When the air gets chilly and the leaves start to fall, animals know that winter is on the way! But unlike people, they can’t just turn up the heat or put on a cozy sweater. Instead, animals have their own amazing ways to get ready for the cold months ahead.

How Do Animals Get Ready?

Squirrels: These busy little creatures gather acorns and nuts in the fall. They hide them in the ground or in trees so they’ll have snacks waiting when it’s too snowy to find food.
Birds: Some birds take a long trip called migration. They fly south, where it’s warmer, and return when spring comes back. That’s like going on vacation until the weather gets nice again!
Bears: Bears eat LOTS of extra food in the fall to build up fat. Then they take a long winter nap called hibernation. Imagine sleeping through the whole snowy season!

Other animals have tricks too—like growing thicker fur or changing color to blend in with the snow. Nature is full of surprises!

🕺 Activity Time: Act It Out!

Let’s pretend to be animals getting ready for winter:

Be a squirrel: Hide your pretend acorns around the room.
Be a bird: Stretch your wings and “fly south” across the floor.
Be a bear: Pretend to eat, eat, eat, and then curl up for a big winter nap.

❄️ Have fun acting it out with your friends or family—just don’t forget to wake up when spring comes!

💤 Research Guide: Animals That Hibernate

Hibernation is a deep sleep that helps animals survive the cold winter months when food is hard to find. Students can explore how different animals hibernate, why they do it, and what makes each one unique.

Research Questions to Explore

How long does the animal hibernate?
Where does it hibernate (burrow, cave, under leaves, etc.)?
What does it do to prepare for hibernation?
How does the animal’s body change during hibernation (heartbeat, breathing, body temperature)?
What dangers or challenges might it face while hibernating?

Animals to Research

Here’s a list of possible animals students can choose from:

Bears 🐻 (long naps in dens, though not “true” hibernators!)
Groundhogs (famous for their long underground hibernation)
Hedgehogs 🦔 (curl up in leaves or logs for winter sleep)
Bats 🦇 (hang in caves, slowing their heartbeat and breathing)
Chipmunks 🐿️ (store food in burrows and wake occasionally to snack)
Box Turtles 🐢 (bury themselves in mud or soil until spring)
Frogs 🐸 (some freeze almost solid and thaw out when it’s warm!)
Snakes 🐍 (huddle together underground to stay safe from the cold)
Dormice 🐭 (tiny mammals famous for very long hibernations)