Thursday, August 19, 2021

Amazing Animal Facts

Another common child-request for a main lesson block.

While Horse Care does involve a fair bit of academic content, a list of facts which fly past you is a different kind of thing... "Whoa, cool!" is just not enough. And I worry that, if there's no overarching context to fit them in, the learning is not getting deeper over time. It's too scattered. It's too disparate.

A MLB on this is hard to justify to me. It's not suitable. Reading for fun, sure. But not as an academic topic. This is NOT the same as doing the Grade 4 grade Man and Animal block! An assortment of animals facts is NOT Zoology! However, what if your child insists that the ONLY thing he/she wants to learn about is the record holders in the animal kingdom?

You don't want a daily fight and you do want your child to enjoy learning.

This sort of thing is tricky, because in Waldorf the teacher is supposed to learn about child development from the anthroposophical point of view and then choose the topics which are right for that individual child. The teacher is the authority. If you get it right, the main lesson topic you choose will deeply feed your children, be just right for where they are developmentally, and it could be something they never knew existed! Fast forward to today, and a lot of homeschoolers are used to choosing their own topics based on what appeals to their child, which is largely what their children think they will like.

Ultimately, however, I think that parents need to establish that they are the teachers and that they are the authority. Children can -- and should -- always follow their own interests in their independent reading time, but you are trying to create a scope & sequence that makes sense and doesn't leave anything out. That is your job. Life isn't always going to be fun, so whether you think you're going to enjoy something is not the only criteria for making decisions, and children need to develop self discipline and study things that they don't think will be interesting at first. And no child can request a topic that they've never ever heard of... but that's how new passions are formed!

With all of that said, if you're currently locked in a power struggle with a student, I completely understand. I am in that same situation myself. I think that a topic like "Amazing Animal Facts" would be a good one if you are transitioning from unschooling into more formal work and you are introducing the idea of a main lesson book. Animals are useful for reluctant readers and/or reluctant writers. You can also create many math problems using animal facts, so you could develop a math block using this topic.

So if you're looking for resources, here are some books I like and have used. Know that anything and everything by Steve Jenkins is fantastic! I'm brainstorming this list right now and then I'll go back and rearrange them into the order in which I used them. Suggestions are always welcomed!


#1 - Laysan albatross
Phoebastria immutabilis


#2 - North American bullfrog
Rana catesbeiana


    Rosie the Ribeter: The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
    by Darcy Pattison
    world record triple jump for bullfrogs: 21 feet 5 3/4 inches

    make a chain of 21 paperclips
    find something that is the length of half a paper clip (a bullfrog) and lay it beside the chain for scale

    read back matter and go through the scientists' investigation by thinking of it in terms of paper clips (how much is 21 paperclips divided by three jumps? so then how could it be true that a bullfrog can only jump 4 paper clips?)


#3 - Bare-nosed wombat (common wombat)
Vombatus ursinus

POOP part I
the only animal with cube shaped poop


#4 - Eyelash mite
Demodex

POOP part II
the only animal that does not poop


#5 - Mosquito
Culicidae


#6 - Johnson jumping spider
Phiddipus johnsonii


#7 - Horse
Equus ferus caballus


#8 - Garden snail
Cornu aspersum


#9 - "Immortal" jellyfish
Turritopsis dohrnii


#10 - Panamanian golden frog
Atelopus zeteki


#11 - Blue whale
Balaenoptera musculus


#12



#13


    Zombie Makers: True Stories of Nature's Undead
    by Rebecca Johnson

    Entomophthora muscae

    Ophiocordyceps unilateralis

    Paragordius tricuspidatus

    Dracunculus medinensis

    Ampulex caompressa

    Glyptapanteles

    Lyssavirus

    Myrmeconema neotropicum

    Leucochloridium paradoxum

    Toxoplasma gondii


#14 - Dog
Canis lupus familaris


#15


#16 - Komodo dragon
Varanus komodoensis


#17


#18


#19


#20


#21


#22 - Cathedral termite
Nasutitermes triodiae




Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World’s Strangest Parrot
by Sy Montgomery



The Mystery of Darwin's Frog
by Marty Crump



Beatrix
by Jeanette Winter
I wonder what is the most famous pet ever... could it be Peter Rabbit?



The Slowest Book Ever
by April Pulley Sayre



Animals by the Numbers: A Book of Infographics
by Steve Jenkins


This post contains affiliate links to materials I truly use for homeschooling. Qualifying purchases provide me with revenue. Thank you for your support!

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