Arctic ring at the Copenhagen zoo!

 

The Arctic ring complex opened at the Copenhagen zoo this past week and we had a couple of really nice trips so far. Saule was very excited to see the new Puffin chicks that were hatched here at the zoo, after the eggs were collected in the Faroe Islands. 

 The Polar bears seem allot more active in their new home. We observed them wrestling and playing in the water, and fighting over a horse head!  They now have a very large swimming area where you can see them drive, and get a better understanding for how comfortable they really are in the water.

No trip to the zoo is complete with out a picnic basket! The Arctic ring has a large indoor section that is heated, so you are able to undress, sit down, and really take in some quality time with the animals.

 There are plenty of Arctic related lesson plans for all ages online but here are a few we found:

Arctic worksheets and other activities-
Arctic map
Arctic Maze
Connect the dots
Polar bear info
Puffin info and games

The zoo also has some very educational and interesting new exhibits worth exploring. Its best to go when its quiet (midweek) so you can really enjoy it all.

Sea studies- gearing up for the new aquarium!

In preparation for the new aquarium here in Copenhagen, due to open  March 22, we have started working on sea studies. We put on our snorkel gear and watched a few youtube videos and got in the underwater mood! The creature that inspired us mimic octopus.  So we decided to build a octopus cave diorama, complete with a salt dough octopus. We talked lots about camouflage,  the advantages of being a mimic, and underwater living.

While working on our cave we started talking about octopus eggs, and went online to find out what they look like. We came across this adorable video of eggs hatching, but the best part is the ending where they sing happy birthday to the octopus!

Hunting for shells.

Ursa took a little nap

We went to the beach today to collect shells and have a picnic. There were some seagulls who joined us for lunch, as well.

I also really enjoyed the opportunity to share my own octopus catching experiences in Puerto San Carlos, Mexico. I did some really excellent tide pooling there....maybe that should be where we take the girls next....

Spring on the farm- take two age 4!

 This is our second attempt at a shoe box diorama meets window box (see her first edition HERE). The barn is a tea box, and we lined a shirt box with a plastic bag for the field. 


We spent the day talking about food and farming, and created this mini farm complete with alfalfa field. Its already sprouting on day 2, which is a great reason to choose alfalfa seeds.

We read a bunch of farm related books, here is the collection Saule chose and a bunch we read together to Ursa. 

We also used youtube.com to watch everything from  orange picking here, sheep shearing, my old job as night lamber, carrot harvest, and olive oil production (those are some good links). We talked allot about how farmers choose which crops to grow, and what it means to them if the crops fail

A couple of weeks ago we started some Kentucky Wonder Pole beans in the window, and they are growing, even with just 4 hours of day light! 

Farm themed gaming (Hi Ho Cherryo) and lots of farm themed songs (old Mc Donald, Bingo, farmer in the dell, etc). You can find lots of songs on youtube if you need more. 

A couple of farm puzzles we did.

School was like a zoo today...

We usually go to the Copenhagen Zoo about once a week. Having the chance to visit so often is wonderful because it means we can really take the time to get to know the animals at a slower pace, rather than just rushing through to see them all in one day. Its an amazing home school resource and I don't see anyone else using this here. (Please tell me about how you use your zoo!)

Yesterdays visit we spent in the tropical area, which is an entire building that is open air and set up to give you and the animals a feeling of walking in a rain forest. There is no cage or glass between you and the critter (expect the alligators), so if you sit still and quiet you are often approached by large jungle fowl and sloths.

Saule testing out her butterfly wings in butterfly room. We did a study on silk production when she got these.

There were very few people at the zoo yesterday, so we were able to spread out our picnic blanket, take off all our layers of clothes, and put on our butterfly wings. I did some yoga. Ursa (almost 9 months) enjoyed having the freedom to crawl/cruise around where she liked, touch some plants and  the waterfall.  We had lunch, read books, took a nap, and did some worksheets.  But mostly we enjoyed being in the nature, and being able to sit long enough and quiet enough to really absorb it. We

These are the books we brought with us- all of them are rainforest themed.

We read this one "Slowly, Slowly, Slowly," said the Sloth by Eric Carle      
to the sloths that were sitting just above us. Ursa had a little nap.