Posts Tagged ‘birds’

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Summer Reading with Reading Rockets!

July 6th, 2022

It’s Wednesday, July 6, 2022, and time for Language Arts at ClickSchooling!

Reading Rockets: Start with a Book

(www.startwithabook.org/summer-reading-learning)

Grades PreK-8, with parental supervision

This website is a project of the PBS show, Reading Rockets and along with funding from The Park Foundation, Inc. they offer themed booklists and activities for summer reading and learning.

When you get to the website click on any of the topics in the center of the page. A new page opens providing instructions on how to explore a particular theme:

  • Dinosaurs
  • Flight
  • Bugs, Birds and Animals
  • Stars, Planets and the Night Sky
  • Weather
  • Detectives and Explorers
  • Art and Artists
  • Folktales, Fairy Tales and Myths
  • Poetry
  • and many more!

The activities include a materials list with pictures and instructions and discussion help.

This website is full of information to help parents develop a love for reading in their children. Bookmark this website and check back often.

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Virtually Tour Globally Inspired Gardens

May 13th, 2022

It’s Friday, May 13, 2022, and time for a Virtual Field Trip at ClickSchooling!

The Butchart Gardens

(www.butchartgardens.com/a-virtual-visit/)

All grades; children with parental supervision

Visit the incredible Butchart Gardens in British Columbia, Canada with this website that offers a free virtual tour! To really appreciate the gardens it’s helpful to know some history about them.

In 1888, Robert Butchart manufactured cement near limestone deposits on Vancouver Island where he and his family lived. As his business exhausted the limestone in the quarry near their home, Mrs. Butchart came up with the idea of transforming the abandoned quarry into a spectacular “Sunken Garden.” She had topsoil hauled in and began the renovation.

The Butcharts were world travelers and it influenced the design of their gardens. They created a Japanese Garden with Koi pond, transformed a tennis court into an Italian Garden, and planted a spectacular Rose Garden. Mr. Butchart collected birds from all over the world and had elaborate bird houses constructed throughout the gardens. They decorated their garden with artifacts including bronze castings.

The renown of the Butchart Gardens spread. Today, close to a million people visit annually, enjoying the year-round display of floral beauty created from over 900 varieties of plants.

From the menu, choose:

  • Sunken Garden
  • Rose Garden
  • Japanese Garden
  • Italian Garden
  • Mediterranean Garden
  • and more

So much color and beauty in one place!

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Tools for Young Biologist to Explore the World Around Them!

August 31st, 2021

BioKids: Kids’ Inquiry of Diverse Species

(www.biokids.umich.edu/)

Grades 4-8, with parental supervision

This website is part of a research project developed by the University of Michigan with resources and activities to improve learning science with a focus on biology and biodiversity. It’s designed for classroom use, but it’s a terrific resource for homeschoolers as well!

When you get to the site use the horizontal menu near the top of the screen to explore:

  • Critter Catalog – Discover an array of vertebrates such as mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Then check out the invertebrates that include mollusks, insects, arachnids, myriapods, and crustaceans. Information here includes pictures, specimens, sounds the critters make, and scientific classification.
  • Field Guides – While there is a focus here on the wildlife habitat of Michigan, you’ll find terrific all-around information under “Tracks and Sign” that includes keys to animal tracks, marks left by animals chewing, biting, and rubbing, things animals build, eggs, and things animals leave behind.
  • Resources – You’ll find a terrific archive of links to websites about animals and biodiversity. Don’t miss the “Multimedia Resources” in the “Links for Teachers” section that include links to sites with ideas for curricula.

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Sunny & Rainy Day Fun with the Origami Club!

July 24th, 2021

Origami Club

(en.origami-club.com/)

All grades, with parental supervision

Origami is the art of folding paper into fun figures, interesting designs, and works of art. This ClickScholar-recommended site is one of the best origami sites we’ve seen. It was designed by graphic designer and artist, Fumiaki Shingu, as a way to share the magic of Japanese origami with people worldwide.

When you get to the site you’ll see a menu of origami possibilities that include folding paper into:

  • Sea Creatures
  • Bugs
  • Fruits & Vegetables
  • Animals & Birds
  • Sweets & Food
  • Paper Air Planes
  • Holiday Decorations
  • Alphabet Letters
  • Numbers
  • Furniture
  • Clothes
  • Using Newspaper for Origami

And there is even a section of “Easy Origami” for beginners! Click on any one and a new screen opens with a selection of designs. Click on a design of interest, and a new page opens with complete instructions and animated illustrations that simplify the whole process. Anyone can learn the art of origami with the use of this website!

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Take a Virtual Online Safari to Africa

July 23rd, 2021

Bwana Mitch’s Virtual Safari

(www.virtuellesafari.de/start.e.html)

All grades; with parental supervision

This commercial website specializes in travel to Africa and includes a terrific, free virtual safari of East Africa and southern Africa using photos and interactive 360° panoramas of wildlife and landscapes.

When you get to the website you’ll see a picture of a lion. Click on the words, “To The Gallery” located below the lion. A new page opens with a menu of the photo gallery that you will use to take this virtual safari that includes:

  • Wildlife – See pictures and read descriptions of African mammals, reptiles, and birds including:

  • Elephant
  • Rhinoceros
  • Cheetah
  • Leopard
  • Lion
  • Mongoose
  • Hippopotamus
  • Warthog
  • Nile Crocodile
  • Ostrich
  • and many more!

  • Landscapes – Explore national parks in Botswana, Tanzania, and Kenya.

If you click on any item on the menu a new page opens to photographs with descriptions in GERMAN. If you don’t read German – don’t worry. You can easily translate each page into English with a Google translation service located in very small print at the bottom of each page. Just click on the words “Translate this page into English” and the Google application works its magic so that you get the full benefit of the picture and the descriptive text.

If you enjoy the virtual field trip, you can also virtually explore the lodges and camps that are available to those who go on a real safari using the travel services of Bwana Mitch.

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Interactive Word Games & Puzzles

June 2nd, 2021

Brain Food: Word Puzzles

(www.rinkworks.com/brainfood/c/word.shtml)

Grades 5-12, with parental supervision

This website offers a variety of interactive word puzzles and games that will enhance your Language Arts curriculum.

When you get to the site you will see a menu of word activities that include:

  • Word Searches – Find the hidden words themed around topics such as: The Body, Medieval Times, Varieties of Cheese, Horses, The Bible, Winter, Palindromes, Aviation, North American Birds, Car Parts, Calendar, Vowels – and many, many more. Just keep clicking the “next” button at the bottom of each page to see them all.
  • Associated Words – Think of a single word that goes with the word given, to form a compound word.
  • Word Fragments – Using the word fragment provided, think of a word that contains the fragment — that is, you must form a word by adding letters to the beginning and/or the end of the fragment.
  • Garbled Proverbs – In each of these puzzles, a proverb is written with exactly one letter of each word replaced with another. Can you figure out what the original proverb is?
  • Cryptograms – Cryptograms are encoded sayings or quotations where each letter has been substituted for another. Can you decode them?
  • Language Puzzles – Challenging puzzles about words and language. Put your thinking cap on!

When you are through exploring the “Word Puzzles” portion of the site, you may want to try the “Word Boxes.” Word Boxes are like miniature crossword puzzles, except that each word is filled in across and down the grid.

This site has number and logic puzzles too. In fact, there is so much content here that we were unable to review it all. Therefore, AS ALWAYS, parents should preview the site to determine suitability for their own children.

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