In honour of World Sloth Day, the North Casa Community participated in a variety of activities and learning opportunities about Sloths. The children learned about their habitat, diet, and lifestyle in the rainforest and trees of Central and South America. We viewed a National Geographic for Kids video about the different types of sloths; such as the two-toed sloths (Bradypus Variegatus and Choloepus Hoffmanni) that only have two giant claws and the three-toed sloths (Bradypus Pygmaeus) that have three giant claws on each hand. The children were intrigued by the fact that sloths grow green algae on their fur as camouflage to protect themselves in the treetops from predators! The children were excited to learn that to move on the ground, sloths slither and dig the earth with their claws making them move very slowly. We also learned how National Wildlife Funds are protecting sloths, especially babies, in Central and South America, as many are displaced when forests are destroyed.
The children were able to use their fine motor skills to cut on a line directing a sloth to a tree at the end of the line. The North Casa children also practiced using their mathematical sense and cognitive skills to place together an image of a Mama Sloth and her Newborn Baby by counting from 1-10 to match all of the pieces together, and they also enjoyed putting together two to five piece puzzles to create different images of sloths in Nature. We discussed the lifecycle of a Sloth and some of our friends created a pattern from birth to grown sloth by gluing the pieces of the lifecycle on a template. Some of the children also used their knowledge of sloths to place parts of the body on a language mat, identifying and labelling all of the sloth’s body parts. We made our very own Book about Sloths to be placed in our Reading Centre with the aid of the author Simply Living. Creative Learning. During Circle Time we listened to “Song of the Sloth” and giggled as the sloth moved soooooooo slowly through the trees throughout the song, and we learned a new poem as well. We loved listening to Eric Carle’s Slowly, Slowly, Slowly said the Sloth! We participated in a special art activity where the children glued together a sloth face and painted fur to create their very own sloth with its own distinct personality! We also enjoyed colouring a variety of sloths with markers and crayons creating unique sloths and comparing them to each other. Happy World Sloth Day!
