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Files are in PDF format. You can download Acrobat here
Autumn Main Page
Animals Main Page
Grey Squirrel
For Parents/Educators you are very welcome to download any or all of our Grade
K-5 Thematic Units and/or Lesson Plans for use in your homes, homeschool,
classroom or community centres. These pages feature activities, teaching
resources, poetry, songs and rhymes as well as fun educational printables for
various age groups...
National Squirrel Appreciation Day is held on January 21
THE SQUIRREL
In the joy of his nature he frisks with a bound
To the topmost twigs, and then to the ground;
Then up again, like a winged thing,
And from tree to tree with a vaulting spring;
Then he sits up aloft, and looks waggish and queer,
As if he would say, “Ay, follow me here?”
And then he grows pettish, and stamps his foot;
And then independently cracks his nut.
~MARY HOWITE
THE RED SQUIRREL
The red squirrel is more common and less dignified than the grey, and often
guilty of petty theft about the barns and grain-fields. You’ll find them quite often in
mixed oak, chestnut, and hemlock woods, from which he makes trips to the
fields and orchards, spinning along the tops of the fences, which afford not only
convenient lines of communication, but a safe retreat if danger threatens. He
loves to linger about the orchard; and, sitting upright on the topmost stone in the
wall, or on the tallest stake in the fence, chipping up an apple for the seeds, his
tail conforming to the curve of his back, his paws shifting and turning the apple,
he is a pretty sight, and his bright, pert appearance atones for all the mischief he
does. At home, in the woods, he is very frolicsome and loquacious. The
appearance of anything that he decides is not a danger or threat, excites the
squirrel into playfulness and ridicule, and he snickers and chatters, hardly able
to contain himself; now darting up the trunk of a tree and squealing, then hopping
into position on a limb and dancing to the music of his own cackle, and all for
your special benefit.
There is something very human in this playfulness and mockery of the squirrels.
It seems to be a sort of laughter, and implies self-conscious pride and
excitement in the laughter. "What a ridiculous thing you are, to be sure!" he
seems to say; "how clumsy and awkward, and what a poor show for a tail! Look
at me, look at me!"--and he capers about in his best style. Again, he would seem
to tease you and provoke your attention; then suddenly assumes a tone of good-
natured, childlike defiance and derision. That pretty little imp, the chipmunk, will
sit on the stone above his den and defy you, as plainly as if he said so, to catch
him before he can get into his hole if you can.
The red squirrel lays up no stores like the provident chipmunk, but scours about
for food in all weathers, feeding upon the seeds in the cones of the hemlock that
still cling to the tree, upon sumac-bobs, and the seeds of frozen apples. The
object of the squirrels seemed to be to get at the soft, white, mucilaginous
substance (cambium layer) between the bark and the wood. The ground was
covered with fragments of the bark, and the white, naked stems and branches
had been scraped by fine teeth. When the sap starts in the early spring, the
squirrels add this to their scanty supplies. They perforate the bark of the
branches of the maples with their chisel-like teeth, and suck the sweet liquid as
it slowly oozes out. It is not much as food, but evidently it helps.
The red squirrel does not lay by a store of food for winter use, like the chipmunk
and the wood-mice; yet in the fall he sometimes hoards in a tentative, temporary
kind of way.
Examine any number of nuts that the squirrels have rifled, and, as a rule, you will
find they always drill through the shell at the one spot where the meat will be
most exposed. Occasionally one makes a mistake, but not often.
The cheeks of the red and grey squirrels are made without pockets, and
whatever they transport is carried in the teeth. They are more or less active all
winter, but in the Northern Hemisphere October and November are their festal
months.
In studying an animal, its manner of life in its native haunts should be the first
thing observed. Ask questions to guide children in their outdoor study.
• When and where did you see the squirrel? Describe his movements.
• How does he run up a tree?
• How does he come down?
• What does he eat?
• How does he carry his food?
• Where does he live? Describe his nest.
• When running, in what position does he carry his tail?
• Do you know the sound a squirrel makes? Can you make the same sound?
If you are not situated in a position where it is possible to study the squirrels in
their own natural environment procure one alive in a revolving cage for study in
the school-room, or alternatively watch a video documentary on squirrels in their
natural habitat.
Children should watch the squirrels and find out his way of eating, drinking, and
bathing. Notice his teeth. In the front of his mouth he has four long, chisel
shaped teeth, two in the upper jaw and two in the lower. For grinding he has
strong, broad back teeth.
Ask children to:
Compare the red squirrel to a chipmunk
Compare the red squirrel to the grey squirrel.
DID YOU KNOW?
The squirrel’s teeth continue to grow as long as he lives and he must keep
them worn down by gnawing.
Squirrel Printables and Activities
Autumn Main Page
Animals Main Page
Grey Squirrel
For Parents/Educators you are very welcome to download any or all of our Grade
K-5 Thematic Units and/or Lesson Plans for use in your homes, homeschool,
classroom or community centres. These pages feature activities, teaching
resources, poetry, songs and rhymes as well as fun educational printables for
various age groups...
National Squirrel Appreciation Day is held on January 21
THE SQUIRREL
In the joy of his nature he frisks with a bound
To the topmost twigs, and then to the ground;
Then up again, like a winged thing,
And from tree to tree with a vaulting spring;
Then he sits up aloft, and looks waggish and queer,
As if he would say, “Ay, follow me here?”
And then he grows pettish, and stamps his foot;
And then independently cracks his nut.
~MARY HOWITE
THE RED SQUIRREL
The red squirrel is more common and less dignified than the grey, and often
guilty of petty theft about the barns and grain-fields. You’ll find them quite often in
mixed oak, chestnut, and hemlock woods, from which he makes trips to the
fields and orchards, spinning along the tops of the fences, which afford not only
convenient lines of communication, but a safe retreat if danger threatens. He
loves to linger about the orchard; and, sitting upright on the topmost stone in the
wall, or on the tallest stake in the fence, chipping up an apple for the seeds, his
tail conforming to the curve of his back, his paws shifting and turning the apple,
he is a pretty sight, and his bright, pert appearance atones for all the mischief he
does. At home, in the woods, he is very frolicsome and loquacious. The
appearance of anything that he decides is not a danger or threat, excites the
squirrel into playfulness and ridicule, and he snickers and chatters, hardly able
to contain himself; now darting up the trunk of a tree and squealing, then hopping
into position on a limb and dancing to the music of his own cackle, and all for
your special benefit.
There is something very human in this playfulness and mockery of the squirrels.
It seems to be a sort of laughter, and implies self-conscious pride and
excitement in the laughter. "What a ridiculous thing you are, to be sure!" he
seems to say; "how clumsy and awkward, and what a poor show for a tail! Look
at me, look at me!"--and he capers about in his best style. Again, he would seem
to tease you and provoke your attention; then suddenly assumes a tone of good-
natured, childlike defiance and derision. That pretty little imp, the chipmunk, will
sit on the stone above his den and defy you, as plainly as if he said so, to catch
him before he can get into his hole if you can.
The red squirrel lays up no stores like the provident chipmunk, but scours about
for food in all weathers, feeding upon the seeds in the cones of the hemlock that
still cling to the tree, upon sumac-bobs, and the seeds of frozen apples. The
object of the squirrels seemed to be to get at the soft, white, mucilaginous
substance (cambium layer) between the bark and the wood. The ground was
covered with fragments of the bark, and the white, naked stems and branches
had been scraped by fine teeth. When the sap starts in the early spring, the
squirrels add this to their scanty supplies. They perforate the bark of the
branches of the maples with their chisel-like teeth, and suck the sweet liquid as
it slowly oozes out. It is not much as food, but evidently it helps.
The red squirrel does not lay by a store of food for winter use, like the chipmunk
and the wood-mice; yet in the fall he sometimes hoards in a tentative, temporary
kind of way.
Examine any number of nuts that the squirrels have rifled, and, as a rule, you will
find they always drill through the shell at the one spot where the meat will be
most exposed. Occasionally one makes a mistake, but not often.
The cheeks of the red and grey squirrels are made without pockets, and
whatever they transport is carried in the teeth. They are more or less active all
winter, but in the Northern Hemisphere October and November are their festal
months.
In studying an animal, its manner of life in its native haunts should be the first
thing observed. Ask questions to guide children in their outdoor study.
• When and where did you see the squirrel? Describe his movements.
• How does he run up a tree?
• How does he come down?
• What does he eat?
• How does he carry his food?
• Where does he live? Describe his nest.
• When running, in what position does he carry his tail?
• Do you know the sound a squirrel makes? Can you make the same sound?
If you are not situated in a position where it is possible to study the squirrels in
their own natural environment procure one alive in a revolving cage for study in
the school-room, or alternatively watch a video documentary on squirrels in their
natural habitat.
Children should watch the squirrels and find out his way of eating, drinking, and
bathing. Notice his teeth. In the front of his mouth he has four long, chisel
shaped teeth, two in the upper jaw and two in the lower. For grinding he has
strong, broad back teeth.
- How does he hold the nut?
- How does he eat it?
- He seems to like fruit, grain, buds, and cones as well as nuts. Observe
the squirrel when asleep.
Ask children to:
Compare the red squirrel to a chipmunk
Compare the red squirrel to the grey squirrel.
DID YOU KNOW?
The squirrel’s teeth continue to grow as long as he lives and he must keep
them worn down by gnawing.
Squirrel Printables and Activities
- Squirrel Jigsaw Puzzle .EXE format (self-installing)
- This PDF lesson plan is designed to be used with the film, Nutkin's Last
Stand, which shows the systematic effort by groups in Great Britain to
exterminate North American grey squirrels, which were brought to Great
Britain from the United States and are believed by many to be spreading a
virus that threatens the native red squirrel population. - Squirrel Interactive Jigsaw Puzzles
- You can use the first graphic organiser to introduce the lesson PDF
Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend - Squirrel Word Problems (Math)
- Wildlife Detective Activity Sheets
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