We had a great Halloween!
First we read from Chris Hadfield's "An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth" and the kids loved hearing all about how dreams do come true. It is so important for the kids to know that they can be anything but that they have to work very hard to build their skills, surround themselves with people who will support their dreams, to keep on it on matter how hard things get, and to make sure that with every decision they make to keep their goals in mind.
What would an astronaut do?
Next we were able to Skype with the North Carolina Aquarium about sea turtles. Through Skype in the Classroom we were able to connect for FREE to the NCA where one of their naturalists, Samantha, talked to our kids all about reptiles, sea turtles and their adaptations, and conserving ecosystems and the environment. They went above and beyond what I expected and even researched our limited turtle species here in Canada. It was wonderful to see the photos they had to share and the variety of turtle skulls so that we could compare the species. I loved being able to see just how small their jelly-bean sized brains are! The piece de resistance was being able to see a real live sea turtle on screen! She held up a beautiful young turtle who wiggled and flapped live for us to see! The kids loved it! I was impressed with some of the great questions the kids had and the concise answers given. It was an amazing opportunity to bring a bit of the ocean to our land-locked province. I will absolutely do something like this again in the future!
For more information please click on the links:
Here are the details from the skype lesson website
Sea Turtles are truly amazing creatures. They are some of the oldest, most intriguing, and fascinating reptiles on the planet. Unfortunately, it's estimated that only 1 in every 1,000-10,000 hatchlings will survive to adulthood.
The North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores Outreach team will discuss the amazing journey a sea turtle takes. Explore the life history and adaptations of these threatened and endangered species. Find out where hatchlings go during their time at sea, and what brings turtles back to the same North Carolina beaches where they hatched. You will also get a chance to take a closer look at a live Loggerhead or Green Sea Turtle!
You will learn:
-What makes a sea turtle a reptile
-The 5 different species of sea turtles that can be found off the coast of North Carolina
-The journey of a sea turtle
-Conservation: what you can do to help protect sea turtles!
Finally we rocked the school's Halloween party all afternoon. It was great to see all the costumes and have some fun together. We enjoyed the drama tableau production, the costume parade, and then headed back to our class for some treats and a movie together. A very nice way to spend Halloween!
Wolves of North America - back from the brink of extinction Come learn about wolves in North America! Skype with a wolf expert and learn more about this often misunderstood animal. Wolves once ranged throughout all of North America but due to habitat loss, aggressive predator control programs, and human attitudes about wolves, they were quickly eradicated from almost all of their former range. But what about today? Where can you find wolves? How do they live? And just what good are wolves anyway? Topics of discussion can include life in the pack; what wolves eat and how they hunt; historic and current ranges; and their role as an apex predator in the ecosystem. Also learn about the critically endangered red wolf and Mexican gray wolf.
I think it is so important to teach our kids about conservation and our impact on their environment and animal species. SITC is a perfect way to bring these concepts to life without ever having to leave our classroom. We learnt about adaptations and their population distribution as well as a variety of conservation initiatives. 
