All about hedgehogs!

As I continue to allow the kidlets to have more input into our projects..... I find we are studying things I never expected!  Goober was invited by a friend of Sweet Pea's to her classroom to see the class pet.... he came back with a huge grin and a new found obsession with hedgehogs.. yep.. hedgehogs!!  I thought maybe it would wear off within the week, it did not and all week I was pestered for more information... So off I went to make a whole unit... it's what I do!!

 First I hit my favourite lapbook site and found this gem.

It was wonderfully laid out with a book list and everything....  

Next I hit my local library and found all the books related to hedgehogs... non-fiction, picture books, you name it!  Goobers favourite was this one by Jan Brett... Hedgie's Surprise.

But any by Jan Brett will do.. not only does she love to draw hedgehogs, she also has a pet hedgehog and you will find one in almost all her books... so cool!  

We also found a great Youtube video of Jan Brett teaching how to draw a hedgehog...

I helped Goober a bit with his drawing... 

he got tired of putting all the v's on and wanted to colour it :)

On Christmas morning, Goober discovered a plush hedgehog sitting in his stocking! 

He loves his Hedgie... "Mom, hedgehogs are insectivores so I need some food for him!"

 What better than a little rainbow loom?!?!  

I was able to track down another Youtube video to help us make a caterpillar...

 Goober then made several more of different sizes and a couple pink worms for good measure.....

I'm pretty sure Hedgie loves them.....  

What kind of animal study would be complete without a little Sir David Attenborough?  We were unable to find anything specific about hedgehogs, so we decided to watch a BBC Life of Mammals episodes about Insect Hunters.  Goober was over the moon watching Sir David hang with the hedgehog in his garden.... it was perfect!!

I also managed to find some great mazes and word finds by doing a quick google search for hedgehog printables.... and of course no shortage of colouring pages to keep him busy while I read our latest novel aloud or when I was helping Sweet Pea with her work.

Here are a few photos of Goober's completed lapbook.. it was great practice for his printing skills and he was so very proud with the result!

 As an added bonus, I now have a resident hedgehog expert should the need ever arise!!

 Side note: we did this unit when Goober was about 6 years old...

 I think this would be a great unit for ages 5-10 :)