Hi boys and girls, Miss Elise here! Today we’re going to talk about forests!
Every forest is a complex living system made up of thickly growing trees, bushes, vines, fungi, and other plants. Forests are also the homes of mammals, birds, insects, and many other animals. These living things all depend on each other to survive. They are an ecosystem which includes many plants and animals.
What's an ecosystem?
An ecosystem is made up of all of the living and nonliving things in an area. This includes all of the plants, animals, and other living things that make up the communities of life in an area.
An ecosystem also includes nonliving materials—for example, water, rocks, soil, and sand.
As a forest ages or changes, it affects all the living things in it. Forests are very important and grow in many places around the world.
There are three major Forest Biomes which include coniferous forest, deciduous forest and tropical rain forest.
Coniferous Forest: These forests are found in northern parts of the world. These forests are cold. Spruce and pine trees grow in coniferous forests. The largest coniferous forest is in Russia and it is called the Tiaga.
Deciduous Forest: These forests are found all over the world and have four seasons. They are hot or cold at different times of the year. Their leaves change color with the seasons. Leaves fall off the trees when the weather gets cold. As the weather warms up the trees grow new leaves.
Tropical Rain Forest: You may have guessed that it rains a lot in a rain forest. You are right! Tropical rain forests are hot and damp and are home to more types of plants and animals than any other habitat. The biggest rain forest is in South America and it is called the Amazon.
Here are some sounds you’d hear if you were in the forest!
This is a forest in California called the Redwood Forest:
The redwood is the world's tallest type of tree. One tree was measured at 367.8 feet tall. Many redwoods grow to heights of more than 300 feet!
We live in UTAH and the Redwood Forest is in California! You can drive or fly there.
Speaking of Utah, where we live, we have 6 national forests in our state! Here are some pictures of the forests in Utah:
We live in such a beautiful place! It's fun to go explore on nature walks and hikes to visit these forests.
This is called the Green Bamboo Forest and it’s located in China, where Miss Sonia is from:
This is called the Crooked Forest! It’s located in Poland:
Isn't that cool? The trees are making a "C" shapes!
Next we'll read a book called In the Forest by Steph Hinton:
Boys and girls, I know we’re not at school, but you can go in your backyard and look for these things. It's so nice to be outside! These are things you might find in the forest. If you would like to, you can take a picture of what you find and send it to us. We'd love to see!
You will be using a few of your senses when you're finding these items:
Sense of sight
Sense of sound (hearing)
Sense of touch
See if you can see any birds or nests when you're outside! We've been learning all about birds.
Have fun!
You can also decorate your names with leaves and other items from nature! Parents, you can find your child’s name and print it off. Then they can decorate their name!
We hope you enjoyed learning all about forests today! Have a wonderful day. Goodbye!
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