Rock Hunt and Zoo Safari

For the end of August we did a Rocks and Minerals theme. We read several interesting books, and went on a couple rock hunts. Those proved a challenge. Our first nature walk took us around the neighborhood.

There were rocks in the road of course...

But in yards? Nothing.

Here are a couple loose pieces picked up off the pavement.

This left me wondering "Why? Why can't we find rocks in our neighborhood or along the nature trail? Further south where we used to live we could always find a couple." One of the days in the unit provided the answer. It turns out that due to glacial deposits and such most of the rock locally is buried deep under the dirt. If we were to find any rocks, we needed to visit a river. Ah, a river! Another field trip opportunity.

Success!

Lots of little rocks right along the edge of the water.

Even enough rocks to make ripples.

 

In the end it wasn't a bad collection. Lesson learned, if we need to look for rocks out here, head to water! T and I looked at them under the magnifying glass. Then we tried to identify them in his rock book. I just wish the unit had been longer, or we'd been visiting my family in the desert. Lots of rocks there!

Letter and Number practice. We've traced, used play dough, sidewalk chalk, and even cheerios this last week. Last week was review of whatever letters he wanted. This week, as we started September, we've re-started the alphabet. Right now we're practicing a couple letters a day on average.

Forming letters with cheerios

I was pretty pleased at how well he did writing capital and lowercase A by himself.

Fine Motor/Life Skills:

He loved doing this! Threading cheerios on toothpicks. Can easily become a counting activity as well.

We read Brown Bear Brown Bear and made brown:

T surprised me with his coloring.

We wrote down every zoo word he could think of, and came up with a good list.

For Labor Day, we discussed why work is important and the people who work are important as well. He did some activities in a construction activity book and made "Thank You" cards for "workers".

This week we started a new theme on Zoo Animals (Animals Around the World). The first day we read a book called "A Trip to the Zoo" together. Then we headed out and spent the rest of the day enjoying the local zoo.

We saw penguins.

Dog sharks.

A dolphin show too! There's a small aquarium at this zoo with more exhibits than I'm showing here. When we get to our Oceans unit we'll either return to the zoo or drive 1.5 hours to the nearest large aquarium. I like the idea of this one being right here, small as it is.

They divide this particular zoo into sections like Grasslands, Forests, Oceans. I think I prefer how Tucson's zoo divides the sections into continents, but hey, it's not bad. In the Forests section, he got to see a bear from Alaska cooling off in a pool.

Two different kinds of bats hanging around, representing two different continents

An entire aviary was devoted to Budgies/Parakeets

The other to more exotic birds

He also enjoyed watching the Baboons. They were making quite a ruckus!








In the grasslands we found his favorite giraffes. In fact, he got to feed them. At this zoo they fed them carrot sticks.

Two of the elephants had calves!

He kept commenting on how muddy the rhinos were.

He loved watching the crane stand on one leg.

Even got to ride the train. What a treat!

There was a Desert environment, and a snake house. The door to the snake house was particularly fun.

A display with an entire rattlesnake skeleton, and a related hands-on exhibit.

He loved them.

Our inspiration:

Linking up! http://www.homeschoolcreations.net/2012/09/making-progress-one-day-at-a-time/

What is Missing? Preschool Color Fun (Slow and Steady 3.2)

Looking at the activity in the guide I thought surely this was going to be so simple it'd be boring. Wrong. T had a ball with this activity. He mastered it quickly yet constantly wanted to play it. We had five colors of paper. First I started out hiding one color each time, then as he mastered that I hid two. He had fun remembering which was missing.

Preschool picture books, books of animals, rocks, and minerals (August favorites)

We read several times a day. First thing in the morning, throughout the day, right after lunch and before rest time. During rest time I turn on a longer "chapter book" on CD for him to listen to quietly while sitting on his bed. I've noticed he can listen to larger chunks when a chapter book is read on tape than any other time. Over the month of August we had fun with picture books like Caps for Sale, and enjoyed books on animals, rocks, and minerals.

I absolutely love "If You Find a Rock". My son was riveted. Each page has a photograph of children playing with rocks: climbing, skipping, and more. The text on the opposite page describes in clear, flowing language something you can do with a rock you find. It brought me back to my own childhood.

 

T loves this anthology from Little Golden Books. It has A Home for A Bunny and other fine stories, which were perfect for our theme this month. 

These two books (DK Eyewitness Mammal & Usborne First Encyclopedia of Animals) were not books read from cover to cover. Yet T really enjoyed leafing through the pages, looking at pictures. Occasionally he'd stop and ask me to read about a particular picture.

When we explored a honeycomb purchased at a local farmer's market we also read about bees & honey in a Magic School Bus book. I've enjoyed The Magic School Bus series for years. Yet this is the first time I've read this particular book. It's now a favorite part of our Magic School Bus book collection.

There are some chipmunks who cluster around the bird feeders at the local nature center. T just loves watching them scurry about. He also enjoyed this book from the Smithsonian Institution called Chipmunk at Hollow Tree Lane. It is a little wordy for a 3 year old, yet somehow kept his attention quite well. Follow along with a chipmunk as it spends a day gathering food for the upcoming winter.

 A Bed For Winter is a very informative book about animals preparing for hibernation. You follow along with one particular animal as it searches for the perfect place to stay. Along the way it meets several other creatures and sees where they are planning to winter.

Have you read Sylvester and the Magic Pebble? If not, you really should. It's a charming tale. Tells the story of a donkey who loves collecting rocks. One day he finds a magic pebble, and makes a rather rash wish...This book made for a perfect transition from the animals theme to the rocks & minerals theme.

This must be T's favorite book from the entire month. And would you believe it's the longest? Yes, the chapter book modern classic A Bear Called Paddington is heard almost daily in our house. Even now that it's September and we've moved on to yet another story he'll often turn on our Paddington CD. I discovered a little while back that if I play a nice, long story on his CD player during quiet time he happily settles in. Sometimes he falls asleep listening, other times it only seems to keep him awake. But he's relaxed. He rests and listens. The particular recording I bought is performed by actor Stephen Fry. He does a marvelous job bringing the story to life!

What have been some of your child(ren)'s favorite books lately?