04/30 Gray Squirrel

This week we learned about the Gray Squirrel.  They are mainly found in trees and eat nuts, seeds, berries, and insects. 

We watched a video that two Squirrels were squeaking or "talking" to each other.  We also watched a video with Squirrels doing lots of funny things.  The kids really enjoyed this.



This will be our last animal class.  The 7th will be the zoo trip, the next week the kids want to participate in the cardboard city activity and the following week is Field Day.

04/23 Geoduck

This week we talked about the Geoduck (pronounced like gooey-duck), which also happens to be the Evergreen State College mascot.

The Geoduck is a clam that can be found right here on our Washington beaches.  It can live 150+ years!  The Geoduck burrows down in to the sand and stays there for its life.  The siphon (or neck) can be over 3 feet long and will extend up to the top of the sand and retract when it senses danger. 

The kids enjoyed watching video clips of people digging up Geoducks.  It is a messy time consuming job.  We also watched some clips from the show Dirty Jobs which showed us a local Geoduck farm and how they harvest the clams and also how they are prepared and eaten. 

04/16 Marbled Murrelet

The Marbled Murrelet is a bird that is found near the coast of the Pacific Ocean and actually spends the majority of its life out at sea. 

For our class we read a book about the mystery behind the Marbled Murrelet.  They were considered a mystery for a long time because nobody could figure out where the birds lived.  It has been discovered that most of their life is spent at sea.  When tending for an egg or chick they will travel up to 50 miles inland and make their "home" (they do not make nests) on large moss covered branches in old growth forests.

04/09 Opossum

This month we are learning about animals that we are able to find here in Washington. 

The Opossum is the only marsupial in North America.  The kids were very fascinated with the babies in the pouch.  Opossums are also very good swimmers, so we watched a video with a baby who found his way into a swimming pool.  The other fun thing we talked about was that they "Play Possum" or play dead.

03/26 Amazonian Manatee

This week we learned about the Amazonian Manatee, also know as sea cows.  These Manatees are found in the Amazon River and are the only fresh water Manatee.  We looked at a picture with the different types of Manatees, which showed us that the Amazonian Manatee is the smallest kind at up to 9 feet long.  One interesting fact is that people used to believe that Manatees were very old because of the wrinkles on their skin.

We talked about that Manatees are hunted for their 400 pounds of meat and also their bones, fat, and skin.  The kids expressed some concern for the welfare of the babies left behind.  The video that we watched showed some of these babies at an Amazonian Manatee orphanage.  The babies were very playful and very cuddly. 

03/19 Capybara

The Capybara is the largest rodent in the world and can reach 175 pounds!  In a native language Capybara means "master of the grasses", probably because they eat over 6 pounds of grass in a day.  They are found near swamps, water holes, rivers, and love to lay in the mud.  The Capybara is an excellent swimmer and has webbing between the toes and fingers to help them paddle.  The kids really liked the fact that the Capybara can sleep underwater with just their nose poking out in order to hide from predators. 

Because the Capybaras are very shy and tame creatures people also keep them as pets.  We watched a video of a person with a pet Capybara and listened to the soft squeaky noise they make.

We finished off class by coloring a picture of a Capybara.

03/05 Armadillo

During the month of March we will be learning about animals that live in South America.  The first animal we talked about was the Armadillo.  Armadillo is a Spanish word meaning "little armored one".  This is because of the bony plates that cover the back, head, legs, and tail.  Only the 3-Banded Armadillo can roll into a complete ball.

We looked at pictures of different kinds of Armadillos.  The class enjoyed the pictures of the baby Armadillos!  There was also a neat picture of an Armadillo skeleton that had a great view of the bony plates.

We watched a video clip of an Armadillo digging a tunnel.  We liked watching the dirt fly out of the hole! 

We also read a book that showed a variety of animals in South America.