What do you do in the Winter?

Our study during January led us to the Arctic at the top of the world and then to Antarctica at the bottom.  We learned about polar bears and penguins.  Did you know that polar bears are one of the few animals that can survive in the cold, frozen, hostile climate of the Arctic?  The polar bear has three main ways of staying warm in the Arctic - 1) his fur is made up of hollow, waterproof guard hairs, 2) under the fur is black skin that takes in heat from the sunlight and 3) under the skin is a layer of fat called blubber.  WOW!   Penguins are special, too!  Thousands of these comical-looking birds cover Antarctica.  Unlike most birds, penguins cannot fly.  They spend most of their time swimming in the cold ocean water searching for krill and fish to eat.  They use their wings  as flippers and steer with their legs.

We made an igloo out of empty milk jugs as part of our winter exploration.  It has been great fun to pretend we are visiting icy cold regions of the world.  (PS - thanks for sending all the jugs, parents are great!)