Do you have a yearning to learn more about this rare, unique and amazing mammal? Well, here are all the resources, links, etc that we used to learn about this Australian animal!!

The lapbook:

• Platypus Animal Study and Lapbook by Homeschool Share. Really the only one out there and very helpful.

Books:

• Platypuses by Sara Louise Kras
• Electric Animals by Natalie Lunis (this has a two page piece on the platypus’ ability to use electroreceptors to find food)
• Platypus by Chris Riddell (a story book not a non fiction book)
• A Platypus, Probably by Sneed B. Collard III
• Platypus, A Century-long Mystery by William Caper

Crafty Bits:

• Make your own Platypus on Learn Create Love by using their instructions HERE. We put our legs on with brads and went without the googly eyes.
• Make your own Platypus paperbag puppet using instructions by Danielle’s Place HERE. The cutting is a little advanced on the feet for true preschoolers but we managed!
• We didn’t make it to this craft but it looks fun, make your own Perry the Platypus out of felt and foam HERE.

Colouring Pages

• P is for Platypus HERE.
• Flag of Australia HERE.
• A random Platypus HERE.
• Mommy and baby with eggs HERE. Though the eggs are bigger than they should be etc etc.

Worksheets

• Compare the tracks of various Australian animals HERE.
• Learn a bit about the Platypus and colour one as well HERE.
• Wordsearch for the older kids HERE.
• All about platypus colouring page and fill in the blank riddle HERE.
• Duck Billed Platypus Anatomy HERE.
• Platypus mini book to fill in yourself HERE.
• Platypus notebooking pages with colour image of a swimming platypus HERE.
• Templates that we used for our end of book facts of interest HERE.
• Not so much a worksheet but a POEM!! 4-40 has a great platypus poem HERE.

We have an amazing picture of platypus babies thanks to Facebook via Dr. Carin Bondar – Biologist with a Twist. Keep in mind her Facebook profile HERE does have some more mature content this picture is certainly worth it! The tagline with this picture when it made its way to my timeline is as follows:

Here’s your daily dose of adorable – baby platypuses! There’s no official name for baby platypuses, but they’re often referred to as puggles or platypups.
Platypuses are one of the five extant species of monotreme, meaning that they are mammals that lay eggs. It’s also one of the very few venomous mammals – the male has a “spur” that’s capable of delivering enough venom to kill a small dog.

Babies

Videos:

I will for the most part embed, but some do not allow it. Hopefully these will remain valid videos for some time! Our first video is from youTube subscriber 911TRUTHINATOR and is a longer educational piece on the “World’s Strangest Animal.”

National Geographic and their dangerous hunter themed video. I will warn you, they pump up the platypus to seem scary (??) the kids did NOT approve.

A short video of the Senior Platypus Keeper Ian Elton with Ember the 6 month old platypus.

In Australia, Go Paddling With the Platypus. Seriously… we live on the wrong continent. This video gives a bit of a close look to a playful platypus.

Check out the video below to see a platypus doing platypus things at Mount Field National Park.

Of course there are all the moments of Perry the Platypus on Phineas and Ferb. We specifically borrowed The Perry Files from the library. Wild Kratts also have a platypus focused episode called Platypus Cafe that you can purchase on Amazon.com.

Helpful links:

• Wonder how the platypus got its name? Well Wiki Answers knows right HERE.
• National Geographic Kids Creature Feature platypus HERE.
• KidsBiology.com has a brief page on the platypus HERE.
• Squuidoo has a great fact page HERE.

Part of the lapbook calls for looking at the Echidna who is the other mammal in the Monotreme family. So here are our links that we used to supplement what tiny bit of information we had in our library books!

• EnchantedLearning has a page with an anatomy picture HERE.
• Activity Village has a mini book we used to record what we learned HERE. We took the little file folder shape from the lapbook and made it into a pocket to put our mini book in.
• Kids.net.au has a great Echidna page HERE.

We used two videos with our Echidna. I am warning you now, youTube seems to carry a lot of information on the male reproductive organs of the Echidna. The two videos I have below do NOT cover this aspect as I did not feel that the… uniqueness of this portion of the animal was necessary to our learning.

First a National Geographic Video – World’s Weirdest.

And our second video about an Echidna Puggle at Taronga Zoo. Unlike the platypus, the echidna has an official name for its babies – the puggle.

And that is that! Here are a few of our pages! I hope this comes in helpful. If it does, please send me a message, leave a comment… etc.

Platypus cover

A couple sample pages

And two more

With the intention of leaving the city end of the month (we darn well better!) we have been trying to see the people who live here. Saturday it was a playdate with the den Otter family. The kids absolutely love playing together and are a great crowd to watch. With Echo showing off her amazing sitting skills, how much she can eat and her intense cuteness factor and Izaac doing the 2 month old baby sweet thing we were a house full of baby loveliness.

Little Izaac

We had a brunch, hung out, visited and generally just spent time with good friends. I have to say I always feel better after a good chat with a friend. And this time the kids were rather accommodating so Xinny and I got in lots of talking time. She is hoping to bring the family down to visit after we get settled. She has an aunt that runs a coffee house in the same city.

Emanuel and Isabella

Alexander

Friday we did get some very sad news. My mom has had to have her dog Phoebe put down. She was acting sickly so mom took her in to the vet who did some tests and found out she had a rare blood parasite. Two days later she took her back to be re-tested and the levels were twice as bad. That left mom with the choice to attempt to continue treatment which would be expensive and potentially unfair to the dog or let her go. The vet thought she potentially had this parasite even before mom got her. So they made the decision not to continue with treatment and mom is going to take a break from dogs for a while. It will be very different going to visit with no dog around. And the kids did love Phoebe.

Phoebe and Fat Sheep

Today was another busy day. We decided against taking the boys to Sunday School as we had Karyn and Victoria over and I wanted to go out with them. There was  tentative plans to take the kids to the park but it was just too windy.

We took Echo with us and went to a mall for lunch, shopped at Sephora and stopped in at my favourite small grocer to get red pepper dip and little pitas… something Karyn got me hooked on back when she lived a block away from the store and we were not in the city yet. It was one of my “to do before move” list.

Mmm

We sent chocolate cookies and sugar cookies home with them this evening to take to work (Victoria works with Karyn) as a thank you for all the boxes – in fact they brought MORE boxes with them this weekend!!! Yay! Karyn also came with Fat Sheep’s new business cards! I picked out one to keep here with me… they are ADORABLE! You can read about there HERE. I am thinking of getting some for the kids… 20.00 for a hundred. Could be a neat Christmas thing.

Business cards

Echo has found a new best friend in Victoria… I am so glad she is starting to branch out and be more sociable. She wowed everyone with her cuteness this entire weekend and was a busy busy girl. She even tried to WAVE GOOD BYE when Karyn and Victoria left!!! That was a definite first!

I think she wore Victoria out!

While I was gone Ted and Sean ran out to pick out a laptop for Ted. He is trying it out to see if it will work for him (he has some time to make that decision before it can’t be returned). We are working out the details to getting the twins their own laptop/netbook now that our funding is through for the second term. I want to have this decided BEFORE we move. I am also going to get a payment order at our favourite school supply store and get a few new items for the boys to enjoy when we have moved.

Hiding from the camera

Mom and Mike stopped by on their way home from my brother’s to drop off their trailer. We are going to use it to move. It is large enough that we may even be able to fit almost EVERYTHING in it! Mike will have to drive it for us but we have ample volunteers for the lifting and emptying. Once we pick up a lock for the back it will make it WAY easier to finish packing as we can start filling the trailer right away.

Sitting with Grandma

Karyn brought with her some new Hello Kitty things for Trinity – the big hit – a hair clip! She is such a girly girl sometimes.

New clip

In fact, today she spent the whole day in costume. She calls it her butterfly costume as it has a butterfly on the front. We tried on her Tinkerbell costume but it is still too big.

Butterfly Baby

With all the busy fun I HAVE found some time to stitch. The piece is well on its way and if I REALLY concentrated I think I COULD finish it right off… the next project is to start our god-daughter Anna’s stocking. I don’t want to be stitching it right up to Christmas after all!

Work in progress

Did I mention I weighed Echo here at home on her 9 month birthday??? She gained about a half a lb in around 3 weeks! That is HUGE for Echo. According to our scale here at home she is just over 11 1/2 lbs! The continuing gain (be it smaller than other kids) is so uplifting. She has a lovely large appetite and is not having any sort of excessive throwing up or pooping. All good signs that she is using what she is eating, maybe not for weight gain but for SOMETHING, perhaps the energy she has to sit, roll over, play and smile??

Echo hanging out earlier this week

I think this week I am going to try and get some more photography done. I would love to have Trinity sit and pose in the window or Echo while she is playing on the floor. Right now the livingroom is so chaotic so if I can clear that out and take some lovely shots I would very happy.

So now my livingroom is cluttered up with flattened boxes, a large stack of laundry (we had an issue with the washer that took almost 2 weeks to fix so we are playing catch up)… back to work I go!

Butterfly in flight

Ok, first things first – do you have a Smartphone? Do you send pictures online with it! Well WATCH THIS and consider turning off your GPS setting on your pictures. I honestly don’t do much photo taking with our phone, I am much happier with the camera I bought last year… but this does make you think. Please please please consider when taking pictures of your kids that there ARE people out there who are NOT part of the majority wanting to keep them safe!

Yesterday we finally managed to coordinate a visit with the den Otters to meet baby Izaac (and more importantly – according to the kids – play with big sister Isabella and big brother Alexander). We went after supper so Ken could spend some time visiting with Alan as well. Echo was rather impressed by entire experience and wowed her aunty an uncle by finishing a whole banana as well as breastfeeding while there.

Xinny, Alan and Izaac

Izaac is such a little cutie, the smallest of den Otter babies, he was born at over 9 lbs but dropped down to 7 and some. (still bigger than the biggest Reinsch-Johnson!) I got in my own little newborn baby snuggle time while Echo visited with Alan and Xinny and daddy. She has gotten much better about being held by people other than Ken and myself.

Newborn cuddles

After getting in some play time for the kids and a snack (thanks to Xinny’s mom), we had to take our worn out brood home. Of course we made plans for ANOTHER visit. According to Chinese tradition Xinny (and Izaac) are to stay home for a whole month after the birth so we are making a few visits before that time is up to entertain her and to let our kids get in some much requested playdates before we head an hour and a half away. Hopefully they will be able to visit us in our new rental as well. Of course we WILL come back here for visits! After all Alan and Xinny are Emanuel’s god parents and we are blessed with Isabella as our god daughter.

I could not resist playing with the camera...

Fast asleep

I gave Izaac his little gift yesterday as well. I used the same pattern that Zander and Gavin have been using and made him up a little teddy bear. You can get the template here.

Handstitched

Our Math Week is going well. The boys have been teaching everyone their dice games, doing more addition colour by numbers and Gavin even started the paint by numbers he got for Christmas from his god mommy Christine.

Painting by numbers

They even sat down (and while I was in the tub!) and worked out a word sheet that matched numbers 10 and higher with their number names! I was so proud of the sounding out and the thinking things through. Of course ZANDER checked the wall where we have the numbers 1-16 listed, which shows he thinks about the problem and finds a way to solve it (right?). Gavin decided to go the slower route and work on sounding things out. But both did their best and got awesome results!

Our goal for tomorrow is to play some boardgames that are math related… at least until their facilitator shows up (at 2pm). He is coming for their second assessment so while Ken is gone with Echo to take her to her 6 month appointment with the doctor I will be collecting all the completed work they have done and tidying for the visit. I am actually rather excited about this visit. I feel that we have been doing our very best and that it shows! The boys are really progressing now and are happy and proud of their work. That is really all I can ask for!

Math practice game

As an artistic venture the twins sat down today and made art for Fat Sheep. Today’s finished pieces starred not only Fat Sheep herself BUT also Karyn! Be sure to check out Fat Sheep’s website to see her current blog posts, follow her on Twitter if you have it (she is VERY into quotes as well as daily updates). I do believe today she fulfilled one of her bucket list items – visiting Karyn’s work!

Aunty Karyn on a walk with Fat Sheep

Aunty Karyn and Fat Sheep playing ball in the house during a storm

Aunty Karyn, Fat Sheep and Mommy in the car in the rain

I am on the hunt for a jar now, something cute and unusual for MY Lucky Stars. Dollarama didn’t have anything remotely like what I had pictured in my mind. BUT I managed to pick up some Velcro to use to finish off the infant clips I have for Echo. So that will be part of my weekend goals. (Pictures to follow)

I finally got another bit of fun mail! My 50 French Barrettes got here from Hong Kong. They are just the little ones, but I am hoping to use them on all the bows I have waiting. The seller was great, our post is SUPER slow and unpredictable right now and they actually contacted ME on Monday to check on the shipment. That is the last of my craft items off of eBay. The price on these was great. Around 4.00 for 50. Much better than buying them at Michaels!

Barrettes

Now my evening is a lot quieter with the kids in bed but the list in my head is keeping me hopping. So much to do an so little focus!

OUR little baby