Logan's Habitat Study
This has been really cool!
Logan has been involved in a habitat study for the past few months. It started with him playing a Magic Schoolbus computer game about animals that we checked out of the library. In this game they explore different habitats and the animals that live there, I think they are trying to get animals back to the right habitats. After playing this game many, many times, he decided he wanted to learn more about habitats. He has a book for his leappad about habitats. He playing with it for hours having the leappad read to him, touching the animals to see what it said about them, and playing the games. Once he felt he knew the book, he removed it from the leappad and went through it by himself. He also sat down with me and told me all about the habitats in the book and what animals lived where. He then created a game where we were explorers going to different habitats, he would bring me his globe and the leappad book and say, "we are going to Africa" he would open the book to the Africa part and have me show him on the globe where Africa was. Then we would pretend to see the animals that lived in Africa. We did this over the next few days for most habitats. About this time, he found a Magic Schoolbus book in his bookcase about habitats. We've had this book for over a year, but he had never had any interest in it before. In this book the class has found an animal and they need to get it back to the right habitat, so they explore different habitats trying to decide where the animal goes. I read this book to him a few times in the first sitting. He then took the book, sat down with it himself and went through it. By this point he had been involved with his study for about a week. He played the computer game everyday. We played a game in the car where he would say he saw an animal, like a lion out the window. Then he would say, "do lions live here? No, they live in the savanna." He would do this with different animals from different habitats as we drove. Sometimes I would join the game by naming different animals I saw.
He then starting playing a Magic Schoolbus computer game specifically about the rainforest. This seemed to remind him that he had a National Geographic video about the rainforest. He pulled it out and watched it a few times. Then he found his videos on the Savanna and the Artic. Over the next few days, the 3 videos were watched many times in addition to reading his books and playing the computer games. We went to the library and got more videos about other habitats, Asia and the desert. After about 3 weeks of being really interested in habitats in general he started focusing on the rainforest.
He played the rainforest game more than any other and watched the rainforest video. I then discovered we had a Magic Schoolbus video on tape about the rainforest, so he started watching that. He has an Usborne book with different habitats in it where you try to find the animals that are hiding. At first he looked at all the habitats in the book, then he starting focusing just on the rainforest page. He would tell me about the animals that lived in the rainforest and what adaptations they had. He told me about what animal eats what. He had an imaginary jaguar friend that went everywhere with him, and occasionally an anaconda friend too. About a month after the habitat study started he was talking to a friend of his that is 3 years older than him. He was telling his friend about the animals that live in the rainforest and what animals eat what. He friend said, "Wow, you are really smart about the rainforest." Logan replied, "yeah, I'm really into it." His friend said he could tell. It was really neat to see Logan sharing something he really cared about.
The rainforest interest has been slowing down over the last few weeks, with Logan only doing something related to the rainforest every few days. A couple of days ago, I was looking in a closet and found a Magic Schoolbus book I had bought in December at the Scholastic sale, it was one on the rainforest. I gave it to him and he wanted me to read it right away. I read it to him while he was in the bath. His interest in the rainforest seems to have started up again, he's watched the Magic Schoolbus video a few more times, I've read the book to him 4 times over the last 2 days and he got his Usborne book out again. Last night, he played the rainforest game on the computer after not playing it for a few weeks.
This entire study was self designed and self motivated. All I did was what he asked me to do, putting in videos, starting computer games, and reading to him. He seems to be starting a microbe study now, I can't wait!
Logan has been involved in a habitat study for the past few months. It started with him playing a Magic Schoolbus computer game about animals that we checked out of the library. In this game they explore different habitats and the animals that live there, I think they are trying to get animals back to the right habitats. After playing this game many, many times, he decided he wanted to learn more about habitats. He has a book for his leappad about habitats. He playing with it for hours having the leappad read to him, touching the animals to see what it said about them, and playing the games. Once he felt he knew the book, he removed it from the leappad and went through it by himself. He also sat down with me and told me all about the habitats in the book and what animals lived where. He then created a game where we were explorers going to different habitats, he would bring me his globe and the leappad book and say, "we are going to Africa" he would open the book to the Africa part and have me show him on the globe where Africa was. Then we would pretend to see the animals that lived in Africa. We did this over the next few days for most habitats. About this time, he found a Magic Schoolbus book in his bookcase about habitats. We've had this book for over a year, but he had never had any interest in it before. In this book the class has found an animal and they need to get it back to the right habitat, so they explore different habitats trying to decide where the animal goes. I read this book to him a few times in the first sitting. He then took the book, sat down with it himself and went through it. By this point he had been involved with his study for about a week. He played the computer game everyday. We played a game in the car where he would say he saw an animal, like a lion out the window. Then he would say, "do lions live here? No, they live in the savanna." He would do this with different animals from different habitats as we drove. Sometimes I would join the game by naming different animals I saw.
He then starting playing a Magic Schoolbus computer game specifically about the rainforest. This seemed to remind him that he had a National Geographic video about the rainforest. He pulled it out and watched it a few times. Then he found his videos on the Savanna and the Artic. Over the next few days, the 3 videos were watched many times in addition to reading his books and playing the computer games. We went to the library and got more videos about other habitats, Asia and the desert. After about 3 weeks of being really interested in habitats in general he started focusing on the rainforest.
He played the rainforest game more than any other and watched the rainforest video. I then discovered we had a Magic Schoolbus video on tape about the rainforest, so he started watching that. He has an Usborne book with different habitats in it where you try to find the animals that are hiding. At first he looked at all the habitats in the book, then he starting focusing just on the rainforest page. He would tell me about the animals that lived in the rainforest and what adaptations they had. He told me about what animal eats what. He had an imaginary jaguar friend that went everywhere with him, and occasionally an anaconda friend too. About a month after the habitat study started he was talking to a friend of his that is 3 years older than him. He was telling his friend about the animals that live in the rainforest and what animals eat what. He friend said, "Wow, you are really smart about the rainforest." Logan replied, "yeah, I'm really into it." His friend said he could tell. It was really neat to see Logan sharing something he really cared about.
The rainforest interest has been slowing down over the last few weeks, with Logan only doing something related to the rainforest every few days. A couple of days ago, I was looking in a closet and found a Magic Schoolbus book I had bought in December at the Scholastic sale, it was one on the rainforest. I gave it to him and he wanted me to read it right away. I read it to him while he was in the bath. His interest in the rainforest seems to have started up again, he's watched the Magic Schoolbus video a few more times, I've read the book to him 4 times over the last 2 days and he got his Usborne book out again. Last night, he played the rainforest game on the computer after not playing it for a few weeks.
This entire study was self designed and self motivated. All I did was what he asked me to do, putting in videos, starting computer games, and reading to him. He seems to be starting a microbe study now, I can't wait!