A fun, simple, board game for young kids that builds STEM skills? Sign me up! If you’re also a homeschooling parent who loves to incorporate hands-on learning in your school time, I bet this sounds pretty intriguing to you, too.

The following is my review of Team Digger, a cooperative game for 2-4 players, ages 6 and up, that promotes strategic thinking and early coding skills.

Team Digger is a new game by SimplyFun, an award-winning company that specializes in games that promote academic and social skills. This review will “dig in” to Team Digger, exploring: what it’s like to play, practical and academic skills built during playtime, how to use it in your homeschool, and the fun factor, of course!

The premise of this game is simple.2-4 players choose a dog figurine and take turns using 5 command cards to direct their dog around the board.

The commands are “Walk,” “Run,” “Dig,” “Turn Left,” and “Turn Right.” The goal is to find as many bones as possible by digging in different spots on the board. Players work together as a team to uncover as many bones in the dig sites as possible. Under the dig sites, there are also a few undesirable objects.

Players win the game together when they uncover 4 bones, losing if 5 undesirable objects are uncovered before that.

Physically, the game has several pieces to it, which are all colorful and attractive. Most kids would see it and be excited to play.

The cards were not as sturdy as others I have played with, but that wasn’t a big deal to me.

The little plastic dog figurines will steal the show for most young kids! They come in four different colors. The golden one is my daughter’s favorite because it reminds her of our dog.

So many games for young children involve luck, with maybe a dash of strategy and planning ahead. This game is the other way around!

Each time a player lays down a 5-step sequence, he or she has to carefully think through what the result of that sequence will be. If you lay out a sequence mentally and find, upon playing it out, that it doesn’t take your little doggie figurine where you thought it would, then that’s a consequence for you and your team. This adds some extra challenge and fun to the game!

Sequencing is probably the most specific “early coding” skill being built in this game, but it’s also an important life skill…one that is a struggle for many children.

Honestly, as an adult with too much on my plate and a dash of ADHD, sequencing is a struggle for me too sometimes! Team Digger emphasizes sequences by making it the most foundational aspect of the game.

As I stated earlier, collaboration is an aspect of the game that may take some kids a little bit of time to get used to. However, this is such a vital skill and one that most kids sorely need! I recently tried to facilitate a team of young homeschoolers building an engineering project, and it immediately became clear that no one was used to listening and collaborating.

Many adults struggle with this, too! The practices of listening to one another, making a plan, negotiating, and coming to agreements are important in life. However, they aren’t skills that many educational games really emphasize. I love that this game for young kids is cooperative in nature and encourages building communication skills.

In addition to the above-mentioned skills for gameplay, I was unexpectedly tickled to find the following quote in the instructions for Team Digger:

“Did you turn the wrong way? Or not end on the square you thought you would? Mistakes happen; that’s okay. Your turn is still over, and you can try again on your next turn.”

It was so refreshing to see this mentality emphasized in a game for young kids. One of the main lessons of STEM subjects (and in life) is: “Mistakes are how we learn.” So often in games, mistakes are how we lose. By contrast, I love the perspective that this game encourages: “Things don’t go as planned? That’s okay! Remember it and learn from it!” As a parent and educator, I think that’s such a healthy way to approach mistakes/failures with our kids.

How to Add the Code Digger Game to Your Homeschool or Classroom

The big question about any game–was it fun?

Yes! It’s a fun game to play! I have played this game with my 7-year-old twice this week, and it’s one that I could see us playing for several years as a family. It’s simple to learn, but offers some fun challenges, too. This combination makes it a good choice for a variety of ages.

I knew this game was STEM-based going into it, but it didn’t feel strictly educational as much as fun.  At the same time, I definitely can see how it develops the skills that it claims to. This is the whole point of educational games, so I think it is successful.

It was my daughter’s first time playing a cooperative game, and she said that her favorite thing about Team Digger was that it was “all about teamwork, and not about beating each other.” She also liked that it was about dogs digging up things because we have a crazy dog who likes to dig up the yard–something a lot of kids can relate to!

Ultimately, I liked Team Digger for several reasons. It’s fun to play and could be a great game for families with children of diverse ages, and even for use as part of your homeschool. It develops some valuable skills that are great for coding, STEM, critical thinking…and just basic life-skills!

Finally, it’s unique. We play a lot of games in our house, and this one is different in the way it combines teamwork, approaching mistakes, and critical thinking…all while keeping things fairly simple. Altogether, I loved the “mindset” of this game, and that makes it stand out the most for me!

STEM GIVEAWAY

SIMPLY FUN GAMES GIVEAWAY!

Add 2 STEM games to your homeschool or classroom! We’re giving away Team Digger to TWO families. PLUS, each winner will also receive their choice either of Shape Whiz OR Trifusion from SimplyFun Games.

USE THE CONTEST WIDGET BELOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY.

About the Author

Kathryn is a homeschooling mom of two. She loves adding new resources to their homeschool and writing about their experiences.

If you live in a hurricane-prone area or have lived through a hurricane, like we have located in NC, you already know how powerful hurricanes are and the extent of damage and destruction they cause.

I compiled this hurricane information and hurricane lesson as a way to help our kids understand what they were, especially since we have experience quite a few.

If you’re looking for other weather related activities, check out these weather related activities – make a thermometer, make an anemometer, make a rain gauge, and track rainfall on our rainfall chart.

What is a Hurricane?

Hurricane is used to describe these tropical storms in the North Atlantic Ocean, north Pacific Ocean, and South Pacific Ocean closer to the United States. Typhoon is used to describe these storms in the North Pacific Ocean closer to Japan. Cyclone describes these large storms in the Indian Ocean and in the South Pacific Ocean around Australia.

Where do hurricanes form?

Hurricanes are very large and powerful storms that form where the climate is hot.   They form mostly in “the tropics” – areas around 20 º north and 20 º south of the equator, where the water temperature is at least 80º Fahrenheit.   

Below is a satellite photograph of Hurricane Katrina that hit the United States in August 2005. While it was not the most powerful hurricane to hit the United States, it is the most costliest to date. The storm looks like a large swirling cloud. When the winds in these tropical storms reach 74 miles per hour, the storm is called a hurricane.

What is the average size of a hurricane and how fast do they move?

A hurricane can be hundreds of miles across.  The average size is 300 miles. Use a map to measure 300 miles from your house.  How long would it take you to drive 300 miles? Even though hurricanes are extremely powerful, they are slow movers and don’t always move in a straight line. Hurricanes move at about 10 to 20 miles per hour. 

What happened in step 6 above? In the video above, you can see what happened when the room temperature food coloring was put into cold water vs. hot water. When the food coloring was in hot water, the water molecules move more quickly and have greater kinetic energy than in cold water. This increased energy causes the water molecules to move apart from one another more rapidly, which increases the space available for the food coloring molecules to move into. As a result, the food coloring molecules are able to spread more quickly through the water in hot water than in cold water.

What is Happening In Steps 9, 10, and 11

The (blue) cold water drops through the hot water to the bottom and the hot water stays near the top. Air does the same thing. Notice how the blue water goes down to the bottom of the warm water and then dissipates. But the cold (red) water, drops down, but then travels back up to the top.

The warm air in a storm moves to the top and the cold air remains at the bottom. The rising of warm air and the movement of cold air into its place is called convection. Storms then form out of the strong, warm air.

You might want to try this convection currents experiment too.

How Hurricanes Form

Once the warm air rises and the cool air rushes in, winds form.  Remember, the Earth is always spinning. The rushing winds in these storms begin to move in a spiral as they respond to the spinning of the Earth. But what’s interesting is the direction in which the clouds spiral.

In the photograph above you can see the spiral form of the clouds. Hurricane Andrew was in the Northern Hemisphere where hurricane clouds rotate (or spin) counterclockwise. In the Southern Hemisphere, hurricane clouds rotate clockwise (in the direction a clock moves).

Teacher note: This difference in rotation direction is due to the Coriolis force. This is a great research project for your older students.

Once these rotating winds reach 74 miles per hour, a hurricane is formed. The heavy rains may also have thunder and lightning.

So, hurricanes need 3 ingredients to form:

1.  Ocean water that is at least 80º F.

2.   Air above the Earth filled with moisture.

3.   Winds moving at a high speed in the same direction above the Earth.

Hurricane Lesson Links

Hurricane lesson – ScienceNetLinks.com

Hurricane lesson links – NEA

Hurricane lesson – WeatherWizKids.com

4th grade hurricane lesson plan – MensaForKids.org

Hurricane lesson plan – DiscoveryEducation.com

Hurricanes As Heat Engines – MyNASAData

Hurricane Frequency And Intensity lesson – MyNASAData

Hurricane educational links – NASA.gov

How Are Hurricanes Formed: a video lesson for kids – TeachHub.com

 Hurricane Activities

Printable hurricane tracking charts – NOAA

Make a storm surge model – National Center For Atmospheric Research

Determine the strongest and weakest points of a hurricane

Create-A-Cane online interactive activity – NOAA

(If you want to know more about earth science and other cycles, like the rock cycle, check out our post and free printable about the rock cycle.)

How the Water Cycle Works

In the chart below, we can see how the water cycle works.

The Sun warms up the water on the Earth. When the water is warmed up, it becomes a gas called water vapor. The water vapor rises into the atmosphere, and we call this evaporation.

Plants and trees give off water vapor in a process called transpiration.

The moist water vapor collects in the cooler atmosphere and condenses. Have you ever boiled water in a pot covered with a lid? When the lid is lifted on a boiling pot of water, there are water droplets on the bottom side. These droplets form when the boiling water steam cools and condenses onto the lid. This condensation process in our atmosphere creates clouds.

The clouds become heavy with water droplets, and soon the clouds cannot hold all the water. The water falls from the sky in the form of snow, rain, sleet, or hail. This is called precipitation.

The precipitation falls into the ocean, lakes, rivers, streams, ponds, and other bodies of water. The precipitation also falls onto the ground. Once it reaches the ground, the precipitation will either run off into bodies of water, soak into the ground where it might seep back into a body of water, or evaporate into the atmosphere and condense into a cloud.

Deposition is a process in which water vapor (gas) changes directly into ice (solid) without going through the liquid phase. In the water cycle, deposition occurs when water vapor in the atmosphere is cooled below its dew point, causing it to change from a gas directly into ice crystals, without first forming liquid droplets.

Deposition usually happens in the upper atmosphere at high altitudes where temperatures are extremely low, and water vapor can freeze directly onto surfaces like tree branches, rooftops, and even the ground. This process is an important part of the water cycle, as it helps with the formation of snow and ice, which later melts to form rivers, lakes, and groundwater.

Deposition is an important process in the water cycle where water vapor changes directly into ice without going through the liquid phase.

Infiltration is the process by which water on the ground surface enters into the soil. It is an important part of the water cycle because it allows water to be stored underground and recharges groundwater reserves. In the early mid-2000’s our area of the country (North Carolina) experienced a severe drought for several years. Many of the groundwater reserves were at dangerous levels. We were on well water at that time and our local municipality had to implement fines for non-essential water use (water grass, washing cars, etc.)

When precipitation falls onto the ground, it can either run off the surface (called surface runoff) or infiltrate into the soil. The amount of water that infiltrates depends on several factors, such as the soil type, vegetation cover, and slope of the land.

Surface flow is the movement of water across the surface of the earth. The surface flow transports water from one location to another. It happens when precipitation falls onto the land and moves downhill, either as runoff or as flow in rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water.

The amount of rain, the slope of the land, and the type of soil all affect surface flow. When there is heavy rain or a large amount of flowing water from melting snows, then floods, landslides, and erosion can happen.

Percolation is the process by which water moves through the spaces in soil or rock layers and enters into underground aquifers. It is an important part of the water cycle, as it allows water to be stored and replenished in underground reserves. (An aquifer is a layer of permeable rock, soil, or sediment that can store and transmit water underground. It provides a storage and distribution system for groundwater.)

Below are the instructions for making a simple model of the water cycle. Years ago, as part of a science co-op our robotics team did year-round, the kids created a more involved model using an empty aquarium. We put rock, soil, and clumps of grass in it, jar lids (for lakes), and built up “mountains” with lots of dirt. So, you can take this further and do a more elaborate model.

Make a Model of the Water Cycle

What Is Happening in the Water Cycle Model

Watch as the water evaporates from the bottom of the bowl and rises into the atmosphere, condenses on the plastic wrap, and eventually falls back to the ground as precipitation. Let sit for several days. Keep checking the water in the coffee mug/small glass.

Can you explain what is happening in the model using the words evaporation, condensation, collection, and precipitation?.

Try other test conditions: use hot and cold water to see if the starting water temperature affects the evaporation rate. Another test would involve placing ice cubes in one bowl only. Then, place the bowls side by side, so the only variable that is different between the two is whether there is ice in the bowl or not. How does this affect the time it takes for water droplets to condense onto the plastic wrap?

How can you make a larger model using an old fish tank? How could you model transpiration and surface runoff?

Request the printable resource that accompanies this activity. You will be added to our email community. We’ll send you more good stuff and information on helpful resources.

Request this free printable pack and join thousands of other parents and teachers in our e-mail community who enjoy the resources we share.

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• An interactive water cycle from the USGS. There are three levels; this link is to the itermediate link, but the other links are in the top right corner of the page.
• Water Cycle diagram in MANY languages from the US Geological Survey
• More about infiltration and the water cycle
• More about groundwater storage and the water cycle

As I’m writing this, I can hear frogs singing in a small pool of water created each year by spring rains. The warm weather has awakened the frogs from their dormancy, and they are out looking for food and mates. It’s an ideal time to do a hands-on study of the life cycle of a frog and learn how they breathe, protect themselves, and much more.

Pools of water are perfect for frogs, or toads, to lay their eggs. The water is still so the eggs won’t be disturbed and there are no fish to eat the eggs.

Related post: Spring Toads (with a video of toads singing in a small pond)

The life cycle of a frog begins with the laying of the eggs. A life cycle is all the changes an organism goes through during it’s lifetime. All organisms have a life cycle and go through changes. Humans start as babies then continue to grow into children then adolescents then adults. Other mammals go through a similar life cycle.

What makes the life cycle of a frog extraordinary is that while the babies of most organisms are just smaller versions of adults, frog babies don’t look like frogs at all. Instead of simply growing larger, frogs go through a process called metamorphosis. Metamorphosis is a huge developmental change in the form or structure of an animal. Let’s walk through the stages of a frog’s life cycle and you will see what I mean.

A Little Background About Frogs

Before we look at the life cycle of a frog, here are a few facts about frogs.

• Frogs are amphibians, which means they spend part of their lives in water and part of their lives on land. Toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians are also amphibians.  Amphibians typically start their lives in water as larvae or tadpoles, which breathe through gills and have tails for swimming. As a side note, the word amphibian
• As they mature, frogs develop lungs for breathing air and legs for moving on land.
• Since their skin is thin and permeable, it can easily dry out. So, it’s important amphibians live in a wet environment where they can keep their skin moister.
• Frogs are able to absorb water and oxygen through their skin.
• Frogs are found all over the world, except for Antarctica. They can live in a variety of habitats, including forests, deserts, and even in urban areas.
• Frogs are carnivorous and feed on insects, spiders, and other small animals. They catch their prey using their sticky, retractable tongue.
• Some species of frogs can change color to match their surroundings, which helps them to blend in and avoid predators.
• Male frogs often make loud calls to attract females during the breeding season. Some species of frogs can be heard up to a mile away.
• Many species of frogs hibernate during the winter to survive the cold temperatures.
• The largest species of frog is the Goliath frog (Conraua goliath), which can weigh up to 7.2 pounds (3.3 kilograms) and measure over a foot (30 centimeters) long.
• Some species of frogs can jump up to 20 times their own body length in a single leap.
• Some frogs can survive for long periods of time without food or water by slowing down their metabolism and entering a state of torpor.

Life Cycle Of  A Frog

Life Cycle of a Frog – Stage 1 – Eggs of Frogspawn

Female frogs will lay hundreds of eggs at a time in a large mass usually in still, stagnant water. She does this to protect the eggs from being washed away and to protect them from predators.

Until these eggs are fertilized, the eggs are referred to as frogspawn is a term used to describe the eggs laid by female frogs, toads, and some other amphibians. The eggs are usually laid in a jelly-like mass, which is called a “spawn.” The spawn can be found in ponds, streams, or other bodies of water where the amphibians live and breed.

Frogspawn typically consists of many small, black eggs that are surrounded by a clear, jelly-like substance. As the eggs develop, they expand and absorb water from the surrounding environment, causing the jelly to become larger and more transparent.

Life Cycle of a Frog – Stage 2 – Embryos

Males will then fertilize the eggs in the water.  The fertilized eggs are referred to as embryos.

Life Cycle of a Frog – Stage 3- Tadpole

Depending upon the species of frog, the egg stage will last 6-21 days until they hatch into tadpoles. Tadpoles look more like fish than frogs with their long tails, gills, and lack of legs. Tadpoles live in the water breathing through their gills and feeding on algae and other small organisms in the water. Tadpoles have a tail and no legs at this stage.

Life Cycle of a Frog – Stage 4- Metamorphosis into a Late Tadpole

Over the next few weeks of life, the tadpole starts to undergo metamorphosis. Skin starts to grow over the gills as lungs start to develop. Hind legs, also develop and the head starts to become distinct. They lose their tail.  Their diet changes its diet from vegetarian to carnivorous. At this stage we call them a froglet.

Life Cycle of a Frog – Stage 5 – Young Frog or Froglet

By about 9 weeks, the frog grows front legs. It now looks more like a frog than a tadpole. The froglet still has a tail that is full of nutrients. he froglet is still small and has a slimy skin, but it has fully developed legs and lungs, and can breathe both in air and in water. As the froglet matures, it uses up those nutrients and the tail gets shorter and shorter. The shorter tail and 4 legs mean it can now hop on land.

Once metamorphosis is complete, the tadpole has become a young frog, also known as a froglet. The young frog is still small and has a slimy skin, but it has fully developed legs and lungs, and can breathe both in air and in water.

Life Cycle of a Frog – Stage 6 – Adult Frog

At about 12-16 weeks (depending upon the species and this is just an average), the tail disappears, and the frog is now an adult and can start the life cycle over again.  Adult frogs can live on land or in water, and their diet typically consists of insects and other small animals.

Life Cycle Of A Frog Printable

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Use this life cycle of a frog printable pack to reinforce the above lesson. Includes anatomy, how frogs protect themselves, how frogs breathe, flashcards for 10 different frogs, report forms, puzzles, coloring pages just for fun.

Want to learn more about frogs and do a fun frog activity?? Don’t miss the end of the post!!

More Frog Information and Activities

We’ve done some fun frog studies over the years. Here are a few posts packed with info, links, and fun that you will want to check out!

Check out the Amphibian Survival Alliance. They have a nice collection of photos…just click on a photo and read more about the Spike Thumb Frog or the Karpathos Frog or the Golden Mantella Frog and more!

If you have students in grades 8-12 and are doing some higher level animal biology, you might want to check out these free ebooks from the Amphibian Survival Alliance.

Herpmapper is an organization that tracks amphibian and reptile sightings across the world. Citizens can log in and record a sighting. This data is shared with scientists who are conducting research, leading preservation activities, or planning conservation efforts. Plus, it’s fun to see what has been spotted in your area of the country.

How to Tell the Difference Between Frog and Toad Spawn from Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust Limited in the UK.

Frog Unit Study Resources

What Makes The Frog’s Tongue So Cool? {plus a frog tongue craft!}

Can The Endangered Dusky Gopher Frog Be Saved?

If you haven’t checked out this online tool or aren’t sure about an online planner, I recommend that you do. Paper planners were always my go to, but I just can’t keep up with them, and writing assignments in a paper planner is something I do well for about a week, and then it literally falls apart as our schedule goes in an unexpected direction. 

Homeschool Planet Review – Highlighted Features

There are multiple features in this online planner that truly makes it a game changer for planning the busy life of a homeschooling family:

• Reassigning lessons is super-simple. How many times does our week go off course? Sometimes life throws our homeschooling off for a few months as we deal with a family emergency. It just happens, and rather than go through an entire paper planner reworking assignments, this planner has amazing rescheduling features. 
• Homeschool Planet has pre-packaged lesson plan plugins for a lot of popular homeschool curriculum! For a super-affordable price, you purchase can the lesson plan plugin (It is NOT the actual curriculum), and the plugin automatically schedules the assignments into the calendar! Of course, you can review and move things around as needed.
• The calendar has some helpful and impressive features and capabilities. I can pull in my Google Calendar, our family Google calendar, and my work Google calendar. YES! 

This is why I call it a life organizer. Without leaving the Homeschool Planet portal, I can see things like big test days, field trip days, along with doctor appointments, recitals, rehearsals, vacations, social events, etc. I can also see when my hubby is out of town, which can have an effect on our homeschool and extra-curricular schedules. 

Homeschool Planet Review – Why We Love this Planner

I just love the “life at a glance” capability the Homeschool Planet Planner provides.

• Navigation is SIMPLE. If you do struggle with getting up and started on the portal, they have step-by-step instructions and how-to videos. But honestly, it’s so intuitive; I was up and running in a matter of minutes.
• Accommodates multiple children in your household. If you have 1,2… 5,6,7 or 12 children, no problem. As long as the family members are residing in the same domicile, you are good. You can check out their policy here.
• Full visibility for you and your children. The details of each assignment, grades, upcoming assignments, projects, tests, and the calendar. 

Have you ever heard, “But I didn’t know that was due today?” or “I didn’t know which book I was supposed to work out of.” Everyone can see the calendar, the assignments, grades, etc.

Our kids need us to model being good stewards of our time…the days, weeks, months, and years. It all starts with having the right tools. This planner helps our children learn how to plan, provides visibility of where their time is spent (or wasted), and how to pivot and reschedule when the initial plans change. Being flexible with plans is an important habit to develop; as we know, life doesn’t always go according to OUR plan. So, our children must have experience changing course and not getting completely off track. 

• The assignment feature allows you to list the resources, i.e., textbooks, workbooks, DVDs—even resources on a website or an attached PDF. I’ve used a lot of current events, especially in high school English, civics, and history classes, so it’s nice being able to attach a PDF of an article or a direct link. I love this capability.
• You don’t have to do daily assignments; you can do weekly assignments. So, if you have a child who works more productively with a weekly list of what needs to be completed, you can certainly do that with Homeschool Planet. I have a child who likes to be given a list at the start of the week and works through it on her own. 
• I have to mention the calendar plugins. They are on the right side of the calendar, and with two clicks, you can add a Bible verse, a to-do checklist, a grocery list, and my favorite, the weather! I’m always saying, “Let me check the weather.” (It’s a joke in our family .)
• The reporting is a lifesaver. You know the pain if you’ve ever had to type up a high school transcript from scratch. I had to go back through paper planners and grade books and gather everything for one of our high school transcripts. (Extra tricky because we had gone through two moves in three years.) Homeschool Planet reports include grading, assignments, and transcripts.
• The price is super-reasonable and affordable.   

Homeschool Planet Review – Lesson Planning Done for You

If you are a busy homeschooling parent or like me, work and homeschool, lesson planning can be difficult. I’ll be honest, there were months, and sometimes entire school years, where our lesson plan was “open the book today and find out where we are.”

That approach causes chaos. Believe me, I know. After homeschooling for 22+ years and working both full-time and part-time (at the same time) and trying to lay out lesson plans, “winging it” day to day is stressful.

Homeschool Planet has plugin lesson plans for MANY homeschool curriculum products. No more sitting down with your planner and having to write in what pages to read, what experiment to do, what quiz to take, etc. The lesson plans that you can purchase at a very affordable price take care of all that manual planning.

One of our biggest challenges with using a paper planner or some sort of paper-based planner was that, I couldn’t get to it, so my kids would say, “I’ll figure it out.” While I was trying to get to one job or another.

Parents, these lesson plans are a game changer. Plus, they integrate right into the Homeschool Planet planner.

Just a few of the curriculum they represent in their lesson plans – BJU Press, Master Books, Rosetta Stone, Right Start, Daily Skill Building, IEW, Science Shepherd, and more.

Hop on over to Homeschool Planet and register for the free trial. Read the FAQs, watch some of the how-to videos, and browse the reviews. 

You will gain back time, sanity, and have a new tool to help organize your busy homeschool life!

As you plan your curriculum, check out our curriculum reviews:

• Science Shepherd
• Visual Latin
• Math Mammoth

The scientific name for the arctic fox is Vulpes Lagopus. The term “lagopus” means “hare footed.” The arctic fox got this name for the appearance of their feet being very similar to that of arctic hares.

According to Finnish folklore, the Northern lights are created by the tails of arctic foxes sweeping snow into the night sky!

Let’s look at 10 interesting facts about arctic foxes.

10 Facts About Arctic Foxes – Physical Characteristics

1. Arctic foxes have a stout body with short, rounded features, and a thick, long coat of fur that ranges from white to gray, to a bluish coloration.

Facts About Arctic Foxes  – Arctic Fox Adaptations

3. Arctic foxes have some of the best insulation in the world. Their fur has multiple layers, and they are the only canine in the world to have fur that covers their feet, which acts much like a snowshoe for humans.

4. What is special about the Arctic foxes fur? The gene pool of arctic foxes has two distinct fur morphologies; white and blue.

The white morph is genetically recessive to the blue, but it is the most common morph in the entire known arctic fox population. The white morphology codes for foxes to have a white coat in winter and a brownish coat in the summer; this is an extremely helpful camouflage for their environment.

The blue morphology is quite rare and codes for the foxes to have a coat that ranges from a dusty blue to brown coloration. The farther north the population of arctic foxes is, the more common one will find the white morphology.

Facts About Arctic Foxes  – Arctic Fox Lifespan

5. Arctic foxes typically only live 3-5 years in the wild but have been known to live up to 10-14 years in captivity.

Facts About Arctic Foxes – Habitat

6. Arctic foxes are found throughout the polar regions of the world, predominantly in the tundra biomes of Europe, the Americas, and Asia. They are a native mammal of Iceland, but have also been found in Greenland, and even on islands of sea ice in the bitterly cold region surrounding the North Pole.

Depending on the resources available, some Arctic foxes are considered migratory nomads who make prolonged trips throughout the Arctic region of the world, some of these migrations have been documented to be over hundreds of miles long. During the summer, many arctic foxes set up vast territories in certain regions to best obtain their prey populations.

Facts About Arctic Foxes – What Does an Arctic Fox Eat?

7. The diet of arctic foxes is predominantly carnivorous, depending mostly on small rodent populations, such as lemmings, voles, and hares. They also consume a large number of small birds, eggs, and fish.

They have been known to scavenge off of the carrion left behind by much larger predators.

If food is scarce, Arctic foxes have also been known to feed on vegetation and seaweed. But, to avoid food scarcity, Arctic foxes will typically store food throughout the summer, and build up their fat reserves during the fall to endure the long winters of the Arctic tundra.

Facts About Arctic Foxes – Reproductive & Mating Behavior

8. During the winter, most foxes live a solitary life. But, once spring rolls around and the mating season begins, arctic foxes tend to congregate into small communities in order to reproduce and roam their territories in search of food to feed themselves, their pups, and to store for the long winter ahead of them.

9. Arctic foxes are predominantly monogamous and begin mating in late winter to early spring, with gestation lasting 52 days. Arctic foxes typically build their breeding dens in coastal regions, with dens typically extending 5-13 feet underground. Litters have anywhere from 6-14 pups, with each pup being born with a thick, velvet-like coating of rich brown fur. Their fur will grow into a lighter color after reaching around 2 ½ -3 weeks of age. By 3 months of age, the pups are mature enough to leave the den to strike out on their own.

Facts About Arctic Foxes – Conservation

10. While overall, the species is considered of Least Concern, certain populations are critically endangered due to several reasons. European populations were nearly hunted to extinction due to the fur trade, and protections were implemented in the mid-20th century to counterbalance the severe loss of populations, but their numbers have struggled to increase despite these protections.

Despite being considered of Least Concern, Arctic fox populations still face many challenges. As the globe continues to warm, the loss of sea ice greatly impedes the migratory behaviors of these foxes, cutting back on their ability to hunt and gather food to survive Arctic winters. Likewise, climate change has led to a northward migration of red fox populations, which has resulted in Arctic foxes and red foxes competing more heavily with each other for resources, which negatively impacts both species.

Rock is the most abundant thing on Earth. Rock is right under our feet! Let’s look at what rock is, how it’s different from a mineral, the 3 types of rock, and the rock cycle. Understanding the 3 types of rock helps us understand the natural process as the rock cycle is explained.

In this post we also have a free printable. The sign-up box for the free worksheets is located near the bottom of this post.

If you’re studying earth science, you may want to check out our post on earthquakes and tsunamis.

A rock is a naturally occurring solid substance made up of one or more minerals, mineraloids, or organic materials.

Minerals are chemical compounds or sometimes are a single element. A mineral is naturally occurring and is inorganic. Inorganic means the substance is not formed from living organisms or their remains. Minerals have a crystalline structure and a specific chemical composition.

Pictured here are minerals from the Grandview Mine. These samples contain azurite (dark blue), gypsum (colorless, rhombohedral crystals), malachite (green), and smithsonite (yellow).

Micah

Quartz with gold

Gympsum

What are Metamorphic Rocks?

The Rock Cycle Explained and Diagram

The rock cycle is a natural process that explains how different types of rocks are formed, changed, and transformed over time. The rock cycle is a never-ending cycle, with rocks constantly changing from one type to another through different geological processes.

The rock cycle is explained as a diagram to show best the different conditions that cause rocks to change and how new rocks are formed. Many of these conditions occur beneath the Earth’s surface where we cannot see them, such as melting, increasing pressure, and intense heat. Other conditions occur on the Earth’s surface, such as erosion, deposition, and weathering.

So, erosion, deposition, and weathering are 3 of the 7 parts of the rock cycle. All seven are listed below the rock cycle diagram.

Looking at the chart below, let’s start with magma. When magma or lava cools and solidifies, igneous rock is formed.

Over time, as the igneous rock is exposed to wind, rain, hail, and other weathering, the rock begins to break down into various size pieces. These pieces are called sediment. The sediment can get carried away by water (rain, rivers, streams) and deposited. Layers of sediment build up and get compacted. They get cemented together. (Think of cement sidewalks, parking lots, and roads that you see. Look closely at the cement. What do you see?)

As sedimentary rocks is buried deeper into the Earth’s crust, it is exposed to pressure and heat. These two intense forces (pressure and heat), cause the rock to become metamorphic rock. As the metamorphic rock is exposed to more heat for longer periods of time, it begins to melt. When the rock melts it becomes magma.

You can also see in the chart that igneous rock can also be exposed to heat and pressure, without becoming sediment and become metamorphic rock.

What other relationships do you see between the three different types of rock and the forces of heat and pressure? The arrows in the rock cycle chart show how these forces interact and create the geologic formations we see.

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• Mineralogy for Kids from the Mineralogy Society
• Geology and Rocks from the US National Park Service

One astronomical unit is equal to approximately 93 million miles. This is the average distance between the Earth and Sun.

Let’s use our Jupiter example to find out how astronomical units work. We said Jupiter is 438,654,262 miles from the Sun. One AU equals 93 million miles. Let’s divide 438,654,262 by 93,000,000.

Therefore, we can say Jupiter is 5.2 astronomical units away from the Sun. That is much easier to write, say and understand than 438,654,262 miles

Understanding the Astronomical Unit Definition by Making a Model of the Solar System

Now that we have an understanding of the astronomical unit definition, we are going to make a scaled model of the solar system. The model we’ll be making is obviously much smaller than our actual solar system, but the distances between the planets (we’ll use beads for planets), will be a scaled down example of the real distances.

For this activity, you’ll need 9 beads and 120 inches of string. Select a bead to represent the Sun and each planet. You’ll want the worksheet included in the free solar energy printable pack (see below). Using the AU worksheet, write the color down on the chart under the column that reads “Representing Color.”

For this activity, 1 astronomical unit is going to equal 10 cm. This will become more clear as we move through the activity.

For those using inches, you can then convert the centimeters to inches by using an online converter or by multiplying the cm measurement by 2.54 because there are 2.54 centimeters in an inch.

Tie the “Sun” onto one end of the string. Next, we need to determine how far the bead representing Mercury should be placed on the string.

To do this, multiply .4 (as it appears in the chart under the AU column for Mercury) by 10 (cm). Mercury is actually .4 astronomical units away from the sun. For our activity, we are using 10 cm for 1 AU. So, . 4 x 10cm = 4cm. Tie the “Mercury” bead onto the string, 4 cm away from the “Sun” bead. (Again, you may want to use inches rather than centimeters.) To convert to inches divide 4 by 2.54.

Next, multiple .7 (the AU factor for Venus) by 10cm (= 7cm). Measure 7 cm from the “Sun” bead and tie the “Venus” bead onto the string.

Continue multiplying each AU unit in the table by 10 (cm), to get the distance the planet bead should be placed from the Sun.

When complete, you will have a scale model of the solar system.

How Does The Sun Create Energy? Download the FREE Lesson Printable!

This astronomical unit definition activity is just one lesson found inside our solar energy unit. Inside this free lesson unit, you’ll find the calculation sheet and the printed instructions for this activity.

Subscribe to The Homeschool Scientist email list in the form below and I will send it to your inbox asap. If you already subscribe, fill out the form just to let me know you want this printable and I will send it to you. You will not be subscribing twice.

Related Resources:

How Does the Sun Produce Energy – Covers the Sun and how we use solar energy

The heat from the Sun creates convection currents that cause winds to blow and generate ocean currents. Heat energy from the sun is key in the Earth’s water cycle.

Cosmic Distances from NASA

NASA posters, lithographs, and more

Today I am sharing my Science Shepherd review and their Introductory Science course for grades 1^st-5th. Science Shepherd has science courses for elementary, middle school, and high school levels.

As a Christian parent with a 7-year-old daughter who loves science, choosing the right science curriculum to use in our homeschool presents a unique challenge. I want a curriculum that is Biblically based, as well as academically sound and complete. Especially if my daughter continues to love STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) subjects the way she already does, I want her to have a solid foundation to prepare her academically, mentally, and spiritually for the future challenges she may encounter among her science-loving peers.

 

Science Shepherd’s Introductory Science course includes access to a complete library of video lessons, a workbook with worksheets and hands-on activities that go with each lesson, and an answer key. This course is designed for elementary-level learners but has two different workbooks, depending on your needs.

The Level A option is intended for children in grades 1-3, and a Level B option that’s more geared towards learners between grades 3-5. Both levels cover the same essential content, but there are some differences between the workbooks in terms of complexity. Altogether, there are 35 weeks of lessons, with lessons for approximately five days each week. This was a very doable schedule for us.

Specific areas covered include geology, biology, meteorology, oceanography, astronomy and more. Pictured here is just one of the pages out of the Scope and Sequence, which you can view on their site.

I also really appreciate how discussions are opened for questions that young learners will likely encounter in the world of science. Evolution, for example, is clearly defined early on. However, God’s word is always referred to as the source of truth and allowed to speak for itself. This is precisely the way I want to teach this if I had to piece together my science curriculum, so I appreciate that this curriculum approaches it.

There are 35 weeks of video lessons for Introductory Science, with a video lesson for each weekday.  Every video lesson corresponds to a specific workbook lesson, which makes this curriculum super easy to use if you are looking for something that’s very “open and go.” 

In each 2–5-minute video, the instructor covers content for that day’s lesson in a straightforward and easy-to-understand way. The video lessons are given in an academic, mini-lecture style that’s still accessible for kids. I appreciated how visuals are also used. For example, keywords or phrases appear on the screen as they are discussed, as well as pictures and other visual aids. 

Is there Hands-On Learning in Science Shepherd’s Introductory Science Curriculum?

My child is very kinesthetic and loves anything hands-on (I think most kids do!) Her favorite thing about this curriculum is the frequency of hands-on options to go with the lessons in the workbook. Every 2 or 3 lessons, there is an activity option to support learning via a simple craft or experiment. 

Pictured here is a sample from the notebook. Note that it’s easy to follow, doesn’t require hard to find materials, and adds an engaging hands-on component.

I love that this curriculum blends visual, writing, and hands-on activities. It really fits any learning style your child may have.

A Sample of Other Courses Offered by Science Shepherd

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Youngest Learners

Elementary Grades

Middle School

High School

 
You can do a thorough preview of all the Science Shepherd courses on their website. In addition, you can view the Scope and Sequence, sample pages from the notebooks, video samples, FAQs, and the supply list.

Enter the Science Shepherd Giveaway!

Enter to win a Science Shepherd course for either elementary or middle school grades. Choose from one of the following four courses: Introductory Science (Level A or B), Earth Science (Level A or B), Unearthing the Bible (Level A or B), Earth Science (Level A or B). This is a streaming course with a physical workbook. Read more about each course on the Science Shepherd website.

Open to US residents only. No purchase necessary. Must be 18 years or older to enter. Entries end Midnight Central Time on March 31, 2023.