Alaska kids' worksheets needed!

[mom2kandj]

Hi all! This post is a cross post from the Alaska board, but I know the Family board will have some great suggestions, too!

 

My family is on final countdown for our first Alaskan cruise! (May 9, 2008 on Celebrity's Infinity) Yippppeee! FWIW, DH and I are traveling with DD7(1st grade) and DS6(K). Notice, they are very young!

 

I need help in putting together some "worksheets" and journaling materials for our cruise. Last year, we went to DisneyWorld and used some great worksheets that we found on disboards. Is there anything out there for Alaska?

 

We will be visiting Seattle, Juneau, Ketchikan, Victoria, and cruising the Inside Passage and Hubbard Glacier.

 

I plan on having pages for WA, and AK that have some simple research questions. (Capital, population, state bird, state tree, motto, etc)

 

I'd like to do a simple "animal spotting guide". Maybe some clipart or a photo of a bald eagle, otter, humpback whale, etc and some lines to document the sighting. I do need help in choosing 10-12 animals that would be easier to spot. I'd rather have common animals that are within the early part of the season than animals you "might see if it was June/July/August".

 

I may do a "photo scavenger hunt", too. Both kids will have cameras and they love this type of challenge. Any suggestions? Totem poles, helicopter, sled dogs, etc.

 

Any coloring pages of glaciers out there?

 

I'm open to all suggestions, but keep in mind that they are very young!

 

Thanks!

 

Rose

[whimseysgirl]

I'd try edhelper (dot) com - it's a resource site for teachers and homeschoolers, and has lots of worksheets on a huge variety of subjects, from preschool through at least junior high. It has a good amount of basic stuff for free, and then you can get a subscription for more. You'll find everything from mazes and colouring sheets to maps and worksheets, many cross-curriculum. I suspect you can get a lot of what you're looking for without needing to subscribe. The other thing you might want to do is google your topic plus the word worksheets, and see what comes up.

 

Some other easily identifiable animals might include orca, blue heron, seal or sea lion. I'm sure there's others - that's just what comes to mind now.

 

I love the idea of a photo scavenger hunt - you could add log booms, tugboats, ferries, float planes, and barges on the water.

 

I live in Victoria, and homeschool DS age 8 - we travel to Seattle 5 or 6 times a year and further north as well, so feel free to pick my brain about the area, or the west coast in general. You can email me at whimseysgirl (at) gmail (dot) com, or ask here. But it has to be soon, since we head off on a TA to Rome in 1 week!:D

[CSTX Mom]

http://www.enchantedlearning.com is a great source. You can find maps, animals fact sheets, etc. Some of it is free, but I find it worth the cost to join the site as we do the same thing as you for all of our trips.

[mom2kandj]

Thanks for the great suggestions! I'm starting to compile and there are lots of great sites to visit! Keep the ideas and links coming!

 

Rose

[CabinForFour]

This is from Glacier National Park (not Hubbard specifically), but there are some coloring pages and other materials that may work. http://www.nps.gov/glac/forteachers/curriculummaterials.htm . Here's another more specific to the park where Hubbard Glacier is located... http://www.nps.gov/wrst/forkids/index.htm . When we went with DS (then 6) and DD (then 4), a park ranger came aboard on the glacier viewing day and talked to the kids about the glaciers and national park system. They got NP coloring books and little plastic park ranger badges. If I can find the coloring book, I'll let you know. Have a great cruise!

[mom2kandj]

Both of those were exactly what I'm looking for! Now I just have to cull out the info so that I don't print everything! Thanks!

 

Rose

[mom2kandj]

Thanks to all who got me pointed in the right direction!

 

There is so much information out there and so little time to sort through it all!

 

Word of warning, make sure that any searches for Glacier Bay National Park, AK include the word BAY or else you will receive fantastic information on Glacier National Park in MONTANA!

 

Anyhoo, enjoy!

 

Here's a great coloring book for the state of WA:

 

http://www.leg.wa.gov/legislature/StudentsPage/

 

Here are some great fact/worksheets from the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, BC:

 

http://www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Sch_K...ctvty_Sht.aspx

 

Info on Glacier Bay National Park(click on Park Fun or Dear Student):

 

http://www.nps.gov/glba/forkids/index.htm

 

More Glacier Bay NP info - click on Gustavus Viewing Guide or the Wildlife Viewing Calendar:

 

http://www.nps.gov/glba/naturescience/animals.htm

 

Klondike Gold Rush Seattle Unit National Historical Site(also another Klondike Gold Rush Site in AK):

 

http://www.nps.gov/klse/forteachers/index.htm

 

Coloring pages for the US and Canada with state flags:

 

http://www.crayola.com/free-coloring.../learn/states/

 

Mendenhall Glacier and Tongass National Park:

 

http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/dis...all/index.html

 

Free Alaska coloring pages that are good for creating photo scavenger hunts!

 

http://www.welcometoalaska.com/coloring.htm

 

Mount Rainier National Park, WA has some great information. I really liked the Glacier experiments in the curriculum guide:

 

http://www.nps.gov/mora/forteachers/...mmaterials.htm

 

 

I am so glad that I took the time to look for these materials for my kids. Not only do that have great workbooks, but Mom has a good grasp on the types of questions that they will be asking. I might even be able to answer a few myself!

 

Rose