We read Katy No Pocket for our next book in the Five In A Row curriculum. I arbitrarily chose this book for October because there were so many opportunities for habitat research (as in… petting zoos and zoo, zoo, zoo!!!). We seriously cannot get enough of our zoo and thanks to our membership, we can choose to spend only an hour each time without feeling wasteful. However, after reading Katy No Pocket, I think I will reserve this read for Mother’s Day week next time. It’s a sweet story about a mother who loves her son, and May is still a great time to zoo it up! For our full school year, check out Our School Year.
To give you some context, Katy No Pocket is a super cute book about a mommy kangaroo, Katy, without a pouch and her journey to find one. Its great because she travels through a few different habitats and interacts with several different animals. Its also a story about kindness, generosity, and creativity- wonderful topics to address! For our studies this year with Katy No Pocket, we focused on the letter “K,” animal classification, habitats, and generosity.
The Letter K: We dug into our alphabet books and workbooks as a whole, but mainly focused on the letter “K”- for kangaroo, of course! You can use any alphabet book you want, really. I like the Usborne alphabet book, workbook, and magic erase flashcards. I also absolutely love this felt book and these flashcards I found in the dollar bins at Target!
Animal Classification: I used our animal classification and habitat lessons as an opportunity to learn about the library’s nonfiction section. There, we picked out several habitat books and major animals found in each. We tackled classification first by introducing various animals and discussing their characteristics and comparing them to others. Again, we used the wonderful printout activities from HomeSchoolShare. For my son’s lapbook, we used the animal classification worksheet and the kangaroo factsheet. So naturally, we had to incorporate a special marsupial study.
Katy No Pocket
Habitats: For our habitat study, we read books about certain habitats and when we could, visited each to ‘hunt’ for the animals and plants we discovered in each book. For our pond and lake habitat study, we visited our local pond to feed the ducks and search for the plants and animals described in the books. For our river habitat study, we went on a nature walk through our local park and discovered animals and plants found in and around the streams. For our rainforest study, we visited a tropical bird reserve nearby where we interacted with tropical birds and discovered new plants. And for the remaining habitat studies, we visited the zoo and petting zoo on different intervals for each individual study. I tried to point of various characteristics of each animal and their homes and compare and contrast them. However, my son is two, so it was more of a familiarity exercise. He did pick up on some really cool facts, though! We also mixed in some Kindermusik animal songs and activities because, let’s be real, we need some down time at home, too!
Generosity and Kindness: There’s a wonderful part in Katy No Pocket where Katy is feeling discouraged when suddenly she spots a man with an apron of many pockets, and in an act of kindness and generosity, the man gives Katy his apron. We used this moment to address kindness and generosity in our lives. We practiced sharing, giving, kindness toward others, expressing gratitude, using manners, and politeness. I also used this time to introduce two new Bible verses:
“but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be” Deuteronomy 15:8, and
“They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share” Timothy 6:18.
This was a great way to bring the Bible into our daily lives.
These were the major lessons we focused on throughout our two weeks with Katy No Pocket. Each day we integrated the above lessons as naturally as possible. Additionally, we mixed in some math by counting various animals, plants and such in our books and in our adventures. This was the best opportunity we’ve had so far to really go at it with our animal studies! Next year I think I will incorporate more complex art projects, like creating a pocket covered apron of our own!
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