Tag Archive | Kids National Geographic

When a Gecko Comes to Call

Since we were asked to babysit a leopard gecko I figured why not make it a learning opportunity? Live example right in the classroom and all.

Gavin was put in primary charge of all things gecko. There are also crickets and mealworms to manage (I was doubly excited that he could handle those, bugs are not my forte). We printed out a calendar to manage the schedule of feeding, cleaning and sorting out of the living food needs. It was very interesting to see how much work this pet is in comparison to Momo and Neko-Chan. Though I think the chinchilla still wins on the basis of her picky nature in regards to her pellets and the short list of woods she is allowed to consume safely. Though the gecko has a cool red and blue set of lights, a rather awesome half log, and food that he has to chase down. Poor Momo is quite tame in comparison to these two exotic pets.20180817_085616

Under the night light.

Under the night light.

It was quite exciting to see the gecko out and about our second night. And in the morning it looked like he had been busy hunting down his dinner. Though the mealworms really don’t require much of a hunt.20180812_095410

It took Momo until the very end of the week to actually notice the intruder on her domain. Chinchilla smells and acts more alluring apparently! But once she did notice… life got more interesting for us all as we had to keep her away from tank AND crickets!IMG_20180816_220413_134

I hopped on my favourite sites and gathered up some resources. First off, for a full unit… Kidskonnect HERE, it is best printed out in colour really. I created a collection on Education.com with their offerings HERE. TwistynLeopard oodle.com has a nice trace and write page for the word “gecko” HERE. Easyscienceforkids.com has a worksheet and resource material HERE. Kids National Geographis has a lovely fact page HERE. For some good images of the marked body parts check out Tweetboard HERE, but be warned there is an actual image of the internals like you would see in biology lab. Reptiles Magazine has an interesting run down of care of a gecko pet HERE. Kids Puzzles and Games has some fun worksheets HERE.IMG_20180811_215143_218

We spent some time finding interesting facts about the leopard gecko. For instance did you know that geckos can be found everywhere but Antarctica? Gecko’s eyes are 350 times more sensitive to light than a human ‘s. Gecko’s tails are a reservoir for fat and if it is pulled off they will return to eat it to keep that fat store! Geckos can reporoduce without a male but that gecko will be more prone to illness and early death. Yup, interesting little critters!

Gecko poo is... interesting.

Gecko poo is… interesting.

So while the gecko was an interesting pet to sit for, and the kids found it quite the perfect distraction Momo and Neko-Chan still are our favourites. I am not sure I could ever get used to the crickets and mealworms to be honest. Thank goodness for Gavin and his lack of squeamishness over bugs.20180813_085442

Successful pet sitting under our belts, what is next for our summer?20180818_221417

Some Helpful Thanksgiving Links and Remembrance Day

Well I am clearing up my emails as I work on the blog, sewing and school… so what do I come across but my emails to myself about Thanksgiving! And Remembrance Day to boot! Well I figured I might as well share the helpful links here. If nothing else, the next time I search Thanksgiving or Remembrance Day here on the blog to find useful resources I will be in luck!

  • Kids National Geographic and their interpretation of the first Thanksgiving HERE
  • Social Studies for Kids and their thoughts on the Mayflower HERE
  • Reading With Kids turkey colour by letters HERE
  • Havefunteaching.com Harvest Festival explanation HERE
  • Kids Puzzles and Games Harvest Festival Puzzle Sheet HERE
  • Busy Teacher Thankful Tree Leaves writing template HERE
  • Teachers Pay Teachers Thanksgiving fun page HERE
  • Crewsnest Harvest Festival run down HERE

Remembrance Day!

  • Words of Remembrance Day cards through Activity Village HERE
  • Homeschooling.About.Com Veterans Day word search HERE
  • Parenting.Leehansen.com poppy colouring page HERE

A Halloween bonus!

  • Happy Home Fairy Pumpkin game HERE
A taste of fall to enjoy at the end. Minnesota has some amazing colour in the fall.

A taste of fall to enjoy at the end. Minnesota has some amazing colour in the fall.

Ankylosaurus

As I have mentioned before Emanuel does love his herbivores… so we moved onto the Ankylosaurus. These armour plated dinosaurs are 4 legged tanks. Club tailed and spike covered, they really are a visual joy for the herbivore loving dinosaur fanatic. Now let’s get onto our videos…First the ever requested I’m a Dinosaur.

Our second video didn’t make the cut with Emanuel, he simply could not sit through it today, BUT it is about dinosaur bones found in the province we used to live in and dealt with the Tyrell Museum (another favourite of the family).

That leads us to the links… Found at the end of the Cretaceous period we had a few good links to share with you. Science Kids has some nice images including the skull and bone structure HERE. Kids National Geographic has a short blurb and an image HERE. Discovery Dinosaur Central as a lengthy article with lots of interesting information HERE. We always love Kidsdinos.com and their charts HERE. Why not check out a site dedicated to the Ankylosaur HERE? Dinosaurs.about.com has a list of the connected dinosaurs HERE. Wiki has an article HERE, and of course there is the colouring page from HelloKids.com HERE.

Rainbow herbivore