October 2024 Products

Fill your October classroom with new and exciting ideas! Fall is the time to incorporate familiar activities involving pumpkins, bats, spiders and other thrilling and maybe even scary characters of the season.  While it is easy to start the new year with an enthusiasm and spirit that anything is possible, many of us might feel a bit fatigued and disillusioned by this time of the year. Here are some National and World Awareness Days that you can add to your lesson plans. Use these special days as inspiration for new ideas and help to shake up the usual routine. Refresh your themes and teaching while providing your students with engaging and learning experiences. 



October is Squirrel Awareness month and your students will enjoy learning about these quirky little creatures! Students love using their creativity and designing a squirrel-friendly habitat in the garden or schoolyard is a wonderful opportunity to use their understanding of these charming creatures’ needs to survive the winter months.

 



A great way to start the month is to celebrate one of the few animals that is more visible during fall. Make a Racoon craft to mark National Raccoon Day on October 1st. These smart animals use their paws resembling hands to open latches and remove lids from containers. Something that does not always make them popular. There are several fun and engaging books about cheeky and rebellious racoons that you can read for your class.

World Farm Animal Day is celebrated on October 2nd. This day provides a perfect opportunity to explore familiar animals such as pigs, chickens and sheep. The day was chosen in honor of Mahatma Gandhi's birthday. He said, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” This quote can be used to discuss the way farm animals are raised and treated on a farm. You can also talk about endangered farm animal breeds. While farm animals are not near extinction, some local breeds of farm animals may be rare and face extinction.

  



Use the Architect Fact Booklet to celebrate World Architect Day on October 7th (celebrated on the first Monday in October). The theme for this year is “Empowering the Next Generation in Participatory Urban Design”. A wonderful day to discuss with your students their dream homes for the future. Designing a sustainable city might be a challenge, but your students will embrace the creative challenge to explore ways to save water, how reusing products can benefit the environment, and how to travel in new exciting ways to schools!



You can continue the building theme to talk about octopuses - World Octopus Day on October 8th. These fascinating intelligent creatures build little dens and they even use stones to protect the entrance. There is also the fascinating discovery of underwater coral “cities” made by octopuses. Great inspiration to ignite an interest to learn more about these little architects in the oceans.



Some students love learning about reptiles and towards the end of the month you can make these students happy by celebrating National Reptile Awareness Day on October 21st. A great chance to raise awareness of different threats to reptiles’ natural habitat.

 

Prepare for a grand last week of October with a variety of bat activities. Bat Appreciation Week, 24th to 31st October, is a chance to show that these popular Halloween decorations used to ignite fear are wonderful useful creatures!



Make this October an incredible time in your classroom! All products may be found in my store! 

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How to Explore Keystone Species with Young Children

Keystone species are nature's architects, shaping ecosystems with their presence and ensuring the balance of life thrives in their wake.

Exploring keystone species with young children can be a fun and educational experience that helps them understand that organisms play various roles in an ecosystem.  Keystone species such as alligators, sea otters and saguaro cacti, play a critical role in an ecosystem. These species may not be the most abundant or biggest, but without them, an ecosystem may not thrive and in some cases, a whole ecosystem may die if the keystone species is removed. No other species can take the keystone species' special place in the ecosystem. So an ecosystem would have to radically change if a keystone species disappeared or the number is reduced. 



New and possible invasive species would take over and populate the habitat, for example, sea urchins take over and destroy kelp forests when sea otters disappear. Another example is the role pollinators such as bees and hummingbirds play in pollinating crops. Pollination of wildflowers is another pollination service that bees and hummingbirds carry out. 

Start a project about keystone species by selecting a couple of keystone species that your students can explore such as bees or elephants. Keystone species can be found in a variety of habitats from deserts, savannas, oceans and forests. You can choose species that are easy to observe where you live. But it is also interesting to include animals from around the world. Students love selecting their keystone and you can mark where the selected animals live on a map. 



Talk about how keystone species play an important role in maintaining the balance and health of an ecosystem. Use hands-on activities related to the keystone species such as making an alligator, elephant or kangaroo craft. Role-playing games where each student represents a different species in an ecosystem and shows their impact is a fun way to teach students about keystone species. Drawing pictures, making collages, or writing stories about their chosen keystone species are ways to express their understanding of the important role they play. 



Have a group discussion after your students have finished their research into their chosen keystone species to reflect on the learning. Talk about why it is important to protect these species, this is a great critical thinking activity. Young students need to be able to develop skills to critically analyze and draw on their knowledge and experience to explain why things happen. For example, if the saguaro cacti disappear many animals such as the elf owl would lose their home. Introducing the idea of keystone species into the classroom for young children is a wonderful opportunity to help children draw conclusions and evaluate information.  You can link the discussion to changes in our climate. Research if a keystone species can adapt to the changes.  Some keystone species will adapt by changing their behavior, or physical characteristics while others do not change so easily. So changes in our climate could lead to some keystone species expansions, while others may struggle or even disappear. 



Encourage your students to come up with creative solutions to help protect keystone species. Restoration projects of habitats are one way to help keystone species. For example, planting wildflowers to provide bees with nectar and also making choices like buying only sustainable products can help to protect these vital species. 



Introducing the term keystone species into animal projects can ignite captivating discussion and challenge your students' critical thinking and creativity. 

These Keystone Species products can be found in my store! 

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Embrace Your Uniqueness!

Embrace Your Uniqueness!  

Teaching young children the value of self-acceptance is a crucial lesson. In today’s world, there’s often too much focus on appearance and accomplishments, and even in pre-k, peer pressure can start to creep in. While it’s true that children who demonstrate positive behavior in the classroom can be wonderful role models, it’s essential to remind every child that they are special just as they are.

 

Celebrating each child’s individuality through engaging activities and meaningful discussions in the classroom is key. There are countless books and activities that can help with this, and one timeless favorite of mine is *Dandelion* by Don Freeman. This book is perfect for kicking off the new school year with a message of self-love and acceptance! Be sure to explore the fun activities you can do with your students! 

This Storybook Companion may be found here: 

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September 2024 Products

Prepare for a successful September! September can be filled with golden glorious days of summer and warmth. There are so many wonderful inspiring themes to choose from to inspire and ignite your students' desire to learn. Whether you are celebrating  Grandparents Day on the 8th of September, exploring activities centered around activities celebrating apples and community helpers, or celebrating National Wildlife Day, there is no shortage of topics to choose from.



Enjoy the outdoors as the season changes and open your students' eyes to how nature prepares for fall. Enjoy the subtle changes in light and leaves as you admire the colorful apples hanging on trees. 



Start the month by celebrating National Wildlife Day on September 4th. This day aims to enhance awareness of the wonderful diversity of species in our local area and the broader world. Young children have a desire to know and a remarkable ability to find the extraordinary in the everyday. Wildlife for a young child does not only exist in the forest, ocean or the outskirts of cities. Creatures that they see in the local park, in the schoolyard or sky above are filled with remarkable wildlife waiting to be discovered.

It is important to teach students how we impact the habitats that animals need to survive. The importance of being aware of the role of animals and plants in maintaining an ecological balance is highlighted during National Wildlife Day. Animals and plants face a wide range of problems that threaten their existence from habitat loss to climate change, and illegal activities such as poaching.



Being aware of the rate at which species are disappearing is an important topic to explore and the aim is to encourage actions that help conserve wildlife. This day was established in 2025 by Colleen Paige. She is an animal behaviorist and philanthropist, the day also honors the Australian wildlife conservationist Steve Irwin. 



Your students will enjoy exploring and learning this September! Have a wonderful month! 

All resources may be found in my store! 

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