Girl Scouts Daisy: 3 Cheers for Animals Part 6

Never miss an opportunity to include events- movie, exhibits, festivals, etc. in your home school or girl scout events!  We are anxiously awaiting the release of Chimpanzee!  It is coming out on April 20th, so we will be there =)  In the meantime, we have been learning about primates and the professionals who work with them. 

Also, if you are an Amazon prime subscriber, you have access to National Geographic, Animal Planet, and other great instant videos for FREE!!  These can be educational or just for fun.  You may, also, purchase videos to watch.  One of our favorites that we watched this week was "A Dolphin Tale" and "Escape to Chip Eden". 

In addition, I have found magazines to be an invaluable resource!  National Geographic Kids and Zoobooks are ones we are using for Zoology and learning about animals in a fun way. 

As part of Morgan's Daisy adventure, she has been taking care of her chihuahua Chica.  She has fixed Chica's bed, fed her, given her fresh water, and playing with her to give her exercise. 

This was a fun Daisy journey~ So glad you could join us!

Girl Scouts Daisy: 3 Cheers for Animals Part 5

These are some of the animals we saw at the Fort Worth Zoo on Homeschool day.  They had zookeeper chats that we took advantage of as well.

Girl Scouts Daisy: 3 Cheers for Animals Part 4

These are just a few of the animals we saw at the Dallas Zoo on 2 seperate visits.  We fed some of the animals including the goats, birds and giraffes.  Many of the trainers were available, so both Jaden and Morgan were able to ask them questions about the animals.  The trainers of the big cats, elephants, giraffes, birds and goats were all available.
They tried to figure out on their own whether a particular animal was a predator or prey. 
They took note of what the animal eats and how they live at the zoo. 
Overall, the two visits were rewarding academically.  Many of the things that they learned led to further discussion at home in their Zoology class.
I was surprised to hear Jaden talking to the keeper of the goats on both trips.  Jaden noticed that there were some young kids helping out at the zoo- feeding and cleaning up after the animals.  It turns out, they are volunteers.  The keeper told Jaden that you have to be 11 years old to volunteer, and some days you may clean up poop during your whole 4 hour shift.  Jaden was excited, and she asked me if she could be a volunteer when she is 11. 
Later in our Zoology class, the text told us that there are only a few veterinary schools, so it can be difficult to get into them.  However, if a potential students has experience working with animals there is a higher chance they will be accepted.  =)

Girl Scouts Daisy: 3 Cheers for Animals Part 3

                                      (Jaden took all of the photos above)
Looking for wonderful animal advetures, we found a great spring break animal camp.  Here the ladies of the animal museum did a 1 hour presentation on a few local animals.  It was interesting learning about the owl, opossum, rabbit, and snake.   
Both girls grabbed and soaked up a bunch of facts!!  This was very important, not only for the Daisy journey, but, also, for adding to the homeschool science class- "Zoology: Animals of the 6th Day"
At the end of the field trip, they each filled out a field trip form about what they learned, what they saw, and their favorite part of the trip.  I enjoyed hearing them recall the facts and the good times they had! 
There is another spring break animal camp presentation tomorrow, so we will be at that one as well. 
This will be a fun year of learning about animals!

Girl Scouts Daisy: 3 Cheers for Animals Part 2

Above are the African Elephants, and below are the Asian Elephants

Here are the African and Asian Elephants.  The African Elephants have bigger ears, and are bigger overall.  There was not a caretaker in front of the Asian Elephants we saw at the Fort Worth Zoo, but there was one with the African Elephants in the Dallas Zoo. 

One thing I have learned is to take advantage of the caretaker talks available to you!  You can learn a lot from the ones that work with the animals on a daily basis. 

The Dallas Zoo has "encounters" with these caretakers.  They usually feed the animals and offer tidbits of information while they are there.

We learned that the African Elephants are fed apples and hay.  They, also, eat the grasses and trees in their habitat.  The elephants have 4 teeth in the back of their mouths (molars) that are the size of bricks!  There are 6 sets in a elephants lifetime because they are so hard on their teeth that they lose them more than humans. 

They use their trunks to feed themselves and even as a built in shower =) 

After enjoying the Three Cheers for Animals Journey, I have decided to make Apologia's Zoology the girls' next Science program.  They should have fun learning about land animals!

Girl Scouts Daisy: 3 Cheers for Animals Part 1

For Morgan's Journey, we got to go to the zoo!  She chose the animal journey.  The flower friends in the Daisy Flower Garden in the journey book show how they help animals and care for them.  In this journey, the girls learn how to care for animals and themselves.
While at the zoo, here are some of the things we learned about the animals while we were there:

1. what the animal eats
2. where the animal lives
3. what else the animal needs to stay alive
4. what the biggest threat to the animal is

Check out these cute Bonobos.  The baby is playful, and the adults play along with him.  They were a lot of fun to watch.  Bonobos live in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in a tropical rain forest.  They eat mostly fruits and leaves.   

This family group of Bonobos lives in the Fort Worth Zoo.  We were there on home school day.  If you have never been to the Fort Worth Zoo, I have to tell you it is BIG and there is a lot to see.  We were exhausted after being there for 4 hours, and we didn't even see everything!

Girl Scouting on a Shoe String

Before I speak on the next journey that we did in Girl Scouts, I want to bring you this information.  I am finding things out on my own, instead of with the support of a troop.  One thing I learned recently is that you can check out any of the Girl Scout books, journey books, leader books, etc at your local Girl Scout shop!  It doesn't cost anything.  You just check them out like you would a book at the library. 

This saves hundreds of dollars over the lifetime of the girl's scouting experience!  Just for Jaden and Morgan for the Brownie and Daisy books, it is over $100!  I am glad they can still get the experience without spending that money.

Girl Scouts' 100th Anniversary Event: Part 1- Fire Building

At the 100th Anniversary Event of Girl Scouts, there were a lot of fun stations for the girls.  There were a total of 10 stations, and they rotated through every 15 minutes. 

This event was fire building.  The girls learned how to make an a-frame fire and a log cabin (square) fire.  They learned about kindling, among other things.  Do not use green limbs because they will not burn well.  You must find wood that is already dead (not on the tree). 

The last thing they did before they left this station was to light a match.  Very scary, as each girl was able to try to light the match all by themselves.  Luckily for all involved, it all went well =)  Jaden and Morgan both lit their matches like experts and quickly threw the lit matches in to the bucket of water.  Way to go!!