Building a wildlife park! K5 Homeschool Lessons

Theme of the Week:  My boys have recently acquired a fair amount of stuffed animals.  They love wild animals and we also recently took a trip to Washington DC.  While there we visited the Smithsonian National Zoo and an idea for much of my spring curriculum was born.  I am a huge fan of thematic units and immersing my kids in a learning experience rather than a series of isolating learning objectives. 

So, with all of that said, my objective for the week (and probably several weeks) is going to have to have my boys build a wildlife rescue center for their stuffed animals.  This will involve subjects in the following ways:

Reading:

Reading of non-fiction books to look up facts

Reading fiction books about their animals

Writing:

Making fact cards (displays about the animals in their sanctuary)

Creative writing about what happen to their animal and how it ended up at their “wildlife center”

Fine Motor Skills/Art/Handwriting:

Creation of habitats using a variety of material, cutting, gluing, taping, and constructing the geographical natural features as well as the safety features.

Science:

What needs do their animals have to have taken care of while living at the center?

Classification and sorting of animals

Habitats

Social Studies: 

Map skills and geography; where in the world does this animal live?

Geographical features:  Rivers, lakes, mountains, grasslands ect. 

Math Comparative Numbers:  For each animal they will need to find the height, weight, number of legs, and how many are left in the wild.  As they learn about more animals these numbers will be used to compare size ect.

Public Speaking:  At the end of their project the kids need to share their work with an audience and answer their questions.   

You can download the entire file with daily lessons, links, handouts, and graphic organizers here: 
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Homeschool-K5-Lessons-Spring-Week-2-Wildlife-Park  My lessons are free for now and all I ask is that you follow me on TpT and sign up on my blog e-mail list.  I love hearing from you about what works, what did not work or questions you have about the lessons. 

Animal in the Zoo Sign Templet:  Free for Now

I have developed an extensive thematic unit revolving around having my K5 boys making a wildlife sanctuary or zoo for their toy animals. You can find the detailed lessons here: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Homeschool-K5-Lessons-Spring-Week-2-Wildlife-Park  This file is a template that kids can use for the sign that will hang on their animals enclosure to teach the public about their animal. For more information about the work I create please visit my blog at http://backyardlearning.blogspot.com .

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Animal-in-the-Zoo-Sign-Templet