.   You can listen to each instrument listed.

http://cnx.rice.edu/content/m11896/latest/

Classifications of musical instruments using the categories developed by Hornbostel- Sachs from Connexions

www.oddmusic.com/gallery/index.html

Gallery filled with weird and wonderful musical instruments, many of which are accompanied by sound clips from Oddmusic.com

http://www.worldmusicalinstruments.com/

Wide array or musical instruments from around the world to purchase as well as basic information and a photograph of each instrument from World Musical Instruments.com.

www.philtulga.com/water.html

Play a virtual water bottle xylophone from Phil Tulga

www.philtulga.com/Panpipes.html

Play a virtual set of pan pipes and get instructions for PVC tube pan pipes from Phil Tulga

http://monxmood.free.fr/nai/nai.html

Interactive online nai (type of pan pipes) from Monxmood

http://monxmood.free.fr/xylo/xylo.html

Interactive online xylophone from Monxmood

http://monxmood.free.fr/tubaphone/tubs2.htm

Interactive online tubaphone from Monxmood

http://monxmood.free.fr/roche/roche.html

Interactive sounds connected to your keyboard using the Janko system from Monxmood

http://monxmood.free.fr/pipe/pipe.html

Interactive online PVC brass panpipes from Monxmood

www.ababasoft.com/music/piano.html

Interactive online piano from Ababasoft

www.ababasoft.com/music/drums01.htm

Interactive online drums from Ababasoft

www.ababasoft.com/music/guitar.html

Interactive guitar chords from Ababasoft

www.rhythmweb.com/homemade/waterbottle.htm

Instructions for making water cooler water bottle drums from Rhythmweb

www.rhythmweb.com/homemade/shakers.htm

Instructions for making outstanding shakers, as well as things to keep in mind when creating shakers from Rhythmweb

www.rhythmweb.com/homemade/sonotubes.htm

Instructions for making interesting drums out of Sonotubes from Rhythmweb

www.sbgmusic.com/html/teacher/reference/instruments/percuss.html

Overview of percussion instruments from around the world from Pearson Education

www.boomwhackers.com/index.htm

Find out about Boomwhackers^® which are tuned percussion tubes from Whacky Music Inc.

http://guitar.about.com/library/weekly/aa071200b.htm

Parts of a guitar from About.com

http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/guitar.htm

How an acoustic guitar works from How Stuff Works

www.reggieband.com/flash_guitar/video/guitar_chords/

Video of guitar cords being played as well as video clips of scales, strumming and picking from Reggieband

www.kotoworld.com/kids.html

Information about the Koto and an interactive Koto you can play online, as well as instructions for a facial tissue box Koto that students could make from Koto World

http://yahooligans.yahoo.com/School_Bell/Music_Education/Instruments/Brass_

and_Wind_Instruments/Brass_and_Wind_Instrument_Sounds/

Links to a number of web sites featuring sound clips of a variety of wind instruments, including the flute, french horn, oboe, trombone, trumpet, tuba and more from the Yahooligans directory

www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/woodwind.html

Information about how wind instruments work, including sections on sound, frequency, harmonics and reeds, as well as specifics about clarinets, saxophones, oboes and bassoons from the Physics Department of the University of New South Wales, Australia

 

Volume 5 - Go, Toys, Go!
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www.historychannel.com/exhibits/toys/

History of toys and games, including a timeline, the history of specific toys (such as Barbie^® dolls, teddy bears and yo-yos), a quiz and information about toy and game inventors from The History Channel

www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/a-z/letterT.htm 

History of toys and games from The Great Idea Finder

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blhulahoop.htm

Information about the Hula Hoop^® and its inventors from About.com

www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/science/formsofenergy.html

Good explanations of the forms of energy, as well as the sources of energy from Energy Kid’s Page (from the Energy Information Administration)

www.eslcafe.com/ideas/sefer.cgi?display:1066447333-19049.txt

www.creativekidsathome.com/activities/activity_85.shtml#Homemade%20Toy

Instructions for making a CD hovercraft toy using a CD, a dish detergent spout and a balloon from Creative Kids at Home. Ideas for a vocabulary bean bag toss from Dave’s ESL Café idea cookbook.

www.officedepot.ca

Alliance^® Sterling makes latex-free elastic bands.  They can be purchased from Office Depot stores or online. 

http://www.northstartoys.com/

North Star Toys sells sturdy pull toys (good for Activity #2) and sturdy elastic band-powered boats and cars (for Activity #4). 

www.ehobbies.com/toys--games----more-action-toys-flying-toys.html

Airplanes that use wind-up elastic band-powered propellers, elastic band launchers and air launchers from ehobbies

www.usmadetoys.com/flying_toys.htm

Usmade toys.com has spring-powered airplane launchers

www.airshow.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?page=1/CTGY/O17

Airshow.com has spring-powered, pull-back, die cast airplanes

http://toys.about.com/bl_matchbox4.htm 

Matchbox^® sells a set of five die-cast vehicles with a spring-powered launcher

www.geniusbabies.com/jackinbox.html

Genius Babies sells many, many different Jack in the Box toys

http://www.crayola.com/crafts/detail/jack-in-the-box-craft/

Patterns for more paper Jack in the Box toys from Craylola.

http://www.worldplay.org/paw/list.html

Examples of traditional toys made by and for children in different parts of the world from World Play Toys

http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlresources/units/byrnes-africa/susbuc/index.html

Lesson plans created by a teacher to accompany the book Galimoto.  It includes background information on Malawi (the country where Galimoto takes place).

www.karenlynnwilliams.com

Karen Lynn Williams is the author of Galimoto.  On her website you can find out more about her life and the books she has written.  If you follow the link to Galimoto you can find out more about her experience writing the story and see a photograph of children playing with galimotos.

 

Volume 6 - Let's Build
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www.weirdrichard.com/archiglee.htm

Instructions for building a pyramid out of LEGO^®from Richard Wright. 

www.weirdrichard.com/activity.htm

Instructions for another 60 LEGO^® projects from Richard Wright. 

www.everythingpreschool.com/themes/construction/songs.htm

Construction songs including Johnny’s Hammers,Noisy Nails and The Construction Worker Song from Everything Preschool. 

www.new-sng.com/maintemplate.cfm

Information about National Engineering week from the Canadian Council of Engineers. 

www.touregypt.net/construction/

Interesting information about pyramid construction from Tour Egypt!. 

http://www.3m.com/

Information about 3M's amazing array of adhesive products from the 3M web site.

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blscotchtape.htm

Information about Richard Drew, the inventor of Scotch tape (he also invented masking tape) from About.com.

http://inventors.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.officemuseum.com/staplers.htm

Information about the history of the stapler and the paper clip from the Early OfficeMuseum.

http://www.healthychild.net/SafetyFirst.php?article_id=95

How to set up a safe woodworking centre from Healthy Child Care.  

www.thistothat.com/

This to That, has a program which tells you what type of glue to use to affix “this to that.” 

http://gamesmuseum.uwaterloo.ca/VirtualExhibits/Inuit/english/bilbo.html

Learn about the Inuit cup and string game called Ajagaak or Ilukitatu from University of Waterloo's Elliott Avedon Museum & Archive of Games.

www.crazycardboard.com/html/crafts.shtml

Patterns for a number of cardboard creations from Crazy Cardboard.

http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/forteens/l/blcbrolltrt.htm

The family crafts sections on the About.com web site has dozens of ideas for using cardboard tubes. 

www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/dwelling//

Simple cardboard projects that could easily be done by students from Enchanted Learning web site.

www.housesofthefuture.com.au/hof_houses04.html

Photographs of an extraordinary cardboard project - a cardboard house from Houses of the Future.

http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/sticksandtwigs/l/blpsticktrt.htm

Links to many craft projects using wooden craft sticks and tongue depressors from About.com.

www.kidder.ca/products.cfm?CatID=180

Kidder, which specializes in Technology Education supplies, sells Jinx Wood.

 

Volume 7 - Rockhounds
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http://dfms.nbed.nb.ca/werock/favorite.htm

Rock collections created by a grade 4 class.  Exemplar photographs of student collections and their rock characteristics charts are included.

www.bcminerals.ca/rocks/about.html

CD of songs about rocks created by Canadian musician/educator Joan Corner.  

http://www.gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/org/vancouver/education/askgeo_e.php

“Ask-a-BCGeologist” on the Canadian Earth Science Information Centre web site. 

http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/edumat_e.php

Educational materials including videos, posters and fact sheets from the Geological Survey of Canada. 

www.rocksforkids.com/index.html

Links, information and photographs of rocks and minerals from Rocks for Kids.

www.fi.edu/fellows/fellow1/oct98/safety/index.html

Learn about rock collectors, rock collecting and rock collection safety from The “Rock Hound.”

www.fi.edu/fellows/fellow1/oct98/collab.htm

Practical information for setting up a rock swap from Rock Hounds.

www.amnh.org/rose/hope/creatinghope/glossary/index5.html

User-friendly picture glossary of rocks from the American Museum of Natural History (Rose Center for Earth and Space). 

http://mineral.galleries.com/minerals/by-name.htm

Links to hundreds of minerals organized by name from the Mineral Gallery.  Each mineral page lists the properties of the given mineral, as well as a photograph. 

www.chariho.k12.ri.us/curriculum/MISmart/ocean/pixindex.html

Participate in a sand collection project set up by Mrs. Jane Carlson-Pickering from Charlestown School. Their web site also includes photographs of sand from all over the world.  Your class could send in local sand.

www.stevespanglerscience.com/product/1331

Steve Spangler Science sells Magic Sand™. 

http://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/Journal/issues/2000/Jan/abs40A.html

Video clips on the properties of Magic Sand™ from the Journal of Chemical Education.

http://www.chymist.com/Magic%20sand.pdf

An explanation of ow Magic Sand™ works from David A. Katz.  The PDF also has activities involving Magic Sand™ and a recipe for making your own Magic Sand using Scotchguard fabric spray on beach sand.

www.geoprime.com/index.html

The Geoprime Minerals & Earth Materials Company sells educational rocks and minerals. 

 http://boreal.com/search.asp?t=ss&ss=rocks+and+minerals&c=0&x=15&y=9

Boreal Laboratories (Ontario) sells a number of different rocks and minerals sets.

 

Volume 8 - Bounce and Roll
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http://edwardwillett.com/1999/08/bouncing-balls/

Information on how balls bounce and the properties of balls, particularly rubber balls from Edward Willett’s Science Columns. 

http://howthingswork.virginia.edu/bouncing_balls.html

Questions and answers about how balls bounce and why some balls bounce better than others from How Things Work. 

www.wham-o.com/default.cfm?page=AboutUsHistory

The history of the Wham-O company including the origins of the Superball^®. 

www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/superball.htm

Even more Superball^® history from the Great Idea Finder. 

www.dunecraft.com/resources/Vice%20Versa%20Ball%20Smart%20Tube.pdf

Dune Craft, sells the Vice Versa Balls™.  The kit includes materials to make two identical looking rubber balls – one which bounces and one which does not. 

www.stevespanglerscience.com/product/1490

Steve Spangler Science sells “Bounce No Bounce Balls” which are similar to the Vice Versa Balls™.

www.uwsp.edu/cnr/wcee/keep/Mod1/Whatis/experiments.htm

Several experiments involving potential energy from the KEEP program.

 

Volume 9 - Sensational Plants
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www.cbif.gc.ca/pls/pp/poison?p_x=px 

Listing of all poisonous plants in Canada from The Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System.

http://waynesword.palomar.edu/trmar98.htm

Many amazing facts as well as good biological information about flowering plants, fruit and seeds from Wayne’s Word trivia. 

http://boreal.com/category.asp_Q_c_E_543211

Boreal Laboratories (Ontario) sells a large Parts of a Plant chalkboard manipulative (Item # WW6606500).

www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gpe/index.html

Game on plants called The Great Plant Escape from the University of Illinois. This web site would be great for Kindergarten students to use with learning buddies. 

http://boreal.com/roots-model/p/IG0026674/

Boreal Laboratories (Ontario) sells a foam root cross-section model with removable pieces (Item # WW4733202). 

www.botany.uwc.ac.za/ecotree/root/roottypes.htm

Informative on types of roots and their functions as well as a game called The Root Veggie Game that the students could play from the Botany Department at the University of Western Cape.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root

Information as well as excellent diagrams and photographs about root structure, root growth, types of roots and specialized roots from Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taproot

More information about taproots from Wikipedia.

www.botany.uwc.ac.za/ecotree/trunk.htm#top

Information about the function of stems from the Botany Department at the University of Western Cape.  You can follow the links to find out more about how stems grow and learn more about what happens inside a tree trunk.

http://waynesword.palomar.edu/trjuly99.htm

Many amazing facts and photographs as well as good biological information about the anatomy of wood from Wayne’s Word trivia.

http://boreal.com/leaf-and-seed-games/p/IG0029773/

Boreal Laboratories (Ontario) sells a Leaf and Seeds Game.  There are eight games designed for PreK to second grade to develop habits of thinking (Item # WW4700703).

www.botany.uwc.ac.za/ecotree/leaves.htm#top

Information about the function of leaves from the Botany Department at the University of Western Cape.  You can follow the links to find out more about different types of leaves and leaf anatomy.

www.backyardnature.net/leaves.htm

Information on leaves, their purpose, different types of leaves and why leaves change colour from Backyard Nature.

www.ext.vt.edu/resources/4h/virtualforest/

Interactives about photosynthesis including animations, cross-sections of leaves and trees and why leaves change colour from the 4H Virtual Forest.

http://pbskids.org/caillou/games/matching/leaf_1.html

Students can help Caillou match leaves according to their shape from PBS Kids.

http://www.123child.com/UBB/showthread.php?t=3088

Wealth of ideas on leaves including art, science, math, games, snacks, dramatic play and songs from The Activity Idea Place.

http://www.123child.com/UBB/showthread.php?t=3089

Wealth of ideas on flowers and seeds including art, science, math, games, snacks, dramatic play and songs from The Activity Idea Place.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower

Good information as well as excellent diagrams and photographs about flower anatomy, flower function, flowers in the arts, flowers as symbols and links to specific types of flowers from Wikipedia.

www.meddybemps.com/shops/arrangingflowers.html

Game in which students can choose flowers (by clicking and dragging) to make a floral arrangement, from Chateau Meddybemps.

http://www.primarygames.com/holidays/mothersday/games/match_up/start.htm

Flower matching games, mazes and puzzles that could be done by the students from Primary Games.com.

http://boreal.com/from-seed-to-plant-model/p/IG0026675/

Boreal Laboratories (Ontario) sell a cross-section model of how a seed grows.  Book Plus Science Model, From Seed to Plant (Item #WW4733204).

www.mrsmcgowan.com/1stgrade/applestory.htm

http://www.nyapplecountry.com/teacherkits/littleredhouse.pdf

Two versions of the story Little Red House with No Door and No Window and a Star inside.

www.news.wisc.edu/7728.html

Learn about Brassica Rapa, a speed plant which can grow from a seed to a seed-producing plant in as little as 35 days, from the University of Wisconsin.

www.tulipfestival.ca/

Information about Ottawa’s famous tulip festival. 

www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/07410.html 

Good information about planting fall bulbs and corms from Colorado State University.

www.wisegeek.com/what-is-garlic.htm

Information about garlic including its history, use and gardening with garlic from the Wise Geek.

rbanext.uiuc.edu/trees1/

Travel with Pierre the acorn to learn why “Trees are Terrific!” from the University of Illinois.

www.ecokids.ca/pub/eco_info/topics/climate/tree_planting/plant_seedlings.cfm

Explanation of the correct procedure for planting tree seedlings from Ecokids.

www.ecokids.ca/pub/eco_info/topics/climate/tree_planting/other_resources.cfm

References to books and websites on tree planting and naturalization projects from Ecokids.

www.greenteacher.com/

www.greenteacher.com/articles.html

Information about the Green Teacher organization and Green Teacher magazine.

www.leaftoronto.org/index.asp?ID=33

Information about urban forests, backyard tree planting and school yard naturalization from LEAF (Local Enhancement and Appreciation of Forests). 

www.naturescape.ab.ca/schools.htm

Information on ‘naturescaping’ and help for naturescaping in Alberta from Naturescape Alberta.

 

Volume 10 - Insect Investigators
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www.earthlife.net/insects/six.html

Overview of insects, with plenty of interesting facts about the largest, smallest and fastest insects from Earth Life. 

http://www.utahbugclub.org/lifecycle.html  

Excellent, well-illustrated page on insects life cycles from the Utah Bug Club. 

www.factmonster.com/ce6/sci/A0825279.html

Good overview of insects including well-presented text on a variety of aspects of insects, including insect pests and insects that are beneficial to humans from Fact Monster.

www.si.edu/resource/faq/nmnh/buginfo/start.htm

Links to useful and interesting information on insects including the “Most Incredible Insects” from the Smithsonian’s BugInfo web page. 

www.shambles.net/pages/learning/primary/MiniBeast/

Links to many other excellent websites on insects and other ‘minibeasts,’ including games, identification tools, photographs, songs and more from Shambles.

http://arthropods.nhm.org/arthropods.html

Good background information on arthropods, the family of animals that both insects and crustaceans belong to from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. 

www.ento.csiro.au/about_insects/for_kids/colour.html

Nice line drawings of insects that can be downloaded to colour or to be used in memory games, sorting activities, etc. from CSIRO Entomology.

http://butterflywebsite.com/gardens/index.cfm#can

Information on all of the butterfly exhibits, by province, across Canada from Webb’s Wings.  

http://boreal.com/insect-identification-chart/p/IG0031830/

Boreal Laboratories (Ontario) sells a very nice laminated insect identification chart (Item # WW67307M81).

www.living-jewels.com

This photo galllery by Poul Beckman has extraordinary insect portraits.

www.hubbardscupboard.org/i_like_bugs_.html+flower+poems+kindergarten&hl=en

Unit which uses I Like Bugs! as the focus story and includes other language resources for an insect unit from Hubbard’s Cupboard. 

http://insected.arizona.edu/lessons.htm

Using Live Insects in Elementary Classrooms includes 20 lessons, information sheets, rearing sheets and an extensive bibliography from the University of Arizona Centre For Insect Science.

www.monarchwatch.org/

Participate in Monarch monitoring programs and information about Monarch butterflies from the University of Kansas.

www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000IRUG/103-4636868-5959819

Toys ‘R Us sells the Giant Ant Farm. 

http://boreal.com/giant-ant-farm/p/IG0021492/

Boreal Laboratories (Ontario) also sells the Giant Ant Farm (Item # WW60174M00). 

http://boreal.com/ant-zone-with-poster/p/IG0021491/

Boreal Laboratories sells the Ant Zone habitat (Item # WW47440M00). 

http://boreal.com/boreal-cricket-culture-kit/p/IG0021504/

Boreal Laboratories sells Brown House Cricket sets (Item # WW67124M02). The live crickets are sold separately (Item # WW67033M12).

http://boreal.com/boreal-butterfly-larvae-kit/p/IG0021495/

Boreal Laboratories sells a Butterfly larvae kit (Item # WW67062M00). 

www.nsta.org/positionstatement&psid=44

Position statement entitled Responsible Use of Live Animals in Science Classrooms from the National Science Teachers Association (USA). 

www.spca.bc.ca/Educators/gulines.asp

Practical considerations for caring for animals in the classroom from the BCSPCA (British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). 

www.sacsc.ca/PDF%20files/Resources/Humane%20Education.pdf

Learning to Care through Kindness to Animals is an information sheet produced by the Alberta Teacher’s Association. 

www.teacherwebshelf.com/classroompets/insectsandco-butterflies.htm#I1  

Information about housing, feeding and maintaining butterflies from Nora's Classroom Animals and pets. 

www.teacherwebshelf.com/classroompets/insectsandco-walkingsticks.htm  

Information about housing, feeding and maintaining walking sticks from Nora's Classroom Animals and pets. 

www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/ythfacts/resourc/weebst/wb1/we1beast.htm

Web newsletter for teachers to share information about using insects in the classroom from the University of Kentucky .

www.pestcontrolcanada.com/ants.htm

Good background information about ants and their behaviour, as well as species identification and ways to prevent and remove ants from indoors from Pest Control Canada. 

www.uoguelph.ca/labserv/units/pdc/files/125Ants.pdf

Fact sheet which describes the common species of ants found in Ontario from the University of Guelph. 

http://insected.arizona.edu/antbib.htm

Extensive bibliography of ant books from the University of Arizona Centre For Insect Science. 

http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761556353_1/Ant.html

Information on ants including body features, reproduction, development, colonial living, communication, behaviour and major types from MSN Encarta.

www.dltk-teach.com/books/hungrycaterpillar/felt_fun.htm

Templates for a The Very Hungry Caterpillar felt board or puppets from DLTK for Kids. 

http://www.webenglishteacher.com/carle.html

Units and lesson plans for both The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The GrouchyLady Bug from the Web English Teacher website.

http://pelotes.jea.com/AnimalFact/Arthropod/mosquito.htm

Good fact sheet on mosquitoes from the Pelotes Island Nature Preserve. 

www.wordsources.info/words-mod-mosquitoesPt2.html

Details about how mosquitoes puncture us and drink our blood from Word Sources. 

http://insected.arizona.edu/skeeterbib.htm

Extensive bibliography of mosquito books from the University of Arizona Centre For Insect Science.

www.ent.iastate.edu/imagegal/hemiptera/stinkbug/

Photographs of different species of stink bugs from Iowa State University. 

http://insected.arizona.edu/stinkinfo.htm

Facts about stink bugs (also known as shield beetles) including information on collecting and keeping stink bugs from the University of Arizona. 

www.naturesongs.com/insects.html 

Digital sound files for a number of different insects, including crickets, cicadas and bees from Nature Songs. 

http://www.bzzzpeek.com/#

Hear students from around the world making native sounds for various animals and objects (including bees!) from bzzzpeek.com. 

www.uky.edu/Ag/Entomology/ythfacts/stories/bugmusic.htm

Page of songs and band names inspired by insects from the University of Kentucky Department of Entomology. 

www.ext.colostate.edu/Pubs/insect/05590.html 

Good explanation of how cicadas make sound, as well as other information about cicadas from Colorado State University. 

www.ladybuglady.com/LadybugsFAQ.htm

Great ladybug question and answer section from the Ladybug Lady. 

www.insecta-inspecta.com/beetles/ladybug/

Good information about ladybugs, including the story of ladybugs in space from Insecta-Inspecta. 

www.geocities.com/sseagraves/schoolyardscience.htm

Full thematic unit on ladybugs from Geocities. 

www.geocities.com/sseagraves/itsaladybugslife.html

Story in which you and the students fill in the blanks to create a ladybug adventure from Geocities. 

http://boreal.com/ladybug%2C-ladybug-rhyme-game/p/IG0030905/  

Boreal Laboratories sells the Ladybug, Ladybug Rhyme Game, which focuses on rhyming words with short vowel sounds (Item # WW18006M02). 

http://insected.arizona.edu/ladybib.htm

Extensive bibliography of lady bird beetle (ladybug) books from the University of Arizona, Centre For Insect Science. 

http://boreal.com/life-cycles-of-a.../p/IG0026740/  

Boreal Laboratories sells several insect life cycle books with models, including Ladybug (Item # WW48083M01), Butterfly (Item # WW47332M01), Bee (Item # WW47332M05) and Ant (Item # WW47332M07).

http://boreal.com/rainbow-educational-series-set-23-vhs/p/IG0029862/

Boreal Laboratories sells an insect metamorphosis video (VHS) (Item # WW74123M01). 

www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/insects/mosquito/

Information on the life cycle of mosquitoes as well as reproducible life cycle worksheets from Enchanted Learning.

http://boreal.com/pre-cut-felt-butterfly-pieces/p/IG0032389/

Boreal Laboratories sells a set of full-colour, precut felt butterflies and butterfly life cycle images (Item # WW67311M42). 

http://boreal.com/painted-lady-butterfly-life-cycle-model/p/IG0026732/

Boreal Laboratories sells a Painted Lady Butterfly Life Cycle Model (Item # WW47451M00).

http://boreal.com/ladybug-life-cycle-stages-set/p/IG0031556/

Boreal Laboratories sells a plastic ladybug life cycle set (Item # WW65773M04).

www.geocities.com/sseagraves/ladybuglifecycleworksheet.pdf

Cut and paste ladybug life cycle worksheet from Geocities.

http://www.worldalmanacforkids.com/WAKI-ViewArticle.aspx?pin=wwwwak-066&article_id=13&chapter_id=1&chapter_title=Animals&article_title=Bee

Information about solitary, social and parasitic bees from the World Almanac for Kids. 

www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bees/danceswagg.html

Video of bees doing the waggle dance, as well as access more information about bee communication from Nova online. 

http://gears.tucson.ars.ag.gov/ic/dance/dance.html

Article which summarizes research done on the bee waggle dance from the United States Department of Agriculture. 

http://insected.arizona.edu/beebib.htm

Extensive bibliography of bee and wasp books from the University of Arizona, Centre For Insect Science.

http://buzz.ifas.ufl.edu/index.htm

Information about the Singing Insects of North America. It includes sound files that you can listen to on the computer as well as photographs and detailed information on crickets, cicadas and katydids. 

http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?hl=en&u=http://aeaq.ca/&prev=/search%3Fq%
3DInsectes%2BChanteurs%2Bdu%2BQuebec%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26safe%3D
off%26rls%3DRNWE,RNWE:2006-18,RNWE:en

The Association des Entomologistes Amateurs du Québec (the Quebec Amateur Entomologists Association) sells a sound and visual guide of the insects singers of Quebec and the East of North America.

 

Volume 11 - Weather Watchers
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www.awesomeclipartforeducators.com/cat.cfm?cat=Weather&sec=General

Weather-specific clipart available for teachers and students from Awesome Clipart for Kids. 

http://www.mjjsales.com/articles/rain-and-rainbow-activities-for-kids.html

Unique source, with lots of information in an easy-to-find-place.    

www.miamisci.org/hurricane/weatherstation.html

Links to many items students can create for a weather station, including simple rain gauges, anemometers and wind chimes from the Miami Museum of Science. 

www.weatherwizkids.com/

Information about many types of weather in addition to science experiments, games, safety, jokes, art, an online store, a place where you can ask a meteorologist questions and more from Weather Wiz Kids.

www.weatheroffice.pyr.ec.gc.ca/skywatchers/programDescription_e.html

Information about the Skywatchers program from Environment Canada.  Participating schools are able to access weather data from other schools around the country. 

www.wxdude.com/index.htm

Weather basics, meteorology topics, links for teachers and students, links for parents, weather in the news, books and more from Nick Walker (the Weather Dude^®).

www.wxdude.com/guide.html

Music and lyrics for a variety of songs including What Makes Rain?, Thunderstorms, That’s the Way the Wind Blows and Tomorrow’s Weather Here Today from Nick Walker (the Weather Dude^®) .

www.howstuffworks.com/therm1.htm 

Explanation of how a thermometer works including instructions for making your own simple thermometer out of everyday materials from How Stuff Works.

www.miamisci.org/hurricane/wind.html

Simple things that students can make which allow people to see, hear and measure wind from the Miami Museum of Science. 

www.rcn27.dial.pipex.com/cloudsrus/measurewind.html

Information and instructions to make several wind-measuring devices, including weather vanes, windsocks, anemometers and the Beaufort scale from Clouds R Us.

www.weatherworks.com/files/SPECIAL_SAW_files/sky.color.chip.set.html

Colour chips of the sky and clouds, which were used for the National Sky Awareness Week data exchange program from How The WEATHERWORKS™. 

www.weatherworks.com/monthly/activities/sky_window.html

Activity on making an elaborate weather watcher window using paint chips from How The WEATHERWORKS™. 

http://eies.njit.edu/~kevin/rgb.txt.html

Listing and colour chart of hundreds of colours including the colour names which you could use to describe blues and grays when talking about the sky and clouds.  The site is developed by Kevin Walsh. 

www.sdhw.info/curriculum/1_written_k.asp

Kindergarten-specific lesson plans on Sun safety from the Sunny Days, Healthy Ways Program (USA). 

www.healthunit.org/sunsafety/skincancerfacts.htm

Facts about Sun protection and skin cancer from the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit. 

www.weatherworks.com/skyawareness.week.html

Information about National Sky Awareness Week from WEATHERWORKS™.  This annual event in April encourages students, teachers, parents and others to look to the skies.  This is an American event, but Canadians can participate in events online and hold their own sky awareness events. 

www.weatherworks.com/monthly/activities/nephelococcygia.html

Explanation of explains Nephelococcygia - the act of looking for shapes in clouds from WEATHERWORKS™.

http://www.globe.gov/fsl/html/templ.cgi?EG_cloud〈=en&nav=1  

Elementary program (K04) about clouds including science activities, poems, finger plays and data collection suggestions developed by the GLOBE program.

www.weatherwizkids.com/cloud1.htm

Instructions for a demonstration in which a cloud is produced inside of a bottle from Weather Wiz Kids.

www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/askjack/2003-07-29-gray-clouds_x.htm

Explanations of why the sky is blue, why clouds look white, why sometimes clouds look gray and why rain and snow fall from clouds from USA Today. 

http://eo.ucar.edu/webweather/cloud3.html

Explanation of the various clouds types as well as a good diagram of cloud types and photographs of the different cloud types from Web Weather For Kids. 

www.scienceclass.com/dayscape/pages/main.htm

Amazing gallery of cloud photographs from Science Class.com. 

www.wxdude.com/cloud.html

Music and lyrics for a song about cloud cover from Nick Walker (the Weather Dude^®). 

http://vortex.plymouth.edu/precip/precip3a.html

Information about types of rain gauges and why rain gauges are shaped the way they are from Plymouth State University’s Meteorology Program.

www.gsfc.nasa.gov/scienceques2003/20040402.htm

Answer to the question of the week – how is rain measured? from NASA’s Goddard Space Centre.

http://weathereye.kgan.com/cadet/lightning/electricity.html

http://weathereye.kgan.com/cadet/lightning/index.html

Information about how and why lightning happens as well as activities and lesson plans from WeatherEye^®. 

www.cln.org/themes/lightning.html

Links to other Canadian web sites about lightning, including lightning experiments, photographs and safety from CLN (Community Learning Network). 

www.fema.gov/kids/thunder.htm

Science information, safety and stories about thunder and lightning from FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency, USA). 

http://science.howstuffworks.com/question182.htm

Answer to the question, “Can you calculate how far away lightning struck by how long it takes for the thunder to arrive?” from How Stuff Works.

www.dastrike.com/

Video clip of a lightning strike up close from Dastrike.com. 

www.fema.gov/kids/thphot.htm

Amazing photographs of lightning from FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency, USA).

http://www.gardenbuildingsdirect.co.uk/Article/lightning-information-and-safety-for-kids

Lightning information and safety for kids.

www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/pimage?55314+0+0+homerwc

Image of Winslow Homer’s painting The Coming Storm (1901) from the National Gallery of Art (USA).

www.latexallergyresources.org/

Home of the American Latex Allergy Association.  It is a good starting point to learn about latex allergies. 

www.latexallergyresources.org/ResourceManual/Section1/
consumerProducts.cfm#SchoolOfficeSupplies

Listing of suppliers which sell latex-free products including balloons, adhesives, erasers, paint, rubber bands and toys from the American Latex Allergy Association.

www.weatheroffice.pyr.ec.gc.ca/skywatchers/ontario/
wx_office_tour/compound/snow_e.html

Information about the Nipher snow gauge - a commonly used scientific snow gauge from Environment Canada’s Weather Office. 

www.geocities.com/donsutherland1/measuresnowfall.html

Logistics of measuring snow adapted from N. J. Doesken & R. J. Leffler, Snow Foolin,Weatherwise, January/February 2000 on Geocities, is Don Sutherland’s page. 

http://science.howstuffworks.com/question524.htm

Answer to the question, “Why is snow white?” from How Stuff Works. 

www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/faqs/faqs.htm

Photo gallery of crystals, movies of crystals growing, snow activities and places to visit to see snow flakes from Snow Crystals.com.

http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/aa121001a.htm

Information about snow flake chemistry and answers to commonly asked questions about snow flakes from About.com. 

www.kathimitchell.com/snow.html

Links to snow activities, experiments, books, crafts and more from Kathi Mitchell.

 

Volume 12 - Patterns in Time
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www.preschooleducation.com/sspring.shtml

www.preschooleducation.com/ssummer.shtml

www.preschooleducation.com/sfall.shtml

www.preschooleducation.com/swinter.shtml

Music and songs about the four seasons submitted by educators from Preschool Education. 

www.kathimitchell.com/seasons.htm

Extensive list of web links for Kindergarten students and teachers to seasonal lesson plans, crafts, activities, facts, etc. from Mrs. Mitchell’s Virtual School.  

www.primarygames.com/seasons/seasons.htm

Links to seasonal games and activities including puzzles, crafts, memory games, stationary to print, etc. from PrimaryGames.com.

www.edukits.ca/aboriginal/science/teachers/elem_lesson1.htm

Lesson plans on how seasons affect aboriginal lifestyles from the Heritage Community Foundation’s Science section.

www.bloorstreet.com/300block/aborcan.htm

Extensive list of Canadian aboriginal web links, any number of which can be used to learn more about aboriginal views of the seasons from Bloorstreet.com. 

www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=10664

Lesson plan for doing a Five Senses and Four Seasons quilt using construction paper and the lacing technique used in Activity #2 from the Utah Education network. 

www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=5617

Lesson plan for doing a four seasons circle graph including a sample graph from the Utah Education network.  This could be combined with a reading of the story, My Favourite Time of Year.

www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=5619

Lesson plan for doing seasonal paintings based on the works of Claude Monet from the Utah Education network.

www.makingfriends.com/friends/f_seasonal.htm#Fall%20Friends

Multicultural children body shapes and clothing outlines to print in colour or black and white from Making Friends.com.  It includes a variety of seasonal clothing that the students could use to make seasonal paper dolls. 

www.enchantedlearning.com/books/holiday/winter/mitten/

Printable shape book of The Mitten by Jan Brett from Enchanted Learning.  

www.janbrett.com/mitten_masks_main.htm

www.janbrett.com/hat_animal_masks_main.htm

Download and print beautiful colour animal masks to use in conjunction with the books The Mitten and The Hat on Jan Brett’s web site. 

http://collections.civilization.ca 

On the Canadian Museum of Civilizations’ web site you can see Inuit mittens in the collection.

www.marcias-lesson-links.com/OurMitten.html

Mittens unit based on the books The Old Man’s Mittens, The Mitten¸ The Mitten Tree and The Mystery of the Missing Red Mitten from Marcia’s Lesson Links.  It includes language lessons, math lessons, songs and black line masters. 

www.caringforkids.cps.ca/keepingkidssafe/WinterSafety.htm

Information for parents and kids on winter safety from the Canadian Paediatric Society.  It includes information on appropriate winter clothing as well as safety precautions for skating, skiing, sledding, snowmobiling, snow forts and snow balls. 

www.toronto.ca/health/beatheat_qa.htm

Information on identifying and treating heat-related conditions and keeping children cool on hot days from the city of Toronto. 

http://www.caringforkids.cps.ca/keepkidssafe/wintersafety.htm

Information for parents and kids on winter safety from the Canadian Paediatric Society.  It includes information on appropriate winter clothing as well as safety precautions for skating, skiing, sledding, snowmobiling, snow forts and snow balls.

www.timeforkids.com/TFK/media/teachers/pdfs/2002F/021220BPt.pdf

This issue of Time for Kids focuses on how animals prepare for winter.  It includes activities, poems, web sites and more.

http://www.royalsaskmuseum.ca/education/pdf/Winter_Whys.pdf

Information about different animals that hibernate from the Royal Saskatchewan Museum. 

www.sciencemadesimple.com/animals.html

Information on migration, seasonal adaptations and hibernation from Science Made Simple. 

www.preschooleducation.com/swinteranimal.shtml

Music and songs about animals in winter submitted by educators from Preschool Education. 

www.saskschools.ca/~gregory/animals/index.html

Information about Canadian animals, including arctic hares and weasels from Saskatchewan Schools.ca. 

http://www.ypte.org.uk/factsheet.php?id=112

Fact sheet on how wildlife adapt for winter survival from the Young People’s Trust for the Environment. 

www.enchantedlearning.com/books/howmany/arcticanimals/

Printable shape book of arctic animals from Enchanted Learning. 

www.kidsbooksandpuppets.com/folkmanis/puppetslisttable1.html

Act II Puppets and Books sells over 100 different types of animal puppets including bats, bears, foxes, river otter, brown rabbits, white rabbits, and turtles.

http://www.first-school.ws/activities/seasons/trees.htm

Activities for the seasons of trees from First School.  It includes web links to online activities, photographs, crafts, science activities, colouring pages and more. 

www.backyardnature.net/leaves.htm

Information on backyard leaves, their purpose, different types and why they change colour from Backyard Nature.  The site also has good information on flowering plants. 

www.funlessonplans.com/atree/trees.htm

Tree Theme week of lesson plans which includes black line masters for bookmarks, posters, mini-books, printing practice and more from Fun Lesson Plans.com.  You must purchase these lessons in order to download them. 

www.kraftmstr.com/christmas/books/gs-evergreen_trees.html

Fictional story that can be read aloud about why evergreens from Greg’s Christmas Page. 

www.rbg.ca/sos/bulb.html

General information on bulbs, what they are and how they grow from the Royal Botanical Gardens (Ontario).  It includes information on forcing bulbs indoors.