FIAR: Owl Moon

As I have mentioned before, we are participating in a Five In a Row literacy co-op this year.  We are working our way through the books in Volume 1.  However, we deviated to Volume 2 for this weeks book.  We opted to read Owl Moon by Jane Yolen.  Owls - October - Halloween... I don't know, I guess that was our line of thinking.

Last week, I snagged an awesome deal.  I found a copy of the book for $1.98 at my new favorite place HALF PRICE BOOKS!!!  (It is a bibliophile's dream!!!!)  I got other deals and steals for the kiddos including another FIAR book in the clearance section for 50 cents, but I grabbed some books to add to my growing TO BE READ pile as well.  Yahoo!!!

In reading Owl Moon, we had the opportunity to study several different subjects including: owls, the moon, measures of time, New Jersey, and similes.  Although, admittedly, the majority of our study focused on the animal itself.  My babies love critters.  We talked about different types of owls, where owls live, what owls eat, the sounds owls make, and characteristics of the owl's body.  Caleb has added the word nocturnal to his vocabulary and has been using it a lot. 

Today, our FIAR co-op met at a different site.  Instead of being cooped up in an extension office meeting room, we met at the Salato Wildlife Center...  aka the game farm to our Frankfort friends.  The kids had a chance to color pictures of nocturnal animals, create a nature journal, and listen to a presentation on owls.  A gentleman was kind enough to bring a Barred Owl for the kids to see as well as a gadget that made owl calls, a skeleton, wings, etc.  The kids really enjoyed it, and Mr. Caleb fired off many questions for the man to answer.  His first was "Why is the owl awake? He's nocturnal."  He also wanted to talk about carnivores and then compared the owl to a Pteranodon and Pterodactyl.  Hmmm... does the dinosaur obsession ever end?

Once we completed the inside activities, we headed outside for a nature walk and some tracking.  We took lots of time to stop, listen, and look.  We followed the path to the outdoor classroom for a snack, and then concluded.  The kids are enjoying our FIAR co-op, and we look forward to meeting together again in a couple weeks.