어린이 고생물학자: 공룡 수집가 클럽 레벨 3: 더욱 다양한 고대 짐승

Calling all dinosaur and fossil lovers!
If you spend your free time watching Netflix documentaries about dinosaurs, watching dino-themed TV shows, pouring over dinosaur books, playing with dinosaur toys, and wishing YOU could travel to Jurassic World, then this is the club for you!

**NOTE:  We have THREE age-groups/levels for this class series.  There is some overlap in age range, as some students may do better in the younger groups and some may prefer the older groups.  If you need help decided which is the best for your child, please reach out via private message. Other than age group preference, there is no pre-requisite to join any of these courses and they can be taken in any order.**

Each week, the instructor will present a brief lesson about a featured prehistoric creature of my choosing.  If the featured creature is a repeat from a different class of mine, the content and approach will be different, so you don't have to worry about it being too much "the same."  

**This particular level will focus less on dinosaurs (don't worry--there will still be plenty of them!) and more on other types of ancient animals, such as those that came before the dinosaur age, lesser-known animals from the Mesozoic, and species that evolved after the dinosaurs went extinct.**

We will practice our scientific observation skills by examining illustrations of our PCOTW (Prehistoric Creature of the Week) together, looking at special attributes of each individual dinosaur.  Once we have shared our observations, students will draw (or color the provided coloring page) the dinosaur 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, as well. 

The remainder of the class will be spent exchanging dinosaur facts, sharing favorite dinosaur and ancient animal toys and books, and generally "geeking out" about dinosaurs and other extinct species together.  We will also occasionally play related interactive games, age-appropriate movement activities, and more (see below).  Students will be encouraged to bring something dino-related to share each week (toys, books, facts, etc), and will also occasionally be provided extension activities between meetings.

In each short, introductory lesson, students will learn about the weekly featured dinosaur through a variety of approaches, such informational texts, informative slides, age-appropriate video clips, 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 paleontologist, herbivore, carnivore, timeline, epoch, age, Cenozoic, Mesozoic, Paleozoic, Proterozoic and Archeozoic, Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, fossil, bipedal, quadrupedal,  prehistoric, extinction, geology, scavenger, and more will be introduced and used during these interactive, engaging lessons.

***Access to a color printer is required for this course. ***

This is an ongoing, year-long course.  It meets year round with a few breaks for holidays and some "Fun Weeks" mixed in to connect more socially and play games to practice what we know and what we've learned.  You can join in at any time and stay for as many weeks as you want.  The content repeats approximately every year--so, if you join in January (or October, or May, etc) you can expect new material every week for about 12 months, at which point you can either stay and repeat, or choose another dino class of mine to continue the journey!

Upcoming themes (subject to change and posted in the classroom a day before each meeting):

2025 Prehistoric Creatures Weekly Themes

Winter 2025:

Week of January 5: FUN WEEK
Week of January 12: Megaloceros, the Irish Elk
Week of January 19: Wooly Mammoth
Week of January 26: Sinoceratops
Week of February 2: Social Sharing Week (Monday) OR Glyptodon (Friday)
Week of February 9:  Glyptodon (Monday) OR NO CLASS (Friday) (due to holiday weekend in US)
Week of February 16: Sarcosuchus
Week of February 23: Social Sharing Dino FUN Week (Monday) OR Monolophosaurus (Friday)
Week of March 2: Monolophosaurus (Monday) OR Dunkleosteus (Friday)
Week of March 9: Sabertooth Cats (Smilodon)
Week of March 16: Giraffatitan
Week of March 23: Hatzegopteryx
Week of March 30: Paraceratherium

Spring 2025:

Week of April 6: NO CLASS
Week of April 13: Dunkleosteus (Monday) OR DINO FUN WEEK (Friday)
Week of April 20: Megatherium
Week of April 27: Helicoprion
Week of May 4: Megalodon
Week of May 11: NO CLASS
Week of May 18: PREHISTORIC FUN WEEK
Week of May 25: Dracorex
Week of June 1: Thanatotheristes
Week of June 8: NO CLASS
Week of June 15: NO CLASS
Week of June 22: Eohippus

Summer 2025:

Week of June 29: DINO FUN WEEK (due to July 4th holiday)
Week of July 6: Tiktaalik
Week of July 13: Mapusaurus
Week of July 20: Thanos (the dinosaur)
Week of July 27: NO CLASSES
Week of August 3: Opabinia
Week of August 10: NO CLASSES
Week of August 17: Meganeura and Arthropleura
Week of August 24:Diplocaulus
Week of August 31: NO CLASSES
Week of September 7: Eurypterid
Week of September 14: Indohyus
Week of September 21: Archaeotherium

Fall 2025:

Week of September 28: Leptocyon
Week of October 5: Fall Prehistoric FUN WEEK
Week of October 12: Titanaboa
Week of October 19: Dire Wolf
Week of October 26: Dimetrodon
Week of November 2: Terror Birds
Week of November 9: Terror Birds "Take 2" (if needed) OR TBD
Week of November 16: Cave Bears
Week of November 23: Livyatan melvillei
Week of November 30: Estemmenosuchus
Week of December 7: Trilobites
Week of December 14: NO CLASS
Week of December 21: NO CLASS


Future Themes TBD with the input of existing students.  All themes are subject to change at the teacher's discretion and will be updated in the active classroom posts.