All About Reindeer

My daughters are very excited for Santa and his reindeer to visit our house tonight. We'll be leaving out snacks for him and his reindeer. Last year they spent weeks asking if reindeer are real. Since then they've learned that reindeer are real, but only Santa's reindeer can fly. 

Last year I let my daughter watch this SciShow Kids video about reindeer. 4 Facts to Know About Reindeer explains why reindeer are called caribou in North America. The lesson also teaches students how reindeer have adapted to find food and stay warm in cold weather. The video concludes with an explanation of why reindeer migrate.

Older kids and adults who want to learn a bit more about reindeer should watch this clip from BBC Earth. The video explains how reindeer stay warm in the coldest of conditions.



Another part of the same BBC series about reindeer is this Magical Finland Sleigh Ride.

Tracking Santa and Programming With Santa

My kids are home from school today as this is the first day of their winter vacation. The level of anticipation for Santa's arrival is quite high (my kids are five and six). One of the things they may do today is track Santa and play some Santa-themed games on Google's Santa Tracker website. 

One of the many games and activities available on Google's Santa Tracker website is the Santa Tracker Code Lab. Santa Tracker Code Lab has fourteen levels that kids can work through as they apply some basic programming concepts. The Santa Tracker Code Lab starts with simple skills like matching pieces to an outline before moving into programming a full animation with logic blocks similar to those that you might find in Scratch. Don't let the term "programming" make you think that the activities are too techy for you. My five and six year old daughters can do them. 

NORAD also has a Santa Tracker website and mobile apps that you and your kids can use to track Santa's progress on Christmas Eve. The site includes an interactive map of Santa-themed traditions around the world. I'll be exploring that map with my kids.