I have to admit a secret: I'm not a fan of sharks. I never have been ever since I saw a few scenes of JAWS as a kid. And here I am a former zookeeper! Isn't that silly? Logical Me knows that what I saw on the show was a bunch of bunk, but the Illogical Me is all "Ummm. No way."
But luckily Logical Me is careful not to pass on my fear to my kids. We don't live too far from the Outer Banks here in North Carolina. And, yes, we go to the beach. (No, I don't get in the water...but my kids do. And you can bet your bippy I'm watching from the shore like una loca.)
We have books on sharks and watch occasional documentaries on sharks. My son is fascinated. So you can imagine how excited he was to get the newest
National Geographic Kids 2018 Almanac (aff), which happens to feature a shark on the cover.
And on the inside, there is a new
Almanac Newsmaker Challenge to save our sharks. Led by National Geographic explorer and marine conservationist, Jessica Camp, the challenge teaches kids all about sharks. And if your kids visit
natgeokids.com/almanac, they'll find
- an interview with Jessica
- a shark quiz and earn a SOS certificate
- the "What kind of shark are you?" personality game
- shark mask and poster downloads
- a poll to select the shark photo to appear on next year's almanac
- more stuff your kids can do to help save sharks
These Nat Geo Kids almanacs are one of my kids' favorite gifts each year. I try to keep them in the car to keep my kids busy reading on long (or short!) car rides.The "bite-sized" (see what I did there?) stories are just right for a quick, 10-minute ride, or can entertain my two for much longer trips. Of course, whoever is reading is constantly reading aloud interesting tidbits for everyone in the car to enjoy. But really, my son will take it and read it anywhere: at home, outside, at the library, at the doctor's office...wherever. It makes me happy to know they are enjoying their time reading while maintaining and developing important literacy skills.
Of course, the Almanac isn't just about sharks. Oh, no. It has more than 350 pages and 500+ incredible photos about EVERYTHING you can imagine - and some things you can't! New this year is the
Your World 2018 chapter that shares things to do, places to see, and ways that your kids can change the world.
You'll also find:
- games, jokes, and activities
- chapters dedicated to engineering and technology, space, and Earth & life sciences
- updated maps, facts, and reference materials
- much, much more!
And because I simply can't help myself, I decided to put together a quick, one-page, shark-themed download for y'all. But guess what? It grew into a 20-page packet. Oops! But I had a lot of fun doing it. So, in honor of Shark Week, I'm offering it to all MommyMaestra readers for FREE THIS WEEK ONLY. And it is only available in English at this time. Don't worry, it's on my list of projects to translate into Spanish. It's available in Spanish now, too!
Enjoy Shark Week!!
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Disclaimer: I am a National Geographic Kids Ambassador. I received the products pictured at the top of this post for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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