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After getting her lizard “Wonder Colors” for her birthday I knew the next unit study for us to do would be “Goofy Gecko” which we bought from the Amanda Bennett site. Earlier in the week I did a separate post on our field trip to the zoo. Here is a break down of the days:

Day 1: What is a Gecko?

Day 2: Getting to know Geckos.

Day 3: Where are the Geckos?

Day 4: The Science of Geckos

Day 5: Cool things about Geckos

We learned so many cool facts about Geckos. The videos were really cute and both girls loved them. Each day featured a certain Gecko that we learned about in detail and then the child is supposed to draw them. Nadia was really creative and hers were really cute. My favorite of the 5 Geckos was the crested gecko. They are so cute and COOL! If you want to see a large variety, go to JB’s Cresties. A fun fact is that the Crested Gecko was thought to be extinct until they were re-discovered in 1994. Nadia’s favorite was the Web Footed Gecko.

We were able to get a lot of great books about Gecko’s and other reptiles at the library. And we found out that our Green Anole “Wonder Colors” is actually the smallest iguana in the world. Cool, huh?

Here is Nadia’s completed lapbook. What a fun study this was! Next up is a Unit Study on Valentine’s Day!

While in the middle of our “Goofy Gecko” unit study last week I decided that the beautiful weather called for a trip to the zoo. I canceled our other plans (working out at the gym) and packed us up to head over. The day was so perfect – gorgeous weather and no school field trips! On the way home Nadia said, “The best thing was I didn’t get bumped!”

Click the photo above to see all the photos from our day. (lots of reptiles)

The Fort Worth Zoo opened an incredible exhibit in 2010 called MOLA – Museum of Living Art. We have been through it several times, but until we did this unit study I had no idea how many cool reptiles were in there. Nadia and I kept saying to each other, “That was in our study! Hey that guy looks familiar!” Nadia was watching a slide show on the video screens above our head and was calling out the names of of the specific geckos and other lizards and she totally freaked out this older woman. The lady just stood there with her mouth open looking amazed which just made me laugh.

The Komodo Dragon was on the inside and right up to the glass which was fun for the girls.

Nadia was SO EXCITED to get to touch the snake. Without so many other kids around all 3 of us had a chance to touch it and learn from the zoo keeper.

We only had a couple of hours, so when we were finished in MOLA we headed over to see the lions, tigers, bears, giraffes and elephants. On the way out Mommy had to stop to talk to the Meerkats and we headed straight home for lunch and naps for my very tired girls.

Papa and Grandma Brooke drove up last weekend for a visit. Nadia was so excited and Amelie caught on really quick that she was going to have fun. They tag teamed the girls for play time and told Mike and I we could go out to lunch alone. I had some Cheesecake Factory gift cards from my birthday so we headed over and had such a nice time. (I enjoyed eating a complete meal without feeding someone else or taking someone to the bathroom. HA!)

They brought beautiful spring outfits for the girls and fun treats like flash cards and stickers!

Nadia engaging Brooke in one of her serious play sessions.

The next morning we had WAFFLEMANIA! I made regular and chocolate Belgium waffles. The chocolate ones had chocolate chips and peanut butter chips inside and really should have been considered dessert for breakfast. We also had butter, syrup, whipped cream, nutella and strawberries for toppings. It’s such a fun tradition every time they come to visit.

After waffles there was a lightsaber duel.

And Amelie is down – she didn’t last long. It was a nice fun weekend – thanks for coming Dad and Brooke!

Introduced Amelie to color wonder markers. She thought they were awesome!

Block City by Nadia. She really worked hard on this project.

Playdough is always fun!

The weather has been glorious this month so the girls have spent a lot of time outside. Just chillin’ on Mr. Crabs.

Amelie is starting to learn her letters. She has come so far in all kinds of other areas that I think she is going to do well.

Happy Chinese New Year from our “dragons”.