March Lion and Lamb Masks

We’ve been enjoying our March poem and updating our calendar with the lion or lamb to match the weather–and the weather has given us plenty of opportunities to choose both!  Last week we had 75 degree weather and then it snowed yesterday!

We made lion and lamb masks to help us with our daily weather observations.

Lion Masks

Materials:

• paper plate
• orange and yellow construction paper, cut in 1″ x 4″ strips
• brown construction paper (for ears)
• glue (we used Elmer’s disappearing purple)
• scissors
• craft stick

1. Cut out the center from the paper plate

2. Glue paper strips around the paper plate, hanging off the edge to form a lion’s mane. (We did this on the concave side.)

3. Cut out ears and glue onto the plate.

4. Tape or glue a craft stick on the back.

5. Roar!

Lamb Masks

Materials

• paper plate
• cotton balls
• pink, brown, and/or black construction paper for the ears and nose
• glue
• scissors
• craft stick

Directions

1. Cut two eyes out of the top of the mask.

2. Glue cotton balls around the outside of the mask. (My son wanted to glue his all over.)

3. Cut out ears and a nose and glue on. Draw on the mouth.  (My daughter wanted to draw on her nose and mouth. I love the funny expression she created!)

4. Glue or tape on the craft stick.

5. Baa! Baa! Baa!

March Weather Book

In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb, by Marion Dane Bauer: This is a fun, rhyming poem about the lion who roars into March with winter on his tail.  The lamb does not get much verse but is well-represented in sweet illustrations, surrounded by lovely flowers and colorful insects. There is plenty here in this well-written and visually-rich book to draw upon when discussing the rough, early March weather.

Educational Connections:

• Science / Weather: What makes a day a lamb day? What type of weather do you expect on a lion day? What are signs that spring is on the way? What causes the change in the seasons?
• Mathematics (toddlers and preschoolers): Count the number of “lamb” and “lion” days in March–was the month more of a lamb or a lion? Make a bar graph with your lambs and lions.
• Mathematics (school aged): Make a chart of the month’s highs and lows. Did the temperatures steadily change? Or were there peaks and dips? Over the course of the month, did the weather show a trend?
• Science / Biology: Discuss the differences and similarities between the lion and the lamb. For older preschoolers and school aged students you can introduce terminology like predator / prey, carnivore / herbivore, mammals,etc.
• Early Literacy (toddlers and preschoolers): Both “lion” and “lamb” begin with the letter “L”. What other words do you know begin with the letter “L”?
• Language Arts (school aged children): Write an acrostic poem using the words “Lion” and “Lamb” to describe March.

Shared at: stART