Around the World in 1 Day!!

Field Trip :)

We started our week of fun field trips with one of our favorite places-- the Zoo!!  Sure, it's fun just to look at the animals and ride the carousel, but there is so much to learn at the zoo.  Since this was a special trip to commemorate finishing our year-long journey around the world, we really focused on WHERE the animals came from.  We checked the informational signs at each enclosure and we were able to check off every continent!!  I was so proud that the kids were even able to tell me some of the homelands without looking and my 6 year old could name the continents by shape.  We have ALL learned so much this year!


Here are some snapshots of the day and an animal we found from each continent-


Here is one of the Magellenic penguins found in the most southern parts of South America and Antarctica.

Of course, the beautiful giraffes from Africa!  It's hard to tell from the picture but this is a baby giraffe born about 1 1/2 months ago.  The SF Zoo also has an amazing Lemur exhibit, and we know that lemurs only live in Madagascar, an island off the coast of Africa.







They were all snuggled up because this is San Francisco in the summer, which can be foggy :)

You can't talk about Australia without mentioning Kangaroos but have you ever seen a Cassowary?? 

 

They look like something from the dinosaur era! They are also found in Papua New Guinea.

South America is represented by the Alpaca we found in the petting zoo and the beautiful flamingoes. 




I love flamingoes!  I got into a little debate with an 8 year old over whether or not flamingoes could fly.  FYI- they can :)

 



The kids found a very tame camel from Asia- just kidding it's a sculpture of a one-humped Dromedary camel. They are found in the Middle East which is considered Asia, but also found in Africa.  The 2-humped Bactrian Camel is found in other parts of Asia. 



The beautiful snow leopard can also be found in Asia.  Did you know that it has the softest fur of any animal?  The chinchilla has the second softest.



For North America, we visited the always adorable prairie dogs! 







They even got to pretend to BE prairie dogs :)






The zoo also has a great Grizzly Bear exhibit!  These bears are so beautiful but I sure wouldn't want to come across one in the wild!!




This polar bear can be found in both North America, Northern Europe and Russia, so we are using it as our representative from Europe.  This is one BIG animal!!





This super fluffy owl is a Eurasian Owl.  It is so beautiful and soft but the claws are crazy-long!!







That's our trip around the world in one day!!  Want a fun way to teach your kids about the animals and areas of the world?  Print out a map of the world, head to the closest zoo and check off as many continents as you can.  If you check off all the continents treat yourselves to something fun!!

Chameleons

Colorful Characters

Madagascar is known for having very unique animals and plants.  The lemur is possibly the most well known, and we will be doing a project on them, but I also wanted to do a project on another well known inhabitant of the island- the chameleon.

There are over 160 different species of chameleons, ranging in size from 3/4 of an inch to 26 inches, and almost 2/3 of these chameleons live in Madagascar. 

These reptiles are famous for a few traits-

• They have eyes that move independently of each other, allowing them a 360° view.
• Their feet are specially formed to live in the trees.  Their five toes are grouped into two pads that grip the branches.
• They walk with a back and forth motion to mimic the leaves blowing.  This makes them hard to see.
• They have long sticky tongues that can grab an insect or worm from inches away without the chameleon moving at all.
• They can change colors!!  This is perhaps their most well-known trait, but I (and I bet you too) thought this was mostly for camouflage.  It's not.  The chameleon changes it's color to show emotions, communicate with potential mates, and defend it's territory.
  

Chameleons are pretty cool alright.  So we made one to keep as a little pet.....

Pipe cleaner Chameleon
For the project you will need:

• 3 green pipe cleaners (at least)
• pink pipe cleaner
• scissors
• sharpie or googly eyes

1. Take one green pipe cleaner and make a loop about 1" long on the end.  This will be the head.

2. Cut a piece of the pink pipe cleaner about 2" long and attach one end to the "head".  This is the tongue.  You can curl it up to make it look cuter.

3. Take another green pipe cleaner and wrap the head to make it look more like a solid head.  This should take about 3/4 of the pipe cleaner.  Cut off the rest to use as legs.

4.  Wrap the piece you just cut off around the long piece of pipe cleaner that is extending from the head.  These are one set of legs. 

 

5. From the third green pipe cleaner cut another piece for another set of legs.  Attach them to the body as well.

6.  Coil the rest of the 3rd pipe cleaner (or use another pipe cleaner) until it looks like a spring.  Bend up the legs and slide the coil over them to make the body.  Pull the legs back out and arrange until it looks right.

7.  You should still have a piece of the 1st pipe cleaner (the body) sticking out of the back.  This is the tail.  Curl it under in a spiral.
The picture shows it curled up but it should curl under- I fixed it later. :)

8.  Draw on some eyes or glue on some googly eyes.  The googly eyes would look cuter but I couldn't find any!

9.  Bend the little guys feet and attach him to some plants (or your finger!)  Too cute :) 

This project was a little tough for my 4 year old.  He lost interest pretty quick.  My 6 year old was able to do it but it was a little challenging for her too. 

A Man of Morals

Aesop- a man of morals

Ok, so before I begin the story of Aesop and his fables, let me say that there are many conflicting stories about Aesop, some even that he wasn't even a real person.  The consensus is that he was born in the region now known as Turkey around 620 BC.  Then it gets a little iffy- he was either a slave on a Greek Isle who was freed from slavery because of his quick mind, an Ethiopian traveler, or a dwarf with deformed features.  Really, I supposed all of them could be true- maybe he was a deformed Ethiopian dwarf traveler who was taken as a slave to a Greek Isle but then freed because of his intellect?  Sounds plausible.  Anyway, I don't know what's true or not, all I know is that there is a huge collection of stories that are credited to Aesop.  No written records of the stories survive but they have been passed down through the millennia and still stand strong.  The stories all have 2 things in common- they all feature animals (or insects) as the main characters and they all have a moral.  At the end of the story a lesson has been taught.  A lesson on how to be a GOOD HUMAN BEING!   Even when times are tough.  Even when life is hard and you are the underdog.  I think I found some new bedtime stories for the kids!! 

I picked one story to illustrate a science project for the kids-  

The Crow and the Pitcher- a science project
as paraphrased by me

A very thirsty crow was flying one day when he spotted a pitcher of water.  He flew down to the pitcher of water and tried to get a drink but the neck of the pitcher was too narrow and the water level was too low for him to reach it with his beak.
(note:  It is hard to see the water level in the pics with my daughter.  My son's water I dyed red and it is much easier)

So he thought and thought.  While he was thinking, he spotted some pebbles on the road.  He picked up a few pebbles and dropped them into the pitcher.  The water rose higher as the pebbles displaced the water.  As the crow dropped more and more pebbles, the water rose higher in the pitcher until the crow was able to dip his beak in and get a drink.  When he was satisfied, he continued on his way

The moral-
Persistence pays off, or, where there is a will there is a way!!

The science lesson-
2 objects cannot occupy the same space.  The rocks displace the water, and since it has no other place to go, it rises in the pitcher.

Art Project- Butterflies

The Beautiful Butterflies of Costa Rica

Who doesn't like butterflies?  I can't think of anyone, can you?  Imagine a place with a beautiful, tropical landscape, sparkling beaches, amazingly diverse plants and animals AND over 1250 different species of butterflies!!!  It's Costa Rica.  This place just gets better and better :)  I'm definitely gonna check on flight prices after this post.  I need a vacation :) 

Costa Rica is home to about 10% of all the world's butterfly species and, if you think about the size of the country, that fact is amazing.  The butterfly population helps the people of Costa Rica with more than just making their country pretty, they help pollinate the plants and trees and also provide another tourism draw. 

Butterfly gardens and conservation tours are a big draw. The Butterfly Conservatory seemed like a particularly educational trip.  The beauty and fragility of these creatures is astounding. 






The most well-known of the butterflies found in Costa Rica is the Blue Morpho.  This beautifully bright blue butterfly (say that 3 times) is also a master of camoflauge.  You'd think that a bright blue butterfly whose wingspan can reach almost 6 inches across would be an easy meal for a bird, right?  But when the Blue Morpho closes its wings it is the same color as wood or dirt.  

A swirled brown and black, with large "eyespots" that are meants to scare away anything that sees past the camoflauge.  When it is in flight and not easily hidden, the Blue Morpho has a crazy, erratic flight pattern that makes it hard to catch.  Nature is so cool.  So, in honor of this beautiful creature, we are going to make a butterfly for our art project this week.  Let's go...............

The Blue Morpho
For the project you will need:

• black craft foam sheet or paper
• brown paper or felt
• blue glitter, sequins, feathers
• pipecleaners for antennae
• glue
• scissors, exacto knife (supervised)

1. Cut your black foam or paper into shape of butterfly.  I folded it in half first so both sides are equal.  It was sticky-back foam so that's why it looks white on the back.










2. Since we used sticky backed foam, we decided to cut out what was going to be the blue sections.  Once they were cut out we flipped them over to the other side.  When we peeled the paper off the sticky section the glitter stuck right to it.  Smart, right?  Well, read on, it didn't work as well as planned.  Does it ever?

3. Now that you have the pretty blue wings made, peel the paper off the rest of the butterfly and stick it to the brown felt or paper.  Cut off excess brown.

4. Put a bunch of glue or double-sided tape in the "blue" section area and add the blue section back.  I didn't have double -sided tape but I think it would've worked better.  The glue didn't stick very well- maybe paste would be even better? 

5.  Add the antennae (I stuck them between the black sticky foam and the felt)and your beautiful butterfly is done.

Pretty!!




Update: It's the next morning and the glue we put on in direction #5 never stuck.  It just melted into the felt.  Oh, well.  Hopefully yours works better or you come up with a better idea.

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Animals of Peru and an Art Project!

The Animals of Peru-

Well, I could probably write a very large book about the amazing animals of Peru, and I'm sure there are already many of them, so we focused on the two cutest- the Llama and the Guinea Pig.  Let's start with the little piggy.

The Guinea pig (also called a Cavy) is a large rodent.  It's not related to the pig at all and they've never come from Guinea so why they have that name had a few different answers on different websites.  The one I'm going with was that when the Europeans brought them to Europe they said they were from "Guinea" which is both a place and a term for "far -off place" that the sailors used to use.  That and the little grunts the animal makes is probably how they got that name.  In Peru they are called "cuy" and are an important part of the culture of the native South Americans as a food source (eep!) and in their traditional folk medicines.  The ancient Moche people worshipped the chubby little things and they are featured in some of their art.  Guinea pigs are also used by folk doctors, called "curanderos", to diagnose disease.  The guinea pig (black ones work best) are rubbed on the body of the sick person and then dissected for clues to the disease.  Hmmm, that would be an interesting doctors visit.  Most of the guinea pigs in Peru are eaten though, in fact, it's the national dish! 
Don't worry- we're not making it though!  We did go visit our friends guinea pig - it's a cutie and totally tolerant of the kids (unlike some hamsters I know)  That's probably why the European traders brought them back as pets in the 16th century! 









I have a riddle to introduce our next animal- What do you call a camel with no humps?   A llama.  Ok, that was a lame riddle but it is a fact.  Camels and llamas are related.  And like camels, llamas are handy animals to have around.  They have been used for centuries by the people of the Andes Mountains as pack animals.  They can carry up to 75 pounds over 20 miles in a day, they eat the plants along the way and require little water! What a blessing for the people.  But wait! There's More!  Llamas can also be used for their wool, which can be made into many things, and their skin to make leather. They can be eaten although they aren't very often. Even their poop can be used as fuel for fires!  I think we all need a llama, y'know, just in case.  Well, as cute as they are, I don't think my area is zoned for llamas, so we'll just have to make our own pretend ones!

The Llama Project-
For the project you will need:

• cotton balls
• cardboard
• lollipop sticks or popsicle sticks or chopsticks or even just sticks from the yard!
• glue
• scissors, tape and pen

1. Cut out a llama body shape from the cardboard.  Trust me- you don't need to be an artist.

2. Cut a slit on the top of the head and cut a small piece of cardboard to make ears.  Insert ears in slit.

3. Tape the sticks to make the legs.  Make sure they are equal or you'll have a very wobbly llama.

4.  Cover the sucker in cotton balls.  We pulled the balls apart a little so they covered more area.  Also leave the face and most of the legs bare.

5. Draw a face on your cute little llama

6. If you want to go the extra step, you can also make it a dress and have it "fall in love" with the other llama.  But that's totally optional.

More Filipino Food and Fun!

Oooops, I almost forgot!

We had such a busy weekend I almost forgot to finish our week on the Philippines!!  Sorry.  I'll keep it short because I have to START our week on Peru today also!  First let's start with the fun!

Kids in the Philippines spend a lot of time outside playing games.  Basketball is very popular and so are many versions of tag,  Here is a version of tag that also includes "hide and seek".  It's called...

Tagu- taguan
This game is probably best played outdoors in the park or schoolyard, or if you are lucky enough to have a big backyard you can do it there.  One player is designated "IT" and a spot is designated "HOME".  The rest of the players hide while "IT" counts to whatever number.  Then "IT" goes on the hunt.  If he spots someone he/she says "BOOM and the name of the person" and has to try to tag them before they make it back to "HOME".  If the player makes it to home, "it" keeps looking, but if the player gets tagged, he/she becomes "it" and looks for the others.  Sounds like fun and I hope to play it one day but we haven't had the chance yet!  It would be great for a school recess :)

 

Now for the feast we had to celebrate the end of a busy week!  I wanted to try cooking one more dish and since beef brisket was on sale I made a dish called Pares.  Pares is, apparently, a famous street food traditionally served with garlic rice.  One of the spices in the dish is star anise.  I have seen that at the store and always thought it looked so interesting but have never tried it before.  Well, I should have because it is a super-food!  It has both anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties and is supposed to be really good for coughs and asthma.  It's also supposed to be a natural sleep aid and give you fresh breath! (Which you will need if you eat the garlic rice)  So now I need to find more recipes that use this wonder herb!!  Anybody have any they'd like to share???  Well here is at least one...

Beef Pares
For the recipe you will need:

• 2 Tbsp oil
• 2-3 lb beef brisket - cubed
• 3 cloves garlic - crushed
• 1 lg. onion - sliced
• 4 cups water
• 5 pieces star anise
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp peppercorns
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp vinegar
• 3 Tbsp Hoisin sauce
• 1 stalk of celery - whole
• 2 thumb-sized pieces of fresh ginger - crushed

1.  Boil the beef with the water, star anise, soy sauce, vinegar, celery, brown sugar and pepper.  Boil about 45 minutes.
2.  Set the pot aside and let it cool so that you can remove the fat that comes to the surface.  I did the first step in the morning and put it in the fridge.  When you remove the fat discard the celery too.
3.  In a saucepan heat the oil and cook the ginger, garlic and onions until onions are soft.  Add Hoisin sauce and then add whole shebang to the beef pot.
4.  Bring the beef pot back to a boil and cook until sauce is reduced and the beef is tender.
5.  Serve with rice. 

Garlic rice is the traditional pairing so we ordered some from our local Filipino restaurant, along with some pancit (a noodle dish) and a vegetable dish made with squash, green beans and coconut milk.  My husband and the kids really liked the meat.  It had a great flavor from the star anise and the ginger.  It wasn't all that tender but it was yummy.  The kids and my husband didn't care too much for the garlic rice or the pancit and the kids didn't even try the squash and green beans.  For dessert we had some assorted cakes from the Red Ribbon bakeshop, a famous Filipino bakery chain.  We tried both a butter and ube mamon. They were delicious- sweet, light sponge cake!! 

 All in all, Philippines week was great!!  Now onto Peru!!!