Dragon Habitats

K has started playing a game on The Daddy's iPhone called Dragonvale. The object is to breed and hatch different dragons, and build different habitats for them. This morning I suggested that we build a few different "habitats" to try out ourselves. K decided which habitats he wanted to build, then he and I (with help from T and Ky) gathered pillows and blankets, moved tables and chairs, and set to work building a "Fire Habitat," "Ice Habitat," "Earth Habitat," and "Plant Habitat." (Pretend Play, Science)

 (Fire habitat- top centre, Ice habitat- centre right, Plant habitat- bottom)

 

(Earth habitat- foreground, Plant habitat- background)

As K put the final touches on the habitats I went to search for some books about dragons. I didn't find any, but I found a book about volcanoes, one about Antarctica, one about rocks and minerals and one about plants. I added the appropriate book to each habitat. K assigned everyone to their own habitat. (T and Ky were not quiet as cooperative as he would have liked!) I was given the Ice Habitat and he took the Fire Habitat. Ky and T were assigned the Earth and Plant Habitats, however, they preferred to hang out in K's Fire Habitat. (Gross Motor, Leadership)

I pretended to be really cold in my Ice Habitat and K invited me into the Fire Habitat to warm up :) As we looked through the volcano book in the fire habitat the furnace came on and started to puff up the duvet that was covering the vent. K and his sisters had a blast jumping, crawling and stomping all over it as they tried to squish it back down. K exclaimed, "It's coming up like a VOLCANO! Just like my habitat!" I got some vinegar and baking soda out while K found a jar and plastic tray. He poured some vinegar into the jar and added baking soda to it. After a few trials of adding baking soda to the vinegar he decided to try adding vinegar to the baking soda, and dipping his hand in the baking soda and putting them into the tray of over-flowed vinegar. (Compassion, Literacy, Gross Motor, Science) 

After we ran out of baking soda and I washed up, Ky moved herself into the Ice Habitat. T joined her shortly afterwards. K joined them and began looking through the book about Antarctica. He asked questions whenever a picture triggered a thought (ex. "Is this where Santa lives?" "Do polar bears eat penguins? What are they doing? Why? What is that? etc...) (Literacy, Language, Cognitive skills)

We were so busy in the habitats that we missed lunch! We had a late lunch, and decided to head outside to enjoy the rain (and the many puddles it brought!) K's friend came over to play and the Plant Habitat and Earth Habitat have been put on hold until the interest strikes again.

Kataky's Mama