Happy Hibernating, Hedgehog! Lesson Plan

What We Are Learning

Science Focus:

hibernation

Theme Vocabulary:
hibernation, hedgehogs, beetle, slug, nest

Skills We’re Practicing:
group discussion, critical thinking, vocabulary, number order

Hedgehugs by Steve Wilson and Lucy Tapper features Horace and Hattie, two hedgehogs who are the best of friends. They do everything together—except hug. (They are just too spiky!) They try many ways to solve the problem until they make a discovery that is just perfect. As you read, ask your students to think of ways that they would solve Horace and Hattie’s problem.

Hibernating, Hibernating . . . Awake!

Materials: none

Play “Duck, Duck, Goose” but with a hibernation twist!
Have children sit in a circle. Choose one child to be the “nature explorer.” The rest of the children will be sleeping hedgehogs.
The hedgehogs will curl up and pretend to sleep. The explorer will walk around the circle, gently tapping each hedgehog while saying, “Hibernating, hibernating . . .”
When the explorer taps a hedgehog and says, “Awake!,” that hedgehog jumps up and chases the explorer back to their spot.
The student who pretended to be a hedgehog now gets to be the nature explorer! gross-motor skills/listening skills

Materials: paper plates, markers or crayons, scissors, clothespins, number cube, googly eyes (optional)

Reinforce number sense and strengthen fine-motor skills with this adorable game.
To prepare, cut paper plates in half so that each student can get half a plate. With the straight edge facing down, cut a curve (like a small semicircle) out of the left end.
Have students use markers or crayons to color their hedgehog, and draw its nose, ear, mouth, and eye. (You can also give each student one googly eye to use.)
Set students up in pairs. Give each pair a pile of clothespins and a number cube. Using their hedgehog as a game board, students will take turns rolling the number cube and placing that number of clothespins on the spine of their hedgehog.
The first student to fill their hedgehog’s spine with quills wins! Then have them remove the clothespins and play again. fine-motor skills/number recognition/counting