Dedicated to all the teachers and their curious little students, who loves the nature

    A trip to the Forest of Happiness was organized in the kindergarten. The students were very happy with this trip. Since the children have been learning about the forest and nature throughout the year, they have learned a lot about the protection of nature and animals. The forest of happiness was very colorful and pleasant. All the animals lived happily and happily in this forest. One of the animals they met was a zebra.

At first, the children were a little afraid of the Zebra, but they really liked his black and white stripes and the fact that he was constantly eating grass. The teacher saw the children's interest and began to tell about the zebra: "Zebras' favorite food is grass, children, and since zebras are herbivores, they eat savannah grass in Africa. Zebras walk 50 kilometers to survive and eat every day. These lake animals meet their water needs in this way. Their lifespan is on average 3-5 years. She said that all zebras have different patterns and number of stripes. Then the children, who had learned a lot about the zebra and now saw him in front of them, were very happy because they thought that this forest was full of happiness and knowledge. They said goodbye to Zebra and continued their journey.

    The children saw elephants while walking. They watched the children from a distance. The elephant is the largest animal living on land. There was a whole herd of elephants. They went to the river to drink water. And while they were drinking, they had fun: they scooped up water with their  weasels , played by splashing each other with water, and they drank water to their fill. The elephants started looking for a place to stay, but they were afraid of the bees. They wanted to find a remote quiet place. They discussed where to find, a place where there would be no bees. They remembered that they did not find it, because elephants are very intelligent, so the whole herd went to another place. Elephants sleep standing up for 5 hours a day. It was very fun for the children to see them sleeping while standing up. Male elephants appeared nearby, always roaming separately from the herd of females. The sleeping elephants woke up. When they saw the male elephants, they gave them grass, leaves and twigs of bushes. The elephants complained that the grass was not tasty, they would like to eat the fruit. All together the elephants went to the place where the fruit trees grew. The elephants, the largest of which weighed 2 tons, walked slowly. The children and the teacher started to follow them slowly. They walked deeper into the forest and excitedly observed their surroundings.    

    Suddenly they heard a faint roar behind them. The children suddenly turned and looked around, their eyes wide. And at that moment they noticed a lion approaching. The children gathered around the lion and began to ask them interesting things. After curious questions, the teacher began to tell the children about Lions: Lions belong to the family of big cats. They live in certain parts of Africa and Asia. Lions are animals that live in groups. A group of lions usually consists of several females, males and cubs. They are carnivores. The lion's mane, located on the neck, distinguishes it from other animals. The mane helps the lion to look strong and protect itself when fighting other male lions, they spend most of the day sleeping. Lions can make a variety of sounds. Their most famous sound is a roar. This roar is used to signal one's territory to other lions and to communicate between members of the pack. Unfortunately, lions are among the endangered animals. Habitat loss, loss of prey and conflict with humans are the main threats to the declining lion population. However, efforts are being made to protect lions through conservation projects and awareness raising. The teacher told the children that nature should be protected and all living things should be respected. She showed them the importance of not disturbing the balance of nature and how all creatures are interconnected. Looking at the Lion King, the children promised to protect nature and continued to look around curiously.

    The children saw shiny black eyes and a fluffy tail sticking out from under the bushes. This is the Brown Fox, said the teacher. She is really beautiful. The children watched the wonderful animal with fascination. After noticing the children, the fox disappeared into the thicket of the forest between the trees. Most often, foxes live in forest areas. However, after losing their natural habitat, foxes have perfectly adapted to live near people in big cities. A fox's legs are shorter than a wolf's in relation to its body size, but they are very strong, allowing them to reach speeds of around 50 km/h. The tail is always fluffy and has a white tip. Life: up to 3 years, weight from 2 to 14 kg. Foxes usually live in the caves of other animals. For example Badger. Brown foxes are excellent parents. As soon as they are born, the young are blind and helpless. During this period, the female constantly takes care of them, and the male constantly provides them with food. Although brown foxes belong to the canine family, foxes hunt more like cats. Brown foxes are essentially omnivores. It mostly feeds on rodents, birds (including domestic ones), reptiles, frogs, insects and various fruits and berries. In the spring, a large part of their diet consists of roe deer, rabbits, birds and bird eggs. They do not refuse to eat human food waste and carcasses. A fox can eat from 0.5 to 1 kg of feed per day. They live in the Northern Hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to Central America, Central Asia, as well as Europe and North Africa.

    As the children and their teacher continued their walk, they saw a hedgehog a little further. One of the little spiky friends - a hedgehog - caught the children's attention. The children walked around and looked at him carefully. The teacher did not miss the opportunity to tell the children about the hedgehog:

"Hedgehogs are small, round and spiky-looking mammals. In case of danger, they use their spines for defensive purposes. In fact, hedgehogs do not attack with their spines, they generally protect themselves in case of danger by curling up into a ball and their spines protect an aggressive animal.

    The children listened in surprise to such a defense of the hedgehog. It was interesting to learn that nature has its own unique way of protecting every living creature.

Speaking further about the life of a hedgehog, their teacher continued: "Hedgehogs are animals that are usually active at night and eat insects. They are also very important. They contribute to the ecosystem by eating insects that live in the soil.

After realizing how important the hedgehog is in nature, the children watched the elegant movements for some time. Their admiration and respect for nature grew with each passing minute. Fascinated by the calm and graceful nature of the hedgehog, the children eagerly waited to continue their journey.

    As they walked deeper into the Forest of Happiness, they noticed a snake crawling around them. The children, who were a little worried at first, were reassured by the teacher, and began to examine the snake more closely.

Their teacher began to tell:

- Snakes move thanks to special muscles that move around their body. The fact that their body is usually long and flexible gives them the ability to climb trees and crawl. In addition, snakes use venom to hunt their prey and can strangle their prey.

The children became even more curious when they learned about the snake's muscles and full body movements. Understanding the lifestyle and importance of these mysterious creatures of nature further increased their devotion to nature.

    Their teacher said that snakes play an important role in maintaining balance in nature:

- Snakes protect damaged crops in agricultural areas by feeding on rodents such as mice. They also maintain ecosystem balance by controlling the population of other prey animals."

After learning about the role of the snake in nature, the children began to better understand the complexity of nature. Awestruck by the majesty and power of the snake, the children once again expressed their respect for nature and prepared to continue their trek.