So with our in depth examination of China the kids requested another country… Being all democratic (first mistake) I let them choose… even after extorting the amazing qualities of some European countries (ok so Mommy has some interests not yet tapped) I was out voted and we chose a month+ long focus of MEXICO!!!

This is another first for us. I the topics I thought would be interesting and made up pages for the twins (and the littles to a more limited extent) to chose from. Topics like Sports, Inventions, Capital City, the list goes on and on… so we shall see how giving some more independence and choices works with the kids… FINGERS CROSSED!

However I am still verifying all websites before they settle on them so I had some major work ahead of me. And of course I have some to share as well!! I will post them according to topic, the only order is the one chosen by the boys to cover!

GEOGRAPHY

• What hemispere is Mexico in? Ask.com has the answer HERE

SPORTS

• donQuijote.org has a short article HERE.
• we checked out further information on Lucha Libre thanks to Wiki HERE.
• VisitMexico.com has an interesting piece on Charreria HERE.

CAPITAL CITY – Mexico City

• Angel of Independence thanks to Mexico City – Guide HERE.
• CNN has 10 interesting facts about the city HERE.
• Discovering Ice… a travel blog has tons to share including personal experiences HERE.
• MexicoCity.com has a page HERE

DINOSAURS… yup we went there… Emanuel and Trinity and I!

• Our dinosaur list was found on EnchantedLearning HERE
• Gorgosaurus: a wonderful picture on deviantArt thanks to SommoDracorex HERE. Dino Hunt Canada with their “breathing” image HERE. EnchantedLearning facts HERE. Raresource HERE.
• Labocania: not a common dinosaur AT ALL… so this is the best I could do! Dinosaurs.about.com HERE, CoolDinoFacts Wikia HERE, RareSource.com HERE. BUT an amazing picture to colour thanks to deviantArt and hyphenatedsuperhero HERE.
• For Hypacrosaurus we used one site as our launching pad and clicked their links. VERY helpful. You can find our link HERE thanks to Dinosaur of the Week.
• Pterosaur: not so much a specific animal but a grouping of apparently NOT dinosaurs, so fun for the kids being as these were FLYING critters. EnchantedLearning HERE. SomeInterestingFacts.net HERE. And our colouring page on SuperColoring.com HERE.
• Lambeosaurus: A duck-billed dinosaur we had a few good resources we used – KidsDinos.com HERE, EnchantedLearning HERE, and our colouring page was from IAmFritz.com HERE.
• Apatosaurus: Our last dinosaur chosen to research… Science Kids HERE, Kids Dig Dinos HERE, EnchantedLearning HERE and our colouring page from Ducksters HERE.

PLANTS AND ANIMALS

• The National animal/bird is the GOLDEN EAGLE… and the plant the PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS. We found that out using Wiki HERE. Learn more about the Golden Eagle thanks to Sandiego Zoo HERE. And all about the Prickly Pear Cactus thanks to DesertUSA HERE.
• Endangered animal list thanks to Mexidata HERE.
• Of our list Zander chose TWO animals to research (online)… Axolotl was the first with three links: A-Z Animals HERE and National Geographic Kids HERE and Mother Nature Network HERE. It is crazy cool! The second was the Tigrillo or the Margay. We found various pages once we realized the secondary name so here is a quick list – Encyclopaedia Britannia HERE, SoftSchools.com HERE, PoC HERE, The Animal Files HERE.

TRADITIONAL CLOTHING

• Education.com worksheet for traditional clothing for both genders HERE.
• Facts about traditional clothing thanks to FactsAboutMexico.com HERE.
• Sombreros facts HERE thanks to ehow.

WEATHER STUDY

• Discuss the seasons on an informational site HERE.
• Learn about the rainy season on Mexperience HERE.
• Does it snow in Mexico? Find the answer from people who live there thanks to Yahoo Answers HERE.
• General climate information on Mexperience HERE.

ART, CRAFTS and ARTISTS

• Gavin did the research and write ups for this one. First Frida Kahlo, mainly from our book list but also from Wiki HERE.
• And her husband Diego Rivera, again mainly from our library finds and Wiki HERE. Our colouring page of one of his murals can be found HERE thanks to Scribble Blog.

LANGUAGE and PEOPLE

• Learn Spanish at Duolingo.com (app available too) HERE.
• Famous people born in Mexico list with links onward thanks to Biography.com HERE.

NATURAL DISASTERS

• An article of interest on the examination of an area in Mexico that experienced a massive drought for about 650 years thanks to NBC HERE.

AGRICULTURE

• Livestock numbers (from 2008) thanks to Answers.com HERE. We used this as an example of the types of common animals raised for food and other reasons.
• Learn about the Cacao plant and chocolate thanks to Wilderness Classroom HERE.
• A list of common plants to Mexico (short) thanks to ehow HERE.
• Plants of Mexico list (long) thanks to Backyard Nature HERE.
• Agriculture in Mexico thanks to Wiki HERE.

INVENTIONS

• We used this list on Wiki as a launching pad for researching 3 of them. Nothing fancy just a list of interest really HERE.
• A second list thanks to the site Latina HERE.

MEXICO INDEPENDENCE DAY

• SoftSchools.com has a wonderful page about the history of Mexico’s movement to independence HERE.
• KidzWorld.com has some information HERE.
• Globe In has 10 interesting facts about Independence Day HERE.

GENERAL FACTS

• A to Z Kids Stuff HERE.
• Duckster with some Mexico Geography HERE.
• Octavio Paz (famous individual) thanks to Wiki HERE.
• Chichen Itza thanks to SoftSchools HERE

RELIGION

• Mexconnect covers the history of Catholicism in Mexico HERE.

MUSIC AND DANCE

Tlacololeros a traditional Mexican dance… watch it below:

Mexican Hat Dance… check it out below:

CURRENCY

• A great image of the currency and explanation of how it works thanks to Focus on Mexico HERE.

COUNTRY STUDY… a great all over overview from Activity Village we are now using for any country we cover as more than a micro unit HERE.

MEXICO printable booklet, for purchase on TeachersPayTeachers HERE. Great for grades 1-3.

COLOURING PAGES and WORKSHEETS

• Mexican Revolution HERE thanks to Oncoloring.
• Know Your Neighbour HERE thanks to jumpstart.com.
• Spanish word book and more HERE thanks to Homeschool Share.
• Clothing colouring page HERE thanks to Coloring Book 4 Kids

BOOKS… boy did we have books!! I may have cleaned out 2 or three local library branches!! So enjoy the fruit of my requesting! I will try and point out the super useful or fun books with a bit of further information. After all, this is useful for me too when we chose to revisit a topic for the littles to learn more about!

• Cactus Soup by Eric A. Kimmel. This is a take on the stone soup idea set in Mexico during the Mexican Revolution (1910-1922). The kids picked up right away that it was a great lesson about sharing. Though the girls were VERY put out about the people lying about having things at first… not cool! Great book HERE.
• Little Egret and Toro by Robert Vavra. This is not a MEXICAN story but we chose to read this book because it was set in Spain and about a fighting bull. The whole concept of bull fighting and the ending of the fight in the death of the bull is visited. It does have a happy ending though! HERE
• Mexico by Gina DeAngelis (a common name for a lot of the books we borrowed but I will link each one if I can!): Many Cultures, One World. HERE
• Christmas Around the World by Emily Kelley HERE.
• P is for Pinata by Tony Johnston HERE
• Ancient Mexico by Kelly Campbell Hinshaw HERE
• A Look at Mexico by Helen Frost HERE
• Mexico by Sarah Tieck HERE
• Cultural Traditions in Mexico by Lynn Peppas HERE
• Mexico by Christine Juarez HERE
• Mexico by Deborah Kent HERE
• Mexico by R. Conrad Stein HERE
• The Boy Who Wouldn’t Obey: A Mayan Legend by Anne Rockwell HERE
• Food and Festivals Mexico by Linda Illsley HERE
• Mexico City by R. Conrad Stein HERE
• Countries of the World Mexico by Beth Gruber HERE
• Mexico in Pictures by Janice Hamilton HERE
• The Cooking of Mexico by Matthew Locricchio HERE
• Mexico! 40 Activities to Experience Mexico Past & Present by Susan Milord HERE
• Traditional Crafts from Mexico and Central America by Florence Temko HERE

AZTECS AND MAYANS – we only did a cursory discussion on these two groups but had a lovely stack of books for reading and enjoyment and of course the fact finding.

• Aztecs by David and Patricia Armentrout HERE
• Ancient Aztecs by Tim Cooke HERE
• Life Among the Aztecs by Eleanor J. Hall HERE
• Lost Temple of the Aztecs by Shelley Tanaka HERE
• The Aztecs by Tim Wood HERE
• The Maya HERE
• Houses & Homes by Tim Wood HERE
• Ancient Mayan Civilization by Nancy Day HERE
• Crafts From the Past – The Aztecs by Gillian Chapman HERE

MOVIES/DOCUMENTARIES

• Families of Mexico (Families of the World) HERE
• More Families of Mexico (Families of the World) HERE
• Travel With Kids Mexico HERE
• Ancient Aztec The Fall of the Empire (Ancient Civilizations for Children) HERE

I really enjoyed this unit and the kids seemed to learn and enjoy a lot too… Please enjoy the images from some of our finished work!

Here is a quick peek at our finished notebook/binder… sorry about the quality and the babbling!

So in celebration of FINALLY getting back on board with our (hopefully) daily dinosaurs with Emanuel I am posting a few of the ones that have been awaiting editing and such to go up on the site!!! So please enjoy a look back at our own personal paleontology internet dig.

Some dinosaurs are simply interesting to look at, and the head of the Pachycephalosaurus is no exception. Found in the forests of North America, this herbivore had some of the carnivore characteristics that remind us of the T Rex… the upright posture, the smaller front legs… From the Cretaceous period, this was the largest of its species and while its head could have been used to fight it is actually believed that the Pachycephalosaurus would have made use of its large hind legs by running away.

Now for videos… the first is a question and answer period with Dinosaur George. Sadly, the link he gives for the intriguing Dracorex does NOT work.

Our second video was an unrealistic but entertaining excerpt from a dinosaur game… Trinity and Emanuel enjoyed it at least.

And now for the link list…

• KidsDinos.com HERE
• Animal Planet HERE
• Jurassic Park Wiki HERE
• 3D History HERE
• Dinosaurs.about.com HERE
• EnchantedLearning HERE
• National Geographic HERE
• Wiki HERE
• And our colouring page at Dinosaur-Colouring.com HERE
  

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In my research about Texas I came across a great book that had a story about the life of dinosaurs in Texas. So of course we had to research some of the listed ones. We did this a little differently than Emanuel and I usually do it when we solo learn. Instead I read them the information and one of the twins wrote the main points. The other and Emanuel then coloured our picture. These are all going to go into our Texas binder when we finish our unit in the end of May. Our original source of our list was from the book Dinosaur Hunt by Karen Carr. You can get to our resource page HERE.

Our first dinosaur was the slower moving carnivore from the Cretaceous period the Acrocanthosaurus also known as Acro. This therapod was found in Texas, Oklahoma and Arizona. Potentially one of the smarter predators it went after slower moving dinosaurs mainly. Its front legs/arms were longer than a T-Rex’s and much more useful. Definitely a dinosaur to watch out for. For our links we used some old favourites and some new ones as well…

• Jurassic Park Wikia HERE
• EnchantedLearning HERE
• Dinosaurs.About.com HERE
• KidsDinos.com HERE
• Age of Dinosaurs HERE
• NaturalSciences.org has a great resource that we did not get to using for an activity guide. A little more in depth  than we wanted to go with a light overview with multiple dinosaurs. HERE
• National Geographic Kids book page HERE
• Wikipedia HERE
• Our colouring page is from Education.com HERE

Dinosaur #2 was the Pleurocelus… a 4 legged herbivore also from the Cretaceous period. Found in Texas, Maryland and Utah it had longer front legs than back and so mimics the appearance of a giraffe. In fact, it is believed it may have walked on its front toes! It was a fitting meal for our Acrocanthosaurus. Of course we have links to share.

• Dinosaurs.about.com HERE
• DinoDictionary HERE
• EnchantedLearning (mid page) HERE
• Texas Parks and Wildlife HERE. They also had our colouring page HERE.
• Wikipedia has a discussion about the actual name determination and defining  that we did NOT cover but you can read more about that under the article titled Astrodon HERE

Our third dinosaur was one that Emanuel and I had already covered – the Hypsilophodon. So we did a brief overview and jumped list on our backlogged dino posts to put up the one we covered you can read about that HERE. This plant eater was included in our dinosaurs of Texas book but I do admit to finding it placed mostly in Europe.

Our fourth and final dinosaur was the Coloborhynchus. This dinosaur was a flyer and amazingly enough has given us a NEW term for what it eats – a PISCIVORE… fish eater! Emanuel is PUMPED! A new term to hunt under. There is some rather contradictory information about it as apparently there is some dispute as to whether it is its own dinosaur or falls under another name. We did enjoy our rather limited information and of course seeing it in our dinosaur book. Our links…

• Dinosaurs.about.com HERE
• Prehistoric Wildlife.com HERE
• Science Direct HERE
• Wiki HERE and HERE
• Many and varied images on my Google search HERE
• Our colouring page thanks to deviantArt titled Coloborhynchus Attack by HondariNundu HERE.