Having Fun with Australia!

This week, we started learning about Australia, and we've been having quite a bit of fun! For part of each day, we learned about an animal that lives in Australia or the surrounding islands.

Remember the old song about a laughing Kookaburra bird? I remember learning it when I was in school. Coyote & Road Runner enjoyed learning it this week, too:

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree.

Merry merry king of the bush is he.

Laugh kookaburra, laugh kookaburra.

Gay your life must be.

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree.

Counting all the gumdrops he can see.

Stop kookaburra, stop kookaburra.

Save some there for me.

(Head on over to KIDiddles to hear the music and see the rest of the lyrics.)

Other animals we learned about were a kangaroo, dingo, Tasmanian devil, and a platypus. We mainly used The Complete Book of Animals (by American Education Publishing); and also found the animals on You Tube, so we could see them in action.

When we learned about the platypus, I found a really cute video from a ventriloquist by the name of Steve Axtell. You have GOT to watch this! (Warning: It can become addicting!) The kids love this video...

We also found an old cartoon the kids enjoyed about the AUSTRALIAN PLATYPUS. You might enjoy watching that, as well.

For Science, we've learned about coral reefs and islands - what they are, where they are, and how they are formed. One of the animals found in the Galapagos Islands (near Ecuador), is called a Blue-footed Booby Bird. Have you ever heard of such a thing? They are very interesting. In case you were wondering (like I was), the name "booby" comes from the Spanish term bobo, which actually means "stupid," "fool," or "clown." I looked it up on Wikipedia and, the reason for this name is because the Booby is a clumsy bird on the land. Also, they tend to be very tame, which makes them easily captured, killed, and eaten by humans. Here's a short video you can watch from National Geographic about the birds. And, yes... they really do have BLUE feet! See for yourself!

One more thing I wanted to tell you about is a neat website for kids called “Can Do Street." I found out about this from MANY HATS MOMMY, who has a child with autism. It is a FREE online program that teaches about social skills. There are programs (short interactive videos), games, activities and other resources all geared towards helping children make good choices about personal safety, appropriate behavior, helping others, and other life skills. There is also a blog for the parents/teachers, lesson plans, and craft ideas. Check it out!

CAN DO STREET