Our planet is brimming with life in every corner.  We'll let our curiosity guide us on our journey to discover the amazing animals all around us. This weekly club will introduce your young explorer to a variety of unique animals--some familiar and others they haven't even imagined. This club will encourage students to observe and discuss a weekly featured creature, its habitat and neighbors, it's physical characteristics, habits, and special adaptations to it's environment.

SCHEDULING NOTE: I have 2 children that attend public elementary school, therefore I schedule my classes around their school holidays, breaks, and mandatory digital days. This explains why I have several random days throughout the year that I'm unable to teach. If your class is interrupted by my scheduling, I will be more than happy to transfer your child into another day/time for the same week so they don't miss out on any animal fun! 

2024 FALL PASSPORT
Week of September 8 - Silent Sloths (beginning of 2024 Fall Passport)
Week of September 15 - Charming Hermit Crabs
Week of September 22 - Fine, Feathered Friends of the Sky
Week of September 29 - Meticulous Meerkats
Week of October 6 -  Vocal Raccoons
Week of October 13 - Scary Spiders 
Week of October 20 -  Cunning Foxes 
Week of October 27 - Bashful Bats
Week of November 3 - Brave Black Bears
Week of November 10 - Curious Chimpanzee
Week of November 17 - Feathery Turkeys
Week of November 24 - ** NO CLASS**
Week of December 1 - Empathetic Emperor Penguin
Week of December 8 - Nostalgic Narwhal
Week of December 15 - Animal Fun Week (end of 2024 Fall Passport)
Week of December 22 - ** NO CLASS**
Week of December 29 - ** NO CLASS**

2025 WINTER PASSPORT
Week of January 5 - Mysterious Gray Wolf (beginning of 2025 Winter Passport)
Week of January 12 - Bold Bearded Dragons
Week of January 19 - Colossal Kangaroos
Week of January 26 - Scary Snakes
Week of February 2 - Gentle Groundhogs
Week of February 9 - Radiant Red Panda **NO CLASS on February 12**
Week of February 16 - Ornamental Ostrich **NO CLASS on February 17**
Week of February 23 - Crazy Cheetahs
Week of March 2 - Assertive Anglerfish **NO CLASS on March 5**
Week of March 9 - Gracious Sugar Gliders
Week of March 16 - Fabulous Frogs
Week of March 23 - Amazing Alpacas
Week of March 30 - Animal Fun Week (end of 2025 Winter Passport)
Week of April 6 - ** NO CLASS**

2025 SPRING PASSPORT
Week of April 13 - Bright Butterflies (beginning of 2025 Spring Passport)
Week of April 20 - Humble Horses
Week of April 27 - Dazzling Ducks
Week of May 4 - Agile Alligators and Crocodiles
Week of May 11 - Lively Leopards
Week of May 18 - Bubbly Bees
Week of May 25 - Adorable Axolotls
Week of June 1 - Animal Fun Week (end of 2025 Spring Passport)
Week of June 8 - ** NO CLASS **

2025 SUMMER PASSPORT (during the summer, we pause on learning about a single animal per week and instead focus more on unique environments, habitats, and other fun animal facts!)
Week of June 15 - Biggest & Smallest Animals on Earth (beginning of 2025 Summer Passport)
Week of June 22 - Mythological Animals
Week of June 29 - Animals in Unique Places (chickens in a city, goats in trees, pigs on a beach, etc)
Week of July 6 - Bare Tundra Habitat 
Week of July 13 - Animals in Space
Week of July 20 - Captivity and Rescue
Week of July 27 - Intertidal Zone
Week of August 3 - Underground Habitat
Week of August 10 - Microscopic Animals
Week of August 17 - Albino Animals
Week of August 24 - Animal Fun Week (end of 2025 Summer Passport)
Week of August 31 - ** NO CLASS **

2025 FALL PASSPORT
Week of September 7 - Optimistic Ocean Rays (beginning of 2025 Fall Passport)

Future themes TBD. If your student has a request, please let me know!

Previous themes:
Week of March 24 - Zany Zebras (beginning of 2024 Spring Passport)
Week of March 31 - ** NO CLASS **
Week of April 7 - Beautiful Bunnies
Week of April 14 - Building Beavers
Week of April 21 - Earthy Earthworms
Week of April 28 - Private Pangolins
Week of May 5 - Aquatic Orcas
Week of May 12 - Kindred Komodo Dragon
Week of May 19 - Nocturnal Neighbors: Barn Owl
Week of May 26 - Animal Fun Week (end of 2024 Spring Passport)
Week of June 2 - ** NO CLASS **
Week of June 9 - ** NO CLASS ** 
Week of June 16 - Terrific Tropical Rainforests (beginning of 2024 Summer Passport)
Week of June 23 -  Polar Expedition
Week of June 30 - ** NO CLASS **
Week of July 7 - Cruise to the Coral Reef
Week of July 14 - Wild Wetlands 
Week of July 21 - Forest Walk
Week of July 28 - Freshwater vs Saltwater
Week of August 4 - Unusual Urban Habitat
Week of August 11 - Recently Extinct Animals
Week of August 18 -  Real Hybrid Animals
Week of August 25 - Animal Fun Week (end of 2024 Summer Passport)
Week of September 1 - ** NO CLASS**

Each week, I will present a brief lesson about a featured wild animal: what it looks like, what traits it possesses, what habitat it lives in, who it's neighbors might be.  This lesson will be age-appropriate in content and themes. As we practice our skills of scientific observation by examining photos of the creature together, we will discuss any noticeable special attributes our weekly animal displays. Once we have shared our observations, students will draw/color the creature in their "field guide" journal and label it.  Weekly printed fact sheets will be provided, which students may cut out and add to their journals, plus a coloring page for students who are not as adventurous about drawing on their own.

We will also intermittently play related interactive games, movement activities, and more (see below).  Students will be encouraged to bring something to share each week (ie: an animal-themed book, toy, or stuffed animal), and will also occasionally be provided with extension activities between meetings.

In each short, introductory lesson, students will learn about the weekly featured creature through a variety of approaches, such as read aloud stories, informative slides, video clips, and graphics, and more.  We will also intermittently add playful learning activities such as: building and sculpting, movement activities, games, discussion, repetition and more.  Vocabulary words such as observe, investigate, wildlife, conservation, ecology, habitat, eco-system, endangered, extinct, geography, parts of the globe, and more will be introduced and used during these interactive, engaging lessons.

While the main focus of this weekly club will be on allowing young animal enthusiasts to share their love of earths' coolest creatures, we will also be practicing important primary-age social and educational skills as we learn about habitats, adaptation, and other concepts.  The short creature lesson at the beginning will provide a framework for these discussions and will help the young explorer to build and develop observation, recreation, and communication skills, as well as foster curiosity, wonder, and interest in the world around them, with an eye to honoring and protecting nature and its inhabitants.  The field guide will serve as a fun keepsake and reference for future animal studies and reflection.