In addition to the math, grammer, and phonics/reading we do each day....
MONDAY:
- Introduce idea of report on beaks and bills
- look at bird bookmarks on web
- Let Emma learn how to browse/research on the web for: Red Robin, Toucan, Pelican, Hawk, Anhinga, Flamingo, Spoonbill, Hummingbird, Roadrunner, Nightjar, Woodpecker
- Use a raw chicken to see parts of bird and look at skeleton of bird online. (where is the most meat and muscle? are bones heavy?)
- Go on a nature walk to find as many birds as we can
- Look online for anhinga and how they eat, weaver birds and their nest, Egyptian vultures and how they crack eggs, cormorants and how they fish for Japanese fisherman, humingbirds and how they fly backwards
TUESDAY
- go online to compare the eyes of an owl (front of head), a sparrow (side of head) and a woodcocks (in back). Why the differences..? (the owls hunt, sparrows spot danger and seed, woodcocks who feed in mud have to have eyes to see danger in the rear)
- go to observe some birds on the lake - watch how they fly: Look at position of feet, head and wings.
- Scout meeting: manners and social skills
WEDNESDAY
- Baytown Nature Center Field trip
THURSDAY
- research vultures on the internet
- art class
FRIDAY
- cover one cloth with shortening, and leave the other shortening free. Spray water on the two cloths to demonstrate how a duck waterproofs feathers.
- Compare a chicken bone to a cow bone.
- fill/create bird feeders, sew peanuts on a string to create edible garland for birds
- model bird feet out of clay
- try to sketch birds
- eat a bird lunch: ants on a log (celery with peanut butter and raisins), sunflower seeds, nectar (soda) through a straw, snakes (hot dogs), fruits.
I really, really enjoy reading your lesson plans like this, give me good ideas to share with Heather. This sounds like a very fun home school you guys have going! Seems like you really make it interesting for the kiddos and that's very cool!
ReplyDeleteOne thing of note ..
I didn't realize cormorants were big enough that they could fish for Japanese fisherman ..
Those poor, unfortunate souls. One minute they're fishing along, whistling a tune and the next, they are torn screaming from the boat by a cormorant, the size of which would make Godzilla shiver.
Hmmm, yes, its sorta the Japanese version of unsolved mysteries.... (cue the theme music).....today we will find out what has happened to all those missing japanese fisherman on unsolved mysteries....
ReplyDeleteOkay you goof. Yeah, its really sad to me. The fisherman put a very tight collar on the Cormorants so that they can get the fish in their mouth, but are unable to swallow it. And I believe they are somehow tethered to the fisherman.
That just seems to cruel, now I haven't finished researching, so maybe I will find out that they are really well treated, but its so sad.
I stumbled across this as I was researching a unit study on birds. I blog about our homeschool also. www.vacationeducationbooks.blogspot.com (mostly about the unit studies we write for our books, activities from them and what we are learning from writing them) Check it out if you get a chance. Corinne Johnson, author, vacationeducationbooks.net
ReplyDeleteSee 'The Story about Ping' by Marjorie Flack
ReplyDelete