Practice!

Quinten’s vehicle is a flying boat. Design your own supernatural vehicle. Draw it, then build it with any materials you find. How does it move? How does it stay undetected from the human world? Does it have any interesting features?

Amari uses True Sight drops to see the supernatural world hidden in the human world. Supernatural creatures are living among humans doing normal jobs. If you had the True Sight, who in your community would be a supernatural being? Draw their supernatural selves. For example, a camp counselor could be a werewolf or a hair dresser could be Medusa.

Design a crazy outfit for the supernatural world. First draw out your design. Then, take it a step further and create your outfit in real life with recycled materials. Have a fashion show to show off your creation!

Create your own Bureau job. Write up a short description for One Thousand and One Careers. What would your supernatural job entail? What are its responsibilities and minimum badge requirement?

Make a dream journal. Keep a notebook by your bed and write down your dreams after you wake up (if you remember them). What do you think your dreams mean? https://penzu.com/dream-journal

Where the Watermelons Grow

Instead of sidewalk chalk, draw on the computer!

Draw a picture online: https://www.autodraw.com/

Paint a picture! https://www.abcya.com/games/abcya_paint

Root Magic

MAPPING MAGIC
• In the story, the characters and the magic have a deep connection to place.
Working in groups or by yourself, make a map of the Turner farm, including
Doc’s cabin and the marsh. As you draw the map, make a legend for the
story’s different magical elements and incidents (haint encounters, protection
charms, etc.) and mark where they take place. What do you notice about the
locations where the supernatural occurs?
PICTURE A BOO-HAG
• Jez gives a fascinating and grotesque description of Susie without her
skin. Using the details from the text, try drawing Susie the human girl and
Susie the boo-hag. Even though Susie is a dangerous creature straight out
of Jez’s root magic notes, Jez still trusts and helps her. How might you
draw Susie to be scary and friendly? (Don’t forget her skin!)
SEGREGATION INVESTIGATION
• Root Magic is set in 1963, the year that South Carolina finally
integrated its schools (the last state to do so) and that President John F.
Kennedy was assassinated. These two events are linked both historically
and in their impact on Jez and her family. Research desegregation during
the Civil Rights Era and the figures like President John F. Kennedy, who
supported it. Why was it so important? Why was it opposed? Did your
home state have segregated schools? When did it integrate them? Look
up some of the ways that the problem of segregation in schools still exists
today. How it is being challenged?
FANTASTIC FEAST
• Think about the role that food plays in Jez’s family and in Gullah
Geechee culture. List all the ways that food appears in the text. What role
does food play in your family and
community? Do you have any
special comfort foods? Imagine
that you get to plan a whole
meal for a celebration. What
would you include and why?
Which dishes are part of your
heritage or family favorites?

EXPLORING CULTURAL MAGIC
• Rootwork is very important to Jez’s family and deeply embedded in
Gullah Geechee culture. In Root Magic we learn a lot about it through Jez
and Jay’s lessons and experiences. Do you know of other Black cultures in
the U.S. or around the world that include magic practice? Research one such
culture and explore how magic is used or practiced and why it’s important in
the culture. Pick some specific elements (such as practitioner tools, key rituals
or symbols, creatures and spirits, etc.) and create a brief guide similar to Jez’s
root book with drawings and cultural descriptions.

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library

Escape Room Games https://www.365escape.com/

Watch Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library on Netflix!

Try to solve some rebus puzzles: http://www.fun-with-words.com/rebus_puzzles.html

The Elephant in the Room

Create a Diorama
Dioramas are a fun DIY way to re-create an animal’s habitat. Using a shoebox for the base, and then construction paper, markers, scissors, glue, and other art materials for the interior, you can create a miniature model of an elephant’s home. Try to get creative without using store-bought materials.

Research your elephant species and its diet, habitat, and endangerment status.
Collect plants, rocks, and other outdoor materials
Create your own elephant figurines using playdough or clay
Paint the inside of your shoebox to match your elephant’s habitat.

Researching Solutions to Save the Elephants
Research solutions and organizations that are helping elephants. Find organizations that dedicate themselves to saving elephants and see what you can learn from their websites. Researching solutions, donating time or money, and spreading awareness are just a few ways to start helping elephants.

Elephant Santuary Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfeKwuRun2Y

Horizon

Play an online survival game: https://arcadespot.com/game/survival-kids/

Create a survival kit/backpack in case of emergencies

Watch The Last Kids on Earth on Netflix

Walls Within Walls

Play an I Spy game online: https://www.construct.net/en/free-online-games/i-spy-hidden-objects-29669/play

Create or follow a scavenger hunt list outdoors!

The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez

Create your own animal trivia questions. This could take the form of a Jeopardystyle quiz or a board game.
Research the next solar eclipse and make a map detailing the eclipse coverage with
time lapses.
Make a guide meant for new students at your school. This could be a brochure, a
website, or a presentation.

Communication

Communication is an adaptation that helps animals survive. Communication can be auditory, visual, tactile or chemical (tastes and smells!) Animals use communication to attract mates, warn off predators, mark territory and to identify themselves.

Visual Communication - There are two types of visual communication. Badges are the color and shape of the animal. They are structural adaptations. Displays are the second type of visual communication. They are the things animals do to communicate. Displays are behavioral adaptations.

Auditory Communication - Animals make lots of different sounds to communicate. From the roar of a lion to the song of the whale, sound is a way for animals to "talk" to other animals.

Tactile Communication - When a cat rubs up against you or a dog offers you its paw, they are communicating. Animals use touch in many different ways.

Chemical Communication - Have you ever smelled a skunk? Seen a cat rub the side of its mouth against something? These are both types of chemical communication.

Did You Know?

...there are over 4,000 species of songbirds in the world.

... songbirds are also known as perching birds or passerines.

... some songbirds, like the mocking bird and the cat bird, can mimic the songs of other birds!

What Do You Think?

Click here to test your animal communication knowledge.

NatureFiles

Learn more about coloration helps these animals communicate.

Red Fox	Coyote
American Robin	Black-tailed Prairie Dog
American Pika

Teacher's Guide

Click here to access the teacher's guide for this episode.

View Online

Junior Naturalist Patrice looks at how animals communicate with visual, auditory, chemical, and tactile signals. Patrice and Senior Naturalist Dave Erler, look at the red fox and how it communicates using scent. We take an up-close look at how songbirds communicate. Morissa and Benjamin visit a pond with Herpetologist Tom Tining and learn how frogs communicate. Watch Online >>

Create an Animal Communication Guide

Learn a new language or ASL.duolingo.com

https://www.signlanguage101.com/

Wish

Make a wish tree:

Think about it. What is a wish? A wish is something we hope for. What do you wish for? You might wish for real things, like toys or games. You might wish for something silly, like becoming your favorite superhero or book character. You might wish for a changed situation, like getting to spend time with a favorite friend again. You might even make a wish for other people, such as health or world peace.
Write or draw your wishes on scraps of paper.
Choose the Wish Tree project that works best for you. Depending on where you live, you might hang your wishes from a tree in your yard, draw a chalk wish tree on your driveway, or make a paper tree for an outward facing window or door. For this featured project, we made a large paper tree for a front door.
- Gather your materials. You’ll need paper, scissors, and tape. Any paper including newspaper, old cards, scraps of old art projects, or construction paper will work for this project.
- Cut your trunk and branches, then tape to your window or door.
- Cut your leaves and other features. For our project, we also cut out some helicopter seeds to make it look like they were dropping and spinning through the air.
- Tape your leaves and wishes to the branches. Face them outwards so your neighbors and delivery people can see them.
- Invite friends to add theirs. You might have an adult send an email or text message to collect the wishes of friends and neighbors, and then you can write and add them to your tree. Or, you might invite friends to write them and add them on their own!

Pax

Pax is the Latin word for peace. The title relates to the themes and events of the story because both Peter and Pax are searching for peace and a sense of belonging in a world that is torn apart by war. Draw a poster of your image of peace.

Create your own bindle — because you can’t hit the road without something to carry your stuff. Make a traditional bindle with a stick (or a pole), and any piece of cloth you happen to have around.

Run Away Together: Fill your bindle (yep, the same one you put your book in) with your most valuable possessions. Think about what you’d really want to take with you if you were running away from home.

What Does the Fox Say?: Foxes vocalize in a unique way. If you wonder how Pax “talked” to his new skulk mates, search the internet for sites (like this one) that explore animal communication and see if you can figure out what the fox says.

Have a Catch: Pax and Peter’s favorite game is fetch, so celebrate them with a game of catch or Frisbee in the yard or a local park.

Volunteer at an Animal Shelter: Every year thousands of animals are abandoned by their owners. Local animal shelters devote time and money to caring for them until they find new homes. See if your local shelter takes volunteers, and spend time as a group helping out. You’ll be surprised by the difference you can make. (Quick tip: You can look up animal shelters near you here.)

Take Me Out to the Ball Game: Peter and Vola talk a lot about baseball, so take a trip to the ballpark and watch a game together. The minor leagues are family-friendly and tickets are plentiful and inexpensive. It’s a great way to spend an afternoon.

Put on a Puppet Show: No need to carve elaborate puppets like Vola — simple sock or paper bag puppets will do — but try your hand at story-telling in this form. Retell Peter and Pax’s journey, a classic fox fable, or a new, made-up story of your own. The sky’s the limit!

Celebrate Fox Day: Every year in April, Rollins College in Florida celebrates Fox Day. On a day “too pretty to have class” the university’s president surprises the students with a day off. Now, we’re not advocating skipping school or work (wink, wink), but consider spending a beautiful spring day together doing something you enjoy together. Make sure to have plenty of snacks

The Hero Two Doors Down

Play an online baseball game: https://www.cbc.ca/kids/games/play/baseball-pro

Watch a Brainpop Video about Jackie Robinson (see me for login) https://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/famoushistoricalfigures/jackierobinson/

Make a Jackie Robinson Baseball Card
Jackie Robinson was the first player to break through the racial barrier
in Major League Baseball. He was the first professional AfricanAmerican player, making a huge leap forward for athletes of color. He
was even voted Rookie of the Year during his first season with the
Brooklyn Dodgers because of his exceptional athletic skills.
Promote your child's appreciation for this tremendous figure in history
by inviting your child to create their own Jackie Robinson baseball
card! As your child crafts this keepsake, they'll learn a little history
lesson while boosting their creativity and fine motor skills.
What You Need:
Cardboard
Construction paper in various colors
Tape
Markers, colored pencils, or crayons
What You Do:
1. Jackie Robinson was important in terms of African-American history and breaking
boundaries. Feel free to both look online and reference the introduction and "Did You Know" section below as a refresher of Jackie Robinson's achievements.
2. Cut out a rectangle in the shape of a baseball card from the cardboard. It's okay if it's a bit bigger than usual; it will just be easier to write on and illustrate.
3. For the front of the card, draw your best representation of Jackie Robinson. check out a photo of the player, and then start drawing with either markers, colored pencils, or crayons.
4. For the back of the card, jot down some of the key facts or stats that made Jackie Robinson both such a great baseball player and a key icon in history. Write "Brooklyn Dodgers" at the top of the card, copying the logo from the Internet if they so choose.

Jackie Robinson was the first African-American baseball player in the Major Leagues.
Jackie Robinson was the Rookie of the Year in his first season with the Dodgers.
Jackie Robinson was the first African-American to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Jackie Robinson played in a full 8 World Series.
Jackie Robinson earned the title of Most Valuable Player (MVP) three times with the Brooklyn Dodgers

Wildfire

Smokey the Bear activities:https://smokeybear.com/en/smokey-for-kids

Design a home & landscape plan that reduces the amount of flammable vegetation and materials around your school or home. Using standard graph paper, first sketch your home’s floorplan and surrounding areas. Map out the fastest route from inside your home to a safe meeting place that your entire family knows about. Insert any landscape modifications that will support or enhance your escape plan.

Read the What is a Prescribed Fire? article, published by the National Park Foundation, to learn about the Plastic Sphere Dispenser (PSD) and its role in prescribed fires. Mimicking the PSD’s approach and accuracy (but without the real fire!), challenge students to make plans for their own ping pong ball launching devices using basic materials. For inspiration and plans for a working model, view Khan Academy’s Projectile Launcher prototype. Even without building your own, consider updates and modifications to be made to this existing ping pong ball launcher after watching the video.

Try testing out this basic forest fire simulation to learn about probability and prediction. This activity allows users to see the results of a fire if a forest is densely planted in a rectangular grid when directional probabilities are set. Try running the simulation in small groups of 2-4, challenging students to use and evaluate this forest fire probability model. Exploration questions for the instructor are also provided.

Wildfire online games: https://sciencetrek.org/sciencetrek/topics/wildfire/games.cfm

The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl

Use this blog to make lightning two different ways:

http://www.learnplayimagine.com/2013/04/how-to-make-lightning.html?m=1

Create your very own 101 Other Things You Never Knew About Your Best Friend journal using a notebook or create your own notebook using this website:

https://babbledabbledo.com/design-for-kids-recycled-handmade-journals/

Creative math-based string art:

https://babbledabbledo.com/math-art-idea-explore-geometry-string-art/

Take a class poll of favorite dog breeds and graph the results using a pie chart.

Create recycle newspaper and magazine dog art:

https://www.artycraftykids.com/art/playful-pup-newspaper-art-project/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=pinterest&utm_campaign=tailwind_tribes&utm_content=tribes

Math and Puzzles:

Read about the history of Pi:

http://www.geom.uiuc.edu/~huberty/math5337/groupe/overview.html

Learn about using Pi:

https://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/pi.html

See Pi to the 100,000 digit:

http://www.geom.uiuc.edu/~huberty/math5337/groupe/digits.html

Lightning:

Discover the science behind lightning:

https://www.britannica.com/science/lightning-meteorology

Acquired Savant Syndrome:

Learn about Savant Syndrome in children:

http://www.healthofchildren.com/S/Savant-Syndrome.html

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder:

Learn about OCD:

https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/ocd.html

Not If I Can Help It

Make an all about me poster: https://www.abcya.com/games/all_about_me

Make an I am poem https://freeology.com/worksheet-creator/poetry/i-am-poem/

The Very, Very Far North

Mapping the Very, Very Far North

Use details you find in the books to create a map of the Very, Very Far North. Make sure to indicate the location of each character’s den, field, home, or burrow along with important locations and landmarks, such as the Mainly Frozen Cold Ocean, the river, and the three Humpback Whale Hills. How does this help you visualize the stories? Was there anything you were surprised to notice?

A Very, Very Impressive Vocabulary

Handsome, the musk ox, takes pride in his appearance and adherence to the rules of etiquette. He also uses more formal language than the other characters as a way to demonstrate his education. Create an illustrated book depicting Handsome’s impressive vocabulary words. Try using them with some of your friends or classmates.

Letters from a Polar Bear

The first book ends with a letter from Duane to the reader. Choose one of the characters in the book and write a letter to them. Tell them a bit about yourself and where you live, and ask them questions you have after reading the books. To extend this activity, exchange letters with a classmate and respond to their letter as if you were a character in the book.

Live from the Very, Very Far North

The author, Dan Bar-el, notes that his books are for “gentle readers and listeners.” There are qualities in his writing that make his books especially appropriate to be read aloud, including a strong sense of character voice and generous use of imagery and sound devices like alliteration. Choose a section of the book to read aloud, trying to capture the different character voices. You may want to do this as a reader’s theater script or puppet show, or using digital animation.

Arctic Exploration

While Dan Bar-el’s books are set in a fictional land called the Very, Very Far North, the characters are based on real arctic animals and people. Research the real-life Arctic and compare the characters in the book with the real animals and people that inspired the creation of Duane and his friends. What information did you find most interesting? What was most surprising?

The Scientific Process

C.C. loves to make scientific observations and conduct scientific experiments. What steps does she take when she wants to learn the answer to a question? Examine a question you have about the formation of ice or the properties of salt water and develop an experiment to test your hypothesis. Record all your observations and your conclusion just as C.C. would.