When I hike, I am always watching for animals, but many animals in the woodland ecosystem use camouflage as a defense mechanism, so it is not an easy task! Can you find the animals in the photos below?

My PreK students always enjoyed the camouflage game. After cutting-out lizards from colored construction paper, I placed the lizards on objects of identical colors to camouflage them. My young scientists wandered around the room trying to spot them. Click here to go to that post. During an evening lock-in, we did this activity in the dark, and the children used flashlights to find the animals. Play this game at home with any objects. Small stuffed animals, like Beanie Babies, are a great choice.

Why is the female duck camouflaged? She needs to protect her young from predators in her nest.

Click here for the Safeshare link. Listen for the different types of camouflage. Animals use color, patterns and mimicry. Do predators or prey use camouflage?

Why would a stagehand want to wear black and an umpire stripes? Sometimes we want to blend in and at other times stand out! Brainstorm other examples.

Read Elmer, a story about an elephant who wanted to fit in but was born to stand out! Let your true colors shine through! Click here for the Safeshare link.

My PreK scientists began lab with a lesson about camouflage. Then we played a camouflage game in which they had to search for paper lizards around the science lab. We experienced how difficult it is to find an animal on an object that is the same color.

Play this game at home. Use camouflage to hide objects (Legos, stuffed animals, or small toys) around your home.

Can you find Luke, our tree frog?

We also met our new millipedes- Lily, Millie, and Jilly. See a previous post for more information about these interesting creatures!

I can always tell when PreK has left the room. 🙂

I love finding examples of camouflage which is used by both predators and their prey to hide from one another. In recent posts, we saw how a species used mimicry.

Most of us are familiar with concealing coloration when an animal matches its background, but this is an example of disruptive coloration. The striped pattern makes it difficult to identify the animal’s outline because it blends with similar markings on the decaying log. Zebras, tigers, and cheetahs also use this type of camouflage.

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Skinks

More Information on Camouflage

Camouflage Lab

Go here to review the various types of camouflage.

This little gray tree frog has a big voice. After the spring peepers finish, the symphony of their voices fills the forest. One way to identify them is by the white patch under the eyes. They can change their color (gray, green, or brown) to match their surroundings or moods, and their blotchy appearance camouflages them in lichen.

Go here to watch full screen.

Go here to view this video about how animals change color full screen.

“Creation is a touch-taste-sight-sound-smell symphony of multifaceted physical glories.”  Tripp

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Is it a Frog or a Toad?

I like beginning a science lesson or class with a phenomenon. Use them when you have a few extra minutes too. Click here for a list of phenomena to use with your scientists from NCSS. A reminder that a phenomenon is an observable event that fosters inquiry.

On my walk today, I spied a fawn. Why does she have a spotted coat, while her parents do not? Brainstorm answers. Encourage students to use their background knowledge on ecosystems and food chains. Look below the last photo for the answer.

Spots mimic patches of sunlight that shine through trees and other plants and thereby camouflage the fawn from predators. Click here for a previous post about camouflage.