This past week, we had the opportunity to review the Curiosity Files Blue Footed Booby Unit Study published by The Old School House Magazine.



The Curiosity Files are a fun set of unit studies on all kinds of subjects.  The head scientist is a wacky science professor named Ana Lyze.  Click on the photo below to learn more about this wonderful series of unit studies.

 



The Blue Footed Booby Unit Study

Curiosity Files Blue Footed Booby is a 98 page unit study packed with history, biology, geography, math, writing, vocabulary, copywork, scripture, crafts, music, and lots of fun activities.  It has age appropriate learning and activities for elementary, junior, and senior high school.  The unit study is recommended for ages 8-and up. 

There is a recommended reading list, according to age level, for the library, but you can easily complete this study with the information provided in the unit and free resources available on-line.  There are numerous links to videos, websites, games, and more on-line too.

We started off our exploration with downloading and printing the unit study from The Old School House.  Next I hole punched the unit and placed it into a three ring binder to keep my self organized. 



You do not need to print the whole unit study.  You could easily do the unit study right on your computer, and just print off the worksheets when needed.  I printed the worksheets for the children, but I did print off the whole unit study for myself to work from (I guess I am still “oldschool” (needing a paper copy in hand) in some ways). 



We kept the unit study up on the computer too, and as we worked our way through, we clicked on various links to learn more.




What I Liked:

I was really impressed with how well the information was presented.  It is very well organized and easy to follow and learn from.  My children came away with a vast new knowledge about the Blue Footed Booby and their life on the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

A few facts we learned:
            Life span of this bird is 17 years.
            Weight about 3 lbs and females are slightly larger than males.
            They only eat fish.
            Can dive for fish from 80 feet in the air.
            Raise 2 or 3 babies every nine months. Not seasonally. 
            Mate for life.
            And yes, their feet really are blue.

I used this unit study with my children ages 2, 3, 6, 8, and 10.  The 10 year old was able to do the whole study, the 6 and 8 year old did most of the study, however I did not have them complete some of the math, writing, and research worksheets that were designed for older students.  They were able to do many of the worksheets and crafts though, and kept plenty busy through-out this study.  The 2 and 3 year olds did the coloring pages, songs and dances, and crafts.

I liked that this study provided an answer key at the end of the study too.  This was very handy.  Very few unit studies that I have purchased in the past have had an answer key feature.  So this really adds to the quality of this product.   It is very well put together.

Not one thing in this unit was boring.  Instead, it was full of rich colorful pictures that really give you a sense of the subject.  It was full of scripture that proved God’s love and design in this amazing creature.  It was full of worksheets and activities to keep the children engaged in the learning process.  And it was able to be used with multiple ages and learning styles.  This is a great product!



My children also enjoyed playing the online games at interactive websites.



My children enjoyed the crafts and activities.  I will be sharing pictures and more about these activities, and post links here to them as I get the stories written and posted.  So be sure to check back with us in the near future and join us on our Blue Footed Booby adventure. 

Some of the things we made with this unit study: 
    Homemade Suet Feeders
    Completed Coloring Pages
    Made a time-line
    Labeled a World Map
    Created a Blue Footed Booby Habitat
    Created a Quill Pen
    Made a Blue Footed Booby Baby
    Created Blue Footed Booby Feet
    Completed a Lapbook
    Completed numerous worksheets in math, history, science, scripture,
    geography,writing, and copywork
    And so much more.

This unit study is provided in down-loadable format using free Adobe Reader.  The Blue Footed Booby Unit Study retails for $6.95 at The Old School House Magazine.   Also, many of the Curiosity Files products are currently on sale for $1 so be sure to stop over to the TOS store and check them out.

 



What I would like to see more of:

I liked everything about this unit st
udy.    I think it is very well done.  It was very easy to teach and learn along side the children.  Yes, momma learned a lot from this study too.

The unit clearly states it is for ages 8 and up, but if I could suggest anything,  I would like to see more preschool activities included. Or perhaps the writer could do a unit extension for their product for younger children.   

Homeschooling families don’t often have kids only 8 and up.  Many families trying to do unit studies find themselves in the midst of ages 12 and under (some families have one of every age 12 and under), and it would be great if families had more units like this one to share with all their children.  These families are trying to incorporate preschool, elementary, and highschool learning projects all in one day.  Unit studies can provide this opportunity for various ages to work together on the same subject or theme.  But we need more unit study manufactures to be aware that we need more units focused to meet the needs of the whole family.

In our family we do unit studies with various ages, and I would have liked to have seen more worksheets, games, and learning opportunities for preschoolers to participate with their older siblings. 

We came up with a few additional preschool level unit extensions to go with the Blue Footed Booby unit study for our younger children, in addition to the portions they participated in the activities mentioned above.  I will post links to what we did here, as soon as I have them written, so be sure to check back:

    Letter B for Booby Craft
    Booby Play dough
    Letter B for Booby Coloring Page 
    Booby Puzzle
    Booby Matching Game
    Egg Sort
    Galapagos Island Sensory Bin


Another thing I would really like to see incorporated is Life Skills Learning.  I really like to tie unit studies together with a practical life skill my children can carry on into their future.  Life skills cover many areas, but often cooking, sewing, engineering or building, hunting, growing, gardening, etc. 

A practical life skill my children could learn in this situation could be learning to fish, as the Blue Footed Booby survives by fishing.  Another skill might be caring for and feeding the young, the next generation.  Maybe camping in an open area, where you are exposed to wind, rain, sun, and other elements of nature, would be a wonderful example of how these birds survive on the island.  Another skill might be cooking the fish you caught.  Perhaps learning to swim and dive for objects would be another great way to tie in life skills with this unit.



This was a great unit study and I will definitely recommend this product to my friends and fellow homeschooling families.



Click here to learn more:
Are you supplying enough stimulus for your inquisitive children? Brand new unit study series for probing minds of all ages. Also designed with special needs learners in mind!

Be sure to check out the Old Schoolhouse Magazine for these and more wonderful products.






                            This product was provided to me free by The Old School House in exchange for an honest review.


This post will be linked up with
No Time For Flash Cards
Science Sunday
ABC and 123
Unit Study Link Up
The Happy Housewife Curriculum Review Roundup