2010 November 10 SEE Program - Nocturnal Animals

                                             NOCTURNAL ANIMALS

Once again I have had fun learning side-by-side with your children. This month we learned about nocturnal animals. The animal kingdom is a very exciting and amazing subject to study. We learned that Nocturnal animals remain awake and active during the night. The raccoon, fox, coyote, frog, owl and the bat are all animals that fall under this category. We learned many facts about these nocturnal animals and we were very excited to use our Smart Board to enhance each experience. Nocturnal refers to an animal’s preference to sleep through the day and remain active through the night. Though this behavior opposes the nature of the human lifestyle, nocturnal animals add quality to the animal kingdom. Animals like the flying squirrel and mink follow an intermediate schedule or a preference for twilight activity.

Nocturnal animals have highly developed senses. Their sense of hearing, sight and smell are specially adapted to make the most of the night illumination. Some nocturnal animals have vision that is easily adapted to night and day illumination, while bats are able to remain active only at night. These animals sleep during the day and hunt at night. Many nocturnal animals have special eye cells called “rods” that enable them to capture light when it’s dark, more than humans or other animals can in the same environment. Generally speaking, nocturnal animals benefit from scents that linger in the air longer at night. Since the air is still, it becomes easier for these animals to pick up scents, and find food. Their sharp hearing ability enables them to locate their prey as they scatter through leaves and twigs. Though the prey also gets away many times, the winner in the animal kingdom is the one who hears and locates the other first. As we navigated through our virtual lesson, the children were able to interact with the Smart Board technology, as well as see actual videos of these animals in their natural habitats. We also had fun learning while we participated in an educational and challenging game. It remains our pleasure watching young minds absorb new information and become energized with each new experience. Until next month…

Sincerely,