Field Trip: Seals in San Diego

So, we recently moved from Waco, Texas to San Diego, California.  I grew up in California, and it's nice to be back.  One of the best things is being so close to the ocean.  While it's a little cold for swimming right now we had a great time going to visit the seals at Children's Pool (no pool...it's just a beach that's called that where seals come when they are pupping...which I've read is Dec. 15 to May 15).

Here's some pics we got while we were down there....

Yes, yes that is a football next to that seal...

And here's a video of all the cute stuff we caught the seals doing...
(with commentary by my three boys)

These seals are Pacific Harbor Seals.   They are just one of the many seals and sea lions that can be found in California. 

And, if you've ever wondered  how to tell seals from sea-lions, there's a good guide here including a coloring page you can print:  How to Tell Sea Lions from Seals

At Children's Pool humans are not allowed to go down on the beach while the seals are pupping, but when seals come up on other beaches people can cause them real problems.   So if you are lucky enough to see a seal with pups on a non-restricted beach, give it some space, because mother seals sometimes abandon their baby seals if they are scared by humans surrounding them (and if humans pet the baby seals, the human smell can also cause them to abandon their pups). 

Seagulls however, are another matter.
(They're just as likely to harass humans as vice versus).


Not to leave them out, my eldest caught this shot.   He's still new enough to California to be amazed at getting close to a seagull...I'm not gonna kill the wonder.   And I like the shot he captured.

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Throwback Thursday 

 

Grammar Stories: Semicolons, Cupcakes, and Cucumbers

When I saw Semicolons, Cupcakes, and Cucumbers...I knew I had to get it.   You see, my son loves personifying stuff (he doesn't know what "personifying" is yet, but when I do get to explaining that word, I'll just tell him it's what he does with EVERYTHING!).  So when I saw a book that turned punctuation into characters...well, that's the book for my kid! 

My son LOVED this book!  He was asking to read it every day for bedtime, and then again during homeschool.  And from the first reading he was asking questions about things like "what does a comma do?"   Oh yeah, and he was also asking to read parts, himself....ASKING TO!   (For background, my kiddo struggles with reading, so him wanting to read anything doesn't happen often.)

It's 100% dialogue in speech bubbles (which is great for sharing parts if you have a struggling reader.   You can read some character's parts and have your kids read others).  And the humor is quite clever....

And, if you want to turn this into a full grammar lesson with activities too, there are lots of free resources to use with this book.  Here are a few I found below...

Follow Up Activities

The following free resources all are designed to go with the book!

Worksheet Set (Includes Writing Activity)

Worksheet Set (Includes Semicolon Activity)

Worksheets and Color Posters

Punctuation Concentration Game

Punctuation Sentence Writing Game 

Color Posters and Game

Color Posters and Worksheets 

Color Posters

Small Color Posters

Yet More Color Posters

Task Cards

 

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Top Posts of 2017

I'd like to share some of the highlights of 2017 here at Imaginative Homeschool.    ENJOY!    And may you have a happy new year! 

Most Visited Post of 2017

 

No surprise here that my Story of the World Index Page was the most visited post of the year.  It wasn't created this year but it was added to considerably.   I did the most work on this series this year and am so happy that people are finding it!

Most Visited Post MADE in 2017

 The most visited post I made this year was my Story of the World + Old Testament Integration post.  This post didn't even have a picture at the top...just a list of Bible stories we read and where we put them among our Story of the World reading.  This just goes to show that sometimes something doesn't have to be fancy to be useful.

Post People Stayed Longest At

 

Of content posts that got more than 100 views, people spent the most time this year on my First Writing post.   It is one of my favorite posts I've done, so I'm so glad people are taking so long to read it.  Viewers stayed an average of around 5 minutes.


2017 Post I'm Most Proud Of

I really loved my post on Ancient Africa and the lesson that went with it.  I think I did a good job of expanding on the lesson and tying in Africa in the past and today.  The science behind the creation of the Sahara desert was as fascinating as the history, and I'm glad I was able to bring that in a little.   And I love the storybook we found for that lesson.

Yes, you may have noticed that all of the posts above are all Story of the World/Ancient History related...every last post featured here.   I did blog about some other things, but because I had a focus of trying to get these posts finished for my SOTW series, they did dominate this year.  Don't worry, I have some great non-history related posts planned for 2018 too!

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