Owl Pellet Fun

As part of our owl unit I ordered owl pellets from a company in California that had barn owl pellets. I also ordered a little guide book that not only gave information on the owls but had skeletal pictures of many of the rodents and birds they ate.

The owl pellets are sterilized and come wrapped in foil. They say you can dissect them dry or moist. All I can add is that when these pellets are moist they are very stinky, so we did ours dry. We just used toothpicks to gently take the pellet apart.

The girls were amazed by the number of bones we found in each pellet. Several skulls were identified as mice and shrews.
We had a skeletal drawing of a mouse that the girls could look at to identify hip bones, leg bones, ribs, etc. Even my three year old enjoyed this activity. When we were finished my girls glued the bones to a piece of paper. For older children, or if you have more time you can try to reconstruct an entire rodent with the bones you find.

This fit into our discussion about food chains and owls perfectly. I'm so glad we did this!

We did this activity the night before leaving on our spring break trip so we didn't get to spend too much time on it. We will pick up more activities to do when we get back to school.

Owl Babies Activity

We are continuing on with our Owl unit study this week as we continue to watch Molly the Owl.

Yesterday we read Owl Babies:

It is a cute book about three owlets waiting for their Momma to return from hunting. We decided to make a counting book. We got the idea from here.


We had so much fun gathering twigs, stamping our thumbprints and putting the book together. My older girls enjoyed helping Little One during this preschool activity.


The first page of our book.






We went all the way up to five for our little book.


I wanted to show you some pictures from our last owl activity. Please note that I found mistakes on the definition page as I mentioned at the end of last post. Sorry about that!

Our chart on producers, consumers, and decomposers.
Our vocabulary flashcards.

Soph's life cycle: flower, Caterpillar, mole, and Molly.



Em's life cycle: tree, ladybug, possum, Molly, mushrooms. (hers is a circle of life)



Our owl pellets arrived so stay tuned for some dissecting fun!

Molly The Owl And Food Chain Lesson

My family has been watching Molly the Barn Owl live since she laid her eggs. It has been fascinating to watch the eggs hatch, see her mate bring her food, watch her eat, and even cough up owl pellets. It's amazing how much we have learned. We can now distinguish her call which tells her babies it's time to eat from her call to her mate. A homeschool has even been developed in Yahoo groups since so many homeschoolers were watching her during the day.

So I've decided to put together some curriculum to go along with all we've been learning about owls. Today the girls and I are going to start a lesson on food chains. Since I have a 2nd grader and a 4th grader I'm going to try to aim this lesson at both of them.

First we are going to define producers, consumers, and decomposers in the food chain. I made up some flashcards here . Feel free to use mine or make your own. Next thing we are going to do is go through pictures of magazines and have the girls make a chart of each of these "characters" in the chain. My preschooler will love helping with the finding of pictures in the magazine and she can make her own collage.

Next we are going to discuss food chains and have the girls draw or use their pictures to put together a food chain. This website has wonderful information about food chains as well as some fun games the kids can play. I found another website that has word searches, crosswords, and card games dealing with the food chain for the older child.

I'll post pictures tomorrow of all our activities. I ordered owl pellets yesterday to dissect so tune in for that fun lesson soon!

*Correction on the worksheets I made. The definition for consumer and producers need to be switched. When we were editing and moving things around the definitions got switched I am so sorry!

Sweet Alligator Cupcake Cake!

My Little One turns 3 next Friday, but we are having a little Kindermusik birthday party for her tomorrow. She picked out Diego party plates and decorations because she loves anything to do with animals. Next, her 10 year old sister Em, asked her to look through this:

This was a gift from her Aunt Kim because Em says she will have her own cake shop one day. Oh, and that cake shop will also serve sushi!

Anyway, Little One picked out the alligator cupcake cake. So today Em baked all the cupcakes and went about putting it together. I'd peak my head in every once in awhile to see how it was going and she had it all under control. Even let her sisters watch and help out a little. All this was done while I was busy trying to figure out a way to hook up my new wireless printer.

I think the cake looks awesome! And I can say that because I'm her mom, but I think others would say it too.

Soph helped with the flowers. Pretty, huh?

We had a little Ace of Cakes moment before the cake making commenced. How were we going to transport this to the party without destroying it? It was way too big to put on a cookie sheet or any pan I had with a cover. We debated about icing it and then assembling it at the party, but that seemed to0 last minute crazy. Luckily my printer box was lying around because it was just the right size.

The Styrofoam in the bottom will help keep it elevated so we can reach in and take it out. Now just keep your fingers crossed I don't hit any large potholes driving into town!

Resurrection Cookies

Last year we fled the almost always frigid Easter temperatures of the panhandle to WB's parents in Austin. We decided to try something new the night before Easter Sunday. Something a little bitter, but sweet too. We made Resurrection Cookies, and if you haven't made them you are in for a treat.

To be made the evening before Easter.

You need: 1c. whole pecans, 1 tsp. vinegar, 3 egg whites,
pinch salt, 1c. sugar, zipper baggie, wooden spoon, tape, Bible.

Preheat oven to 300 BEFORE BEGINNING.



Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces.
Explain that after Jesus was arrested He was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3.

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl.
Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life.
Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl.
Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.
Read Luke 23:27. So far the ingredients are not very appetizing.

Add 1 c. sugar.
Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know this and how to belong to Him. Read Ps. 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed.
Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet.
Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matt. 27:57-60.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF.

Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door.
Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matt.27:65-66.

GO TO BED!
Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie
Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty! Read Matt. 28:1-9

We all had fun doing this, but more than that it was a wonderful way to spend Easter Eve. Gathering around as a family, reading from the bible the story of Jesus. Remembering the true reason for joyful celebration on Easter morning.

For more fun and frugal ways to make Easter more memorable head over to Keeping The Kingdom First!

Also, head over to Beauty and Bedlam for all sorts of wonderful cuisine at Tasty Tuesdays.

Preschool Counting With Daddy

Daddy is not home very often on school days, but when he is everyone gets excited. Well, the older girls are excited until Daddy asks them to memorize the periodic chart or explain Einsteins Theory of Relativity. Then they remind him they are 7 and 10 and are not studying that. In which hubby, WB, always responds with some remark about how age shouldn't hinder there learning and how they need to challenge their minds. And before I know it I have a mutiny on my hands. Okay, this does not always happen just sometimes.

So when he was off the other day I put him in charge of Little One. He immediately said to her, "Let's go count" and scooped up an armful of fruit. I gave him some peanuts and an empty egg carton. Later I peaked in on them and found them very busy in the guest bedroom.

They were working with the peanuts and egg carton.

Little One was busy placing the peanuts in the carton as she counted them. She was doing very well. I have to say WB was right there with her, no mention of periodic tables or Noble gases or anything of the such. And my two older girls were breathing a sigh of relief in the other room.

What are some of your favorite preschool counting activities?

WFMW- Live Owl Cam

We love watching the wildlife around here. We seem to have binoculars by every window just in case we spot a red-tailed hawk feeding or spot an owl sitting on the ridge behind our home. My girls keep a wildlife journal to document the comings and goings of all the animals around here. So for this Works For Me Wednesday I thought I'd share a neat website I found through a friend.

It is a live cam on a Barn Owl nest in the wild. Her eggs are due to hatch any day. My girls think it is neat that one day soon we will see little baby owlets and we might even be lucky enough to watch it hatch. I find myself fascinating my this act of nature myself. Just click here to go to the link.

My children are so much more aware of their surroundings due to their interest in nature. They've also learned some valuable life lessons watching the animal families around our home.

For more Works For Me Wednesday tips head over to We Are That Family!