ECC Weeks 33-34 - Antarctica and Penguins

We started off our studies in this unit the way we have with every unit by my having the kids bring their passports to the 'border' and having them stamped.  This time they decided to dress for the Antarctic weather.  They donned their winter coats and snow boots and 'flew' in to have their passports stamped.  I took a picture and was planning to include it here but then I realized they had their passports opened revealing their personal information so I had to crop the picture.  Now it mainly only reveals their eyes.  It's still cute. 

The kids watched another portion of the Nat Geo Deep Sea Dive DVD.  Chapter 6 is about Antarctica and Chapter 7 is about whales.

I realized that there is another portion of this video, in the bonus features, that includes animals of Asia.  We could have watched that during our Asia studies.  (Mental note:  Next time around with Roo watch bonus features.  ;)  )

We did the experiment in the Properties of Ecosystems book and learned how 90% of an iceberg is below the surface of the water which explains why they have caused so many accidents involving ships.

We also did an experiment involving ice water (from the experiment above) plastic bags and Crisco.  The kids put a plastic bag 'glove' on one hand.  Then they each stuck their other hand in a seperate bag filled with Crisco.  They covered their bagged hand with the Crisco to make it sort of like a mitten.  They stuck both their covered and uncovered hand in the ice cold water.  The purpose of this experiment was to show how a penguin's layer of fat keeps them warm in the icy cold waters.  They were both surprised at how well the 'fat' kept their covered hands warm.

 I found a couple of books about penguins we really enjoyed.

During our reading we used toy penguins I purchased  in one of those 'Toobs' you find at Michael's and the two books pictured above to see if we could identify the different penguins that came in the Toob.  The kids really enjoyed this activity.  (I did leave out the page in the Gail Gibbins book about evolution during my reading.)  I didn't read the text in the picture book so I can't comment on the content but the pictures were beautiful. 

Gail Gibbons book is pictured with Toob Penguins

We also enjoyed some other books about Antarctica and penguins.  I only read the last two chapters of the book 'Magic Tree House Research Guide:  Penguins and Antarctica'.  They were Famous Antarctic Explorers and Antarctica Today.

  

This unit they made ice sculptures with sugar cubes and white frosting.  Beau said he couldn't make an igloo because there are no igloos in Antarctica so he dubbed his an outpost.  They both added the Toob penguin toys to their sculptures and their sculptures became penguin outposts.
  

I purchased wooden penguins they painted.  They love to 'play' in the paint so they enjoy these types of activities.

 We did the glacier experiment listed in the World Geography book, twice.  I froze some of our 'sand' from a previous experiment and water in a Taco Bell cup since I didn't have a small milk carton and we made a mound of dirt for our 'mountain' in an unfinished corner of our back yard.  Our first glacier was, well, knocked off our 'mountain'.  I found puppy prints on the 'mountain' and the glacier lying nearby.  I think our new Cocker Spaniel pup got thirsty.  The second attempt went better and resulted in a debris field of broken shells and rock.  I thought it would have dug more of a path but it was still more successful than our first attempt. 
  

  

During lunch and into the afternoon one day we listened to and reviewed the Wee Sing around the world CD.  We remembered and enjoyed some of our favorite songs including the Omaha Indian (U.S.) song 'The Crooked Path', 'Tingalayo' from the West Indies and "Kookaburra' from Australia to name a few.
  

We also listened to 'Mr. Popper's Penguins' on CD.  The kids enjoyed it immensely.  I found out that a movie has been made about this book and is scheduled to be released in theaters in June but I was disappointed to find out the lead actor is Jim Carrey so I'm not sure it's one I'd want my kids to see.  :(  I'll be checking with Focus on the Family's pluggedin.com for their reviews on this one for sure. 

Our lapbooks were focused on penguins this time.  I created the cover with clip art and a scrapbook program.  

Antarctica does not have a flag so my kids did the 'design your own flag' activity.  We included these in their lapbooks also.

Beaus's is on the left and Roo's is on the right

We did the end of year review to see how many countries we remember on the map.  Roo only knew 2 at the beginning of the year and now knows 11.  Beau knew 15 and can now recall 26.  I think he knew more but was so excited that he remembered any at all that I couldn't seem to keep him on task.  If we would have been more faithful to the geography game included in our curriculum they would have known more for sure.  They were still both pleased and felt they learned a lot.  :)

I can't believe our year is now over.  I am already in planning mode for next year.

This summer we plan to do a mini study and lapbook on Independence day.  I think it will be a lot of fun.