Expedition Ireland

March is quickly approaching.  Eat a bowl of Lucky Charms, scour the closets for articles of clothing in varied shades of green, search for the leprechaun's pot of gold, and make some shimmery shamrock crafts... OR go on an expedition!  EXPEDITION IRELAND, of course!!!  Seriously, why get stuck in the same old St. Patty's Day rut?  Amanda Bennett's Expedition Ireland DNG has everything you need to go exploring with your children. 

Exactly like all of the other titles in the popular Download-N-Go series, the Expedition Ireland DNG is a week long unit study created with young learners in mind.  The target audience, students in K-4th grade and their parents alike are captivated by the DNG's stunning graphics, engaging video clips, interactive websites, notebooking pages, and lapbook pieces.  In addition, DNG's include an extensive recommended resources list as well as just for fun suggestions.  DNG's are cross-curricular in nature, so in Expedition Ireland kids study Ireland's geography, landmarks, rich history, wildlife, legends, music, and vibrant culture.  See the outline below for an overview of the week's daily objectives as well as a sneak peak at some of the included activity pages.

Day 1: Where on Earth Is Ireland?
Day 2: Some of the Special Places in Ireland
Day 3: A Bit of History
Day 4: Cool Things to Know About Ireland

Day 5: Fun and Games in Ireland

Since in my former life I was an elementary music teacher, I spent a little extra time with the kiddos focusing on the music/dance of Ireland.  We listened to Celtic music and found some great online videos of Irish instruments: the harp, bagpipes, and bodhrán.  Then, of course, we HAD to find some great YouTube videos of Riverdance.  Miss Rachel then felt the need to grab her own tap shoes and perform her rendition thereof - soooo cute!!!

The boys weren't quite as enthused about the dancing, but the animal junkies within were satisfied as we learned about the connemara ponies, Irish hare, and the Irish Setter.  In our lapbook, the Irish Setter minit book includes the statement, "I would like an Irish Setter as a pet."  Then, there are Yes and No checkboxes.  Hmmm...  take a wild guess what my boys checked!  In case you are uncertain, Momma's check counts the most, and I would most definitely mark the NO box.

Due to the fact that my children are near the younger end of the DNG's age range, I prefer to do a lot of our learning/assessing orally.  I often choose only to complete a few notebook or lapbook pages.  However, because there were so many items of interest, with help, the kids completed an entire Expedition Ireland lapbook.  Check out the finished product below.  The kids enjoyed the coloring and gluing.  Although, I confess, beneath a lot of the tabs you'll find this Momma's handwriting.  The small flaps aren't accommodating to primary printing, so Momma does have the task of jotting down the little one's dictation.

Now just as I opened this post, let me remind you... MARCH will soon be here.  Possibly, you are now inspired to beef up your typical token St. Patrick's Day lesson.  Perhaps you are ready for your own hearty helping of Irish education!  Then, by all means, click here, and purchase the Expedition Ireland DNG for $7.95. 
Finally, be sure and visit the Expedition Ireland Blog Tour!  I know I enjoy seeing how other members of the DNG Review Team are able to use this product in their homeschool.  This group always has outstanding information to share.