Books Used:

Earl the Squirrel by Don Freeman

Miss Suzy by Miriam Young
Timmy Tiptoes by Beatrix Potter
Fun With Nature by Boring, Burns, and Dendy       

               
  
Library List
Nuts to You! by Lois Ehlert  (the last four pages include information about a squirrel's body, home, and food)
Gooseberry Park by Cynthia Rylant
Danger Comes to Squirrel Valley by Dorothy Galde
*A read aloud chapter book about the struggles and triumphs of a family of squirrels that reveal spiritual and moral truths.
Due to the mention of the demise of some of the valley animals, it may not be appropriate for your more sensitive younger listeners.
The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin by Beatrix Potter
Merle the High Flying Squirrel by Bill Peet
A Squirrel's Tale by Richard Fowler
Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Mo and Still-Mo:  Lessons in Living from Five Frisky Red Squirrels
Busy, Busy Squirrels by Colleen Stanley Bare
Hello, Squirrels!  Scampering through the Seasons by Linda Glaser

Resources prepared for this unit
Squirrel Story-Starter Writing Page-- color   black and white
Squirrel Notebooking Pages
Squirrel Minit-book
Squirrel Chart*
Squirrel Classification Accordion Book
Tails Fan (with words)
Tails Fan (blank)
Prepared Graph 
Blank Graph
Red Squirrel vs. Grey Squirrel Venn Diagram
Red Squirrel vs. Grey Squirrel Venn Diagram Minit Book
Squirrel Coloring Pages

Earl the Squirrel by Don Freeman

Focus: Squirrel Anatomy

Squirrel Anatomy: Body Parts
Learn the various parts of a squirrel- Squirrel Print-out from Enchanted Learning.  After you've discussed the parts of a squirrel on the print-out, put it away.  Re-open the book.  Ask your young student to point out Earl's tufts of hair, claws, bushy tail, whiskers, etc.  Ask your older student to tell and show you what makes Earl a squirrel (he will need to recall the answers from memory). 

Squirrel Anatomy: Amazing Tails
A tree squirrel's tail has many functions!
1.  As a squirrel jumps from tree to tree, his tail acts as a parachute; it also helps him land softly if he falls.
2.  When he swims (as some squirrels do), he can use his tail as a sail.
3.  When he runs along a tree limb, his tail helps him balance.
4.  In the rain, his tail acts as his umbrella.
5.  When he sleeps, his tail wraps around him becoming his warm blanket.
 

Miss Suzy by Miriam Young

Focus: Different Kinds of Squirrels, Squirrel Habitats

Choose some of the following lessons to complete after you've read the book together:

Types of Squirrels
There are three types of squirrels-- tree, ground, and flying. Flying squirrels have folds of skin between their bodies and arms. You can tell the difference between a ground squirrel and a tree squirrel in this way-- if one is scared, a ground squirrel will run to his burrow in the ground while a tree squirrel will climb to a high place. The squirrels in this book are tree squirrels.

Gray Squirrels
Identify what kind of squirrel Miss Suzy is. Read about Gray Squirrels on page 163 of Fun With Nature.  Does your student remember what kind of squirrel Earl is?

Start a Squirrel Chart using the information you read about in Fun With Nature.  Help your student record information about gray squirrels.     

Red Squirrels
Identify the kind of squirrels that took over Miss Suzy’s home. Read about Red Squirrels on page 165 of Fun With Nature.  Continue with squirrel chart.

Just for Fun: Red Squirrel Spot the Difference Print-out

Now that your student has learned about gray squirrels and red squirrels, you may want to use this Squirrel Venn Diagram to chart the similarities and differences. 
 

Animal Classification
Older students may want to further research squirrels, and their classification. They are in the Animal Kingdom, Chordata Phylum, Mammal Class, and Rodent Order. Introduce what these terms mean and how they apply to a squirrel.  If you are notebooking or lapbooking, your student may want to include this Squirrel Classification Accordion Book.

Habitats
Identify the kind of tree Miss Suzy lived in. Read about oak trees on pages 254-255 in Fun With Nature. Also mention that much of Miss Suzy’s food and dishes came from the acorns of the oak tree.  Many squirrels live in the holes of tree trunks just like Miss Suzy; they make very nice two room homes called dreys.  Others live high in the tree in abandoned birds' nests and ground squirrels live underground in burrows.  Read about other squirrels in Fun With Nature to learn what other kinds of homes squirrels live in.  (You may want to continue adding information to your chart.)

Maple Trees
For an extra activity, Identify the kind of branch Miss Suzy used to make a broom. Read about maple trees on pages 252-253 of Fun With Nature.

Nature Walk
Go for a squirrel hunt in a wooded area, looking for squirrels, nests, or other signs such as tracks or scats (they have small droppings; they are about the size of a raisin, and light brown in color). Refer to page 202 of Fun With Nature.
 

Collect nuts found during your nature walk; you can use them to make a Nut Ball when you complete the activities for Timmy Tiptoes (see below).
 

Timmy Tiptoes by Beatrix Potter

Focus: Eating Habits

Choose some of the following lessons to complete after you've read the book together:
 

Various Diets:
Read more about different breeds of squirrels in Fun With Nature.  Add to your Squirrel Chart that you started with Miss Suzy.  Compare what different squirrels eat?  What is the most common food?  What is the most uncommon food?

Gathering Nuts
At the end of fall, squirrels become very busy gathering acorns and nuts.  They store their food in many different places-- holes and nooks around the trees where they live.  Just like in the story, they often forget where they've hidden their supplies. 

Feed a Squirrel!
Using the nuts you collected during your nature walk (or with some store bought peanuts still in the shell), make a Nut Ball (see Fun With Nature page 173) for the squirrels in your neighborhood.  If you don't have any squirrels around, take it to a wooded area and hang it. 

Nut Graph
Buy some different kinds of nuts and have a taste test with your student (almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, peanuts, pistachios, etc.).  Try each nut.  Have your student make a marking on his graph for each nut that he likes; have your student also make a marking on his graph for each nut that is liked by each family member.  (If you want more data, allow your student to call some friends or family members and ask them if they like each kind.)

If you buy a container of Planter's mixed nuts, you may use this Prepared Graph. 
Here is a blank graph if you decide to taste test other nuts:  Blank Graph

Hiding Acorns Game
Just for fun make some acorns out of construction paper.  Hide them around your house for your squirrel to find.   Once she finds them let her hide them for you to find.  

Hibernation
Source

Tree squirrels do not hibernate, but ground squirrels do.  When ground squirrels hibernate, they go into their dens to sleep through the cold of winter for five to six months. Their body temperatures drop so that they are only about one or two degrees higher than the temperature outside; it can drop below freezing (the freezing point of water)!  Their breathing and heart beats slow down. A ground squirrel’s heart will beat only a few times in a minute during hibernation. Every week or so, the squirrels wake up for about 12-20 hours and then go into hibernation again. Some ground squirrels don't hibernate if they are in climates where the winters don't get too cold. 

Other Resources

Links
Squirrel Maze Print-out

How to Care for a Squirrel

Pictures of squirrels from around the world

List of all the different breeds of squirrels in the world - your older student may want to choose a few and do a research project

Build a Squirrel Feeder or Nestbox

Match the squirrels with the correct number of acorns