Sharks

Seth chose to learn about sharks this week.  I toyed with the idea of doing oceans as a whole, but that was just too much information, and my kids are all about the details, so we focused on sharks. 

What They Knew:

Seth:  They have sharp teeth.  They live in the sea, they eat fish.
Hannah:  They have sharp teeth.  they live in the ocean.  They like to eat fish.  They are very dangerous.  They live deep down in the ocean.

We discussed the habitat of the shark, and which type of sharks lived deep in the ocean vs. which sharks lived closer to the surface.  We named the most dangerous shark, the least dangerous shark, and some of the more unique sharks in between...i.e. the Cookie Cutter Shark and the Saw Shark.  The kids thought it was cool that the cookie cutter shark, which sounds so cute and sweet, was much more brutal than the saw shark, who sounds so vicious.  We discussed other members of the shark family, like Rays.  We talked about the three ways that sharks give birth...laying eggs, an egg case, and live birth.  Shark babies are called pups.  We discussed the distinguishing characteristics of sharks...like the lack of bones, the ability to replace their teeth, and their mode of "breathing."  We also talked about how many sharks need to keep moving so that they don't sink.  We learned that they have an oil in their liver that helps them have more buoyancy.  We poured a little oil into a glass of water to show how that process worked. 

And finally, we got crafty.  I had seen this idea on my friend Amy's blog a couple weeks ago, and knew that we would need to try it.  Here is the site that she got the idea from.  His looks so professional.

Ours looks slightly less professional, I admit.  But I just adore the kids' drawings.  Hannah did the octopus and the whale shark, while Seth did the black and green sharks. 

One thing I will say about this project...be prepared to be freaked out.  This currently sits on the table next to the computer, and more than once I have jumped because the fishies were "swimming"  (thanks to the AC) and I thought they were real for a second.  Creepy.  The top of the box is cut with long slits where the fish are attached to buttons.  So the kids can slide them around and constantly rearrange the fish like puppets.  Very fun. 

OK, so what did they learn?

What They Know Now: 

Hannah:  Some sharks live on the very bottom, cookie cutter sharks use their teeth like a cookie cutter, whale sharks are almost completely harmless, all sharks eat meat, oil helps them float, the oil is in their liver, some sharks eat each other, some lay eggs in a sack, the Great White is the most dangerous shark, sharks barely ever get sick, if sharks stop swimming, they sink.

Seth:  They can eat their own babies, some babies eat their brothers and sisters, the cookie cutter shark makes cookies out of its prey with its mouth...even huge whales, the huge shark eats tiny food, and he's nice, and fat, the whale shark...that's what he's called, some sharks live at the bottom and look like sea weed, one shark looks like a swordfish, they are flabbery because they have that stuff inside that's not bone.

Next Week:  Vikings (Hannah's choice, inspired by How to Train your Dragon)