I had so much fun working with the Burke Library on their “Animal Habitats” program!  It was  a really energetic crew of kids and they dove in without hesitation to the story and all the activities.  Weren’t able to make it?  That’s ok!  You can recreate some of the fun at home. Of course, you could also  book your own program and the fun would come to you…..

The story we shared was “Over and Under the Snow” by Kate Messner (available in the Fairfax County Library system or at your favorite bookseller!).  It has lovely illustrations and shows so clearly what different animals do during the winter.  It would be a bit wordy for the under 3 crowd, but it it flows nicely and all the kids stayed hooked on every word.

There were a couple of different activities for the kids to chose from, but a great one you can do at home is making animal tracks in playdough “snow.”  I used this recipe from Pinterest to make my playdough.  It came together easily and didn’t feel oily or have a funky smell, always a plus for homemade playdough.  I printed up animal track guides for reference and gave the kids popsicle sticks so they could carve tracks into chunks of playdough.

There was much concentration as they looked at the sheets and worked to recreate the tracks in their playdough.  Of course, the best part of any activity is too see what the kids decide to do with it.  One little girl made unicorn tracks and another created a pile of “pasta snow” for me to eat!

All in all it was a really fun day and I can’t wait to work with Burke Centre Library again!