Animal of the Week - Alligator

The Animal of the Week is the

ALLIGATOR!

Download the Alligator of the Week info here. (PDF)

We are headed to the library to check out some of these cool Alligator books:

• Alligator Sue by Sharon Arms Doucet and Anne Wilsdorf 
• Hooray for Amanda & Her Alligator! by Mo Willems 
• There's an Alligator under My Bed by Mercer Mayer

This week was not strategically organized but it does happen to fall on the same week we are starting full blown "A" prek curriculum with my two year old. A is for alligator after all!

So far I love the curriculum...it's from Confessions of a Homeschooler. You can check it our here.

Animal of the Week- Shark

The Animal of the Week is the infamous SHARK!!!!!!!

We waited until AFTER Shark week to make it OUR Shark week, but that's ok. I went ahead and recorded a bunch of Shark shows. We got a Word World Shark DVD at the Library and lots of Shark books. Here are a few we picked up:

• Shark vs. Train Chris Barton and Tom Lichtenheld 
• Gilbert the Hero by Jane Clarke 
• Shark in the Dark by Peter Bently

Here is the Shark info for this week. (PDF)

Homeschool Activites Around Town

With Homeschooling in full swing around here, I'm trying to get a handle on some outside the house events that we could attend to stir things up a bit. 

Here are some fun things around the KC area for Homeschoolers:

CoCo Key Water Resort Days

2014 Homeschool CoCo Key Water Resort Days, rate is only $5.00 plus tax when you identify yourself as a homeschooler, from 1-9pm: Feb 21st, April 25th, June 20th, Aug 15th, Oct 17th, Dec 19th.
For questions, call 816-737-4766. Children ages 2 & under are free.
This event is open to homeschool students, family & friends. CoCo Key is also opened to the public on these dates.
We've never been but sounds like fun!

Kansas City Zoo

The Zoo has a program called "When Science Attacks" that is designed for homeschoolers. They describe the program including " a small tour, activities, possibly an animal encounter, and a take home activity, not to mention the opportunity to engage with our professional Zoo Educators on a variety of topics.
Sessions for the first semester are September through December and you can choose between Wednesdays or Thursdays. It is designed for K through 8th grade. K through 2nd grade cost is $6. 3rd grade and up cost is $8. You must preregister for each class and be a FOTZ (Friend of the Zoo) to register. 
We've been to lots of storytimes at the zoo so this looks fun! We usually bring a lunch and stay for the day when we attend a class.

Nelson Atkins Museum

They have three different homeschool days described here. We were looking forward to going to one but they are already sold out...even for April! Must be a fun event!

Know of anything for homeschoolers? Please share in the comments and I'll try to update!


Here are some fun things we'd like to do this year that aren't necessarily for homeschoolers but still fun:

• Fleming Park Native Hoofed Animal Enclosure 
• Deanna Rose Farmstead - Free Monday through Thursdays. Open until Oct 31st. I know this because I suggested to a friend that we go on November 1st last year. HAHAHA Whoops!
• Overland Park Arboretum - I especially want to try geocaching here
• Powell Gardens
• Science City
• Sea Life Aquarium
• Kaleidoscope
• Story time at Ceramic Cafe
• 
  

We want to learn about CHICKENS!

My kiddo ran up to me with feathers in tow exclaiming "Let's study chickens! I already got the chicken feathers!" 
My mother keeps chickens and one of them is currently molting, leaving behind lots of feathers in her yard. My 6 year old was ecstatic. So.....let's study chickens!

We prepped early this time and went to the library on Friday. We got lots of chicken books but here's a few:

• Chicken Big by Keith Graves
• Chicken Chickens by Valeri Gorbachev
• Cook-a-doodle-doo by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel
• Louise, The Adventure of a Chicken by Kate DiCamillo and Harry Blss

Want to join along in our animal of the week? Print off the Chicken (PDF) info.

***Update***

Check out our pretty chickens! 

Animal of the Week - Armadillo

This year in our homeschooling adventure we are doing an Animal of the Week. I have a two year old and a six year old so this way we can involve the two year old a bit more.

For each animal, I have gathered 10 facts we are going to learn together, a few coloring pages and/or writing pages, a reading log, a craft, and sometimes additional activities. If possible, once a month or so, we will try to visit the zoo, farm, etc. to seek out the animals we have been studying. We will seek out books at the library that involve our animals (I'm going to try to remember every week to reserve ones on the following week animal). Should be lots of fun!

This week's animal is the Armadillo (PDF). Print out a copy for your little one if you want to join in on the fun!