Activities

Talking About Babies
Engage the children in a discussion about why humans and animals must protect their young. Why must animals have special ways to protect their eggs and their babies? How do human mothers protect and care for their babies as they grow inside their bodies? Can babies care for themselves after they are born or hatched from their eggs? Why are families very important for babies?

How We Stay Safe, Warm, and Snug
Prepare a sheet of chart paper with three columns. Place each of the following words in a column: Safe, Warm, and Snug. Ask the children to think of ways they stay safe, warm, and snug. Record the children's comments in the appropriate columns.

Comparing Caring and Protecting
Create a Venn diagram to compare the ways humans and animals care for and protect their young. Draw two large, intersecting circles. Draw each circle with a different color marker to distinguish the two different groups. Label each circle as animal or human. In the middle, overlapping section of the circles, record how animals and humans are similar in caring and protecting their young. In the outer sections of the circles, record the differences for each group.

Creating a Questionnaire: Family Involvement Activity
Explain to the children that they will work together to create a list of questions to learn how their families care for and protect them. Ask the children to think of questions that they would like to ask their families to learn how they were kept "safe, warm, and snug" as babies, toddlers, and now. Record the children's questions on chart paper. Use the children's questions to develop a take-home questionnaire for families to complete with their children. Leave space after each question for families to record their responses. Remind families that it is important to engage their child in the activity. Share the children's completed questionnaires during group time. Encourage the children to compare their questionnaires.

Safe, Warm, and Snug: How We Are Cared For
Conclude the children's learning experiences with a class bookmaking activity. Tell the children that they will work together to make a book about how they are protected and cared for. Provide the children with paper and drawing materials to create illustrations for their book. Encourage the children to write or dictate words to accompany their drawings. Invite interested children to create a cover for the book. Use binder rings, yarn, or ribbon to bind the book. Create a display to document the various activities the children engaged in. Invite family members to view the children's work and celebrate their accomplishments with a book publishing party and special snack.