Dogs and Cats and Birds, oh my!

My apologies for not updating last week! I have Bronchitis and just about all of my energy went to spending time with the girls :-) I will be posting a final recap of our China/Olympics unit soon with pictures of our lapbooks and a slideshow from our Harris Family Olympics (we had a blast!)

Last week we learned all about PETS! There are tons of animals that fit into this category and it was my intention to become familiar with all of the different types of animals that people keep as pets. Last Monday morning was spent finishing up our Olympic lapbook and driving to the library to pick up the remaining books for our unit, so this week was a bit different -- Jordan helped me set up the Unit Study Table and had so much fun! Cali had fallen asleep during the drive and continued her nap on the sofa. I asked Jordan if she wanted to watch a video while I set the table up (and be surprised by the finished result) or if she wanted to help. . . She got so excited that she could help set it up and was very proud of herself!

We pulled together all of the books and videos, as well as a few toys. Jordan had fun looking at all of the items, grouping them together and trying to make them look pretty. After the table was set up, we had enough time to take a few pictures before we dove into all of the books! We read and learned about dogs, cats, birds, frogs, lizards, iguanas, turtles, horses, fish, chickens, salamanders, bugs and ants! We read so many wonderful books, many were re-reads, that I will just highlight here our FAVORITES!

Cali -- loves anything Clifford, and she likes the Biscuit books a lot. She also really enjoyed re-reading Harry the Dirty Dog and Angus Lost, and especially loved the videos that went with the books

Jordan -- Loved re-reading Harry and Angus, and was excited to see the other two books in the series as well (Angus and the Ducks and Angus and the Cat). She also LOVED The Perfect Pet, although I admit my humorous antics during the read alouds probably helped. . . I couldn't help it, this story was so funny! It is about a girl who resorts to having a pet BUG because he wasn't too big or loud and didn't jump, scratch or shed! Finally, she really enjoyed The Berenstain Bears' Trouble With Pets and Sesame Street Puppy Love, a Little Golden Book. I loved these books, too, because they really showed the work that is involved in having a pet.

Our favorite snuggle time movies this week were 101 Dalmations and Lady and the Tramp. We also watched a lot of My Little Pony throughout the week, while playing A LOT with all of my old ponies. . . and talking about how many people have horses for pets as well. Jordan is in a very big pony/horse kick right now!

I had planned on taking a trip to Petsmart again, one of our favorite FREE Field Trips, but we didn't make it. . . however, I totally recommend this trip to anyone else planning their own Pets Week!

Next up is our Camping Unit, ending in a fun family camping trip this weekend! What are you learning about this week??