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"There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million." -Walter Streightiff

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

A Whale of a Tale May 14-16

Our tales were about whales!

Always a favorite- Humphrey the Lost Whale, a true story told by Wendy Tokuda and Richard Hall. We loved tracing the path that Humphrey took and we learned a lot about whales by reading it.

Ibis by John Himmelman, is another true story about a whale. This curious humpback gets caught in a fishing net and suffers for weeks until finally rescued by some friendly whale watchers.
Our water play tub was filled with whales of all kinds- humpbacks, orcas, blue whales and gray whales. We used straws to blow bubbles just as a whale blows through its blowhole.

Our whale hunt was quite productive. We sang "Aca Taca Nuva" as we rowed our umiaks and hunted for whales. We brought back our "kill" for our village to feast on.
Each of us painted a whale tooth and decorated it with beads to show off our skill in hunting.
Colored water and oil made an ocean in a bottle. We added whales just for fun.
Many whales migrate from very cold waters up north down south to warmer waters to give birth to their young. Their bodies are covered in blubber or fat to keep them warm in the arctic waters. We did an experiment with a "blubber mitt" to illustrate this fact. We placed our hand in icy cold water. Brrrrr.
 Then we placed our hand in a "blubber mitt" and put it back in the water. What a difference the blubber made!
Every humpback whale fluke or tail is unique with its own design. We had fluke shapes to decorate with markers.
Sporting binoculars, we went on a whale watch to search around our play yard for whales.
We sang "Going on a Whale Watch" as we searched for whales.


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