Those Nutty Squirrels!

The Nature Friends program is for 4- or 5-year old children with an adult. The maximum group size is 20 child-adult teams. Programs are outside unless weather does not permit.

Pre-program Activity

Before the program, make a mystery box. Cut a hole in a box just large enough for people to put their hand through. A large bag also works well. Place a variety of seeds and nuts from trees inside. For example: acorns, walnut, and hickory nuts.

When participants arrive, ask them to feel inside the box. “Don’t peek.” When you meet as a group, ask someone to share what the objects in the mystery box felt like. When everyone has had a chance to describe what they felt, open the box, and show the contents.

Story

Nuts to You by Lois Ehlert
Squirrels by Brian Wildsmith

Discussion

1. Squirrel comes from the Greek word for ‘shade tail.’
2. Tails help the squirrel keep his balance in treetops, as an umbrella for shade in the rain or the sun, as a rudder when it leaps from tree to tree, and as a blanket to cover the squirrel’s underside and nose.
3. Squirrels live in the hollow of trees in the fall and winter. Leaf nests are used in the summer.
4. Squirrels find the nuts they bury by their sense of smell not by memory.
5. Squirrels must continually gnaw on things to keep its teeth sharp and trim.
6. Favorite food includes tree bark, buds, and seeds.
7. Squirrels bury nuts individually in a hole two to three inches deep, seeds uneaten germinate and grow.