1. Maximize love,

Manage stress

Research has shown that spending time in nature—even just 5 minutes—can yield amazing benefits, such as: stress reduction, mood improvement, increased concentration, and a boost in overall well-being. Spending time with family outside can strengthen that family bond significantly.

So, let us get outside and look for snails together. Remember to be gentle with them just like, when we played with them, in our Strongstart room.
2. Talk, sing and point

Where to look?

During the day, slugs and snails hide in cool, dark places: under dead leaves, lumps of earth, rocks, mulch, and wooden boards. When dusk falls, they come out from their shelters in search of food. They are also more active under cloudy conditions or after a light rain. Their active period is from about April to October, and then they hibernate until the next spring.

Where have you looked?

Who found the first snail?

What colour is its shell?

 

Listen to “The snail song”
3.  Read and discuss stories

You can learn interesting fact about snails by listening to “Are You a Snail?” by Judy Allen

Do you want to know how Snail and Fish works out their conflict and save their friendship? Listen to “The Story of Fish and Snail ” by Deborah Freedman

The snail’s cousin is the slug. You can see lots of slugs after a good rain. What colour slugs have you seen? Look at the baby slugs, they are a couple days old.

Here is a story about a slug who wants to be a snail “Norman the Slug with the Silly Shell” by Sue Hendra
4.  Explore through movement and play

Do you remember the snails in our Strongstart room? How many where there? They got very lonely in the classroom, so I brought them home. See the pictures and a video about them exploring their new home.

 

Click Here to see the video.

 

Craft idea: Playdough/clay snail you can put an empty snail shell on its back, or you can roll up some clay to make its house.

You can also try making Norman and his friends from the story above.

 

Here is a link for physical movement: The Garden Snail stretching exercise
5. Count, group and compare

How many snails do you see?

What colour shells do they have? Which one is your favorite?

 

“One is a Snail, Ten is a Crab” by April Sayre and Jeff Sayre