The chipmunk, with its fun striped fur, is one of the cutest backyard animals. There are 25 species, or types, of chipmunk, but all are only 7 to 11 inches long. What’s amazing is that these little animals can dig burrows up to 10 feet long! Squirrels can’t quite do that…between that and the stripes, we’re guessing they’re a little jealous.
Wee ones: Try to find something in your room that has stripes. How many stripes does it have: up to 5, or more than 5? Are the stripes wider or skinnier than your finger?
Little kids: If a chipmunk had 5 stripes, which number stripe would be exactly in the middle? Bonus: If a chipmunk could have 9 stripes — black, then white, then black, then white and so on — how many of the stripes would be black?
Big kids: Baby chipmunks have to find food on their own just 8 weeks after birth. How many days is that? Bonus: If an 8-inch chipmunk digs a 10-foot burrow, how many times its own body length is its new home? (Reminder: A foot has 12 inches.)
Answers:
Wee ones: Items might include shirts, socks, pillowcases, or curtains.
Little kids: The 3rd stripe. Bonus: 5 black stripes.
Big kids: 56 days. Bonus: A 10-foot burrow is 120 inches long, so it’s 15 times as long as the chipmunk!
