Animal of the Week: Penguin

Today we learned about the Emperor Penguin. We've been watching the movie, "March Of The Penguins" in small increments over the past couple days. Today we acted out how penguins move.

This first move is called "tobaganning" which is when the penguin slides across the ice on it's belly to conserve it's energy. (I added a pillow under their shirts to aid in the sliding!)

The next is the walk - you can see the waddle in the walk below... :)

The next is the way the penguin holds their egg on the top of their feet and walk around with it off the ice.

That was definitely a challenge!

WE FINISHED IT!!! (Born Free by Joy Adamson)

Our journey with Elsa has come to an end. I'm so proud of how the kids have endured such a long but endearing documentary of the reality of this lioness's life on the African savannah. The book was a bit over their heads but they stuck with it with a little paraphrasing from me and LOTS OF PICTURES!!! We look forward to watching the movie soon!

Spelling test

Animal of the Week: Elephant

Fun Learning In The Kitchen

We ventured away from the books for a little while and into the kitchen to bake a cake. I told her she had to do it all herself. I'd provide parental supervision only.

She turned on the oven, greased & floured the pans, measured & mixed the ingredients, and baked & frosted the cakes. The only thing I helped with was holding the mixer because it was too heavy for her & mixing the frosting after coloring it because the container was too small.

What an achievement!

Ta-da!!!

Lipizzaner Stallions

Homeschool Passport offered a discount to see Lipizzaner Stallions. My daughter and I, both horse lovers, took advantage of it!




Part of the show involved the horses in formation working together in unison.



Another demonstration involved the moves used on the battlefield.









Our favorite horse was the black one called "Elvis" who would only dance to Big Band Music! He wasn't exactly from the Lipizzaner family but close. He was a Fresia. His gait was long and graceful. His hair was very thick and wavy, and it flowed beautifully as he glided across the floor!









We had a great time!

Rhinos, Reptiles, and Recess

A short trip to the zoo brought a close to our unit on the African Savannah. We stopped in to see the elephants and rhinos.

While there, we bumped into a friend who had just finished her study on reptiles, so we tagged along with her. Lots of fun!