​We are moving along the rainforest.  We finished up the canopy layer and moving to the emergent layer. The emergent layer is made up of treetops that reach higher than the canopy.  These giant trees have huge mushroom shaped crowns.  The emergent layer enjoys a lot of sunlight but is exposed to high temperatures, low humidity, and strong winds.  Small birds and butterflies live in this layer.  The emergent layer is the fourth and final layer of the rainforest.  Your children have learned about all four layers of the rainforest!  

Dart frogs are poisonous and have vibrant colors that warn predators not to eat them.  The golden dart frog is the most dangerous.  Dart frogs are very small have long, sticky tongues they use to catch insects. 

Coconuts grow on tall trees.  They have a hard outer shell and white fruit on the inside.  People eat the fruit and drink the juice.  Coconut leaves are sometimes used to make baskets, brooms or roofing.  We made our own coconut trees using, paper, markers, green napkins, craft stick and letter pasta.  The kids did a wonderful job making their own unique coconut tree.  

Parrots have brightly colored feathers, curved bills, and clawed feet.  They are considered one of the smartest bird species.  Some parrots mimic the words they hear.  There are over 350 different types of parrots.

Blue Morpho butterflies fly through the treetops of the emergent layer and are among the largest butterflies in the world.  We used paint, tissue paper ad twist ties to create our own blue morpho butterflies!

Mangos are healthy fruit and have many vitamins.  The outside of the fruit is a blend of red, yellow, orange and green colors.  Mango trees can be over 100 feet tall!  We mixed paint and used feathers, pom noms and sponges to create our own mangos.  During this invitation to create, children explored the artistic technique of blending colors.

We wrapped up the rainforest unit today and each child was encouraged to draw a picture of their favorite rainforest animal!  Have a wonderful Spring Break!

The canopy layer of the rainforest is home to many animals in the rainforest. More sunlight attracts birds, bugs and plants. This layer is made up of overlapping branches and leaves. Some of the animals you might find in this layer are sloths, snakes, dart frogs and parrots.

Sloths move very slowly. They have sharp claws to hang upside down on branches. They mostly eat leaves and fruit from trees. A sloth can turn its head up to 2701 degrees to explore its surroundings. We colored with markers upside down!

We learned that the green anaconda is the largest snake in the world. We made our own snakeskin with paint and bubble wrap. We also played with snake puzzles!

We made a cute Shamrock Man and colored a pot of gold! ​

​The understory layer of the rainforest is a dark place with small trees and bushes.  We made monkey masks, orchids and a tree frog this week. The kids also learned that chocolate is made from coca trees that grown in the shade of taller trees.  Cocoa trees grow cocoa pods that have beans inside them.  The cocoa beans are dried and made into delicious treats!  We at M&M's for a special chocolate treat!
Orchids grow on tree trunks in the understory.  They grow in a variety of patterns, colors and sizes.  Orchids grow well in the Amazon rainforest because of the warm, humid climate.  We used paper, pipe cleaners, and tissue paper to create our orchids.

We finished letter Mm and started Pp.