Family, Faith, and Fridays: Dolphin Tale 2- Release and FREE curriculum!

As most of you know, we are not huge movie theater people around here. Seriously. My kids go to see a movie about 3 times a year. If they really get lucky and beg me on a good day! ;)

Dolphin Tale was one of those movies a few years ago. Dolphin Tale 2 will be one of those this year. And guess what? The won't even have to beg this time. 'Cause I am nice like that!

In case you haven't heard- Dolphin Tale 2 will be in theaters beginning on Friday, September 12th, in conjunction with Homeschool Day. Theaters all across the United States are doing a FREE showing at noon.

Winter's story continues...
It has been several years since young Sawyer Nelson and the dedicated team at the Clearwater Marine Hospital, headed by Dr. Clay Haskett, rescued Winter. With the help of Dr. Cameron McCarthy, who developed a unique prosthetic tail for the injured dolphin, they were able to save her life. Yet their fight is not over. Winter’s surrogate mother, the very elderly dolphin Panama, has passed away, leaving Winter without the only pool mate she has ever known. However, the loss of Panama may have greater repercussions for Winter, who, according to USDA regulations, cannot be housed alone, as dolphins’ social behavior requires them to be paired with other dolphins. Time is running out to find a companion for her before the team at Clearwater loses their beloved Winter to another aquarium.

Guess what else is FREE?

You can access the most amazing curriculum all about dolphins. Do it! Even if you are not a homeschooler, you will not want to miss this great deal.

As a homeschooler, I can tell you not all curriculum is created equally. Quite honestly, you usually get what you pay for. That is not the case here. Trust me on this one. It was written by the same author that wrote Apologia's Exploring Creation With Marine Biology, a high school course my daughter is currently taking!

The curriculum is divided into 5 lessons, each with a corresponding short video to watch and then a downloadable PDF with various activities. The videos are fun and engaging and include:

Get to Know Dolphins- Anatomy and Physical Science- Learn some new vocabulary, and about how long dolphins are and how they sleep.
A Day in the Life of Dolphins- Learn about how dolphins eat and how and why they communicate.
Dolphins in the Ocean-Who are their enemies and how many species are there?
Aquarium Life- Learn why the goal of Clearwater Marine Aquarium is Rescue, Rehabilitate and Release.
Dolphins and Us- What can you do to prepare yourself to work with dolphins and other marine life?

An answer key is also provided.

After your child watches the video, each anywhere from 2-5 minutes a piece, make sure you take time to do some of the activities. There is a little there for everyone, from coloring sheets, to games, to stories. Each activity is marked with a dolphin to indicate activities geared towards elementary aged children or a sea turtle to indicate activities geared towards middle school or high schoolers. We had so much fun with this. What a great way to follow up after watching the movie and would make a fun, rainy day activity for your whole family!

If you are a homeschooler and know anything about Classical Conversations- a quick shout out. There is a 75 page CC lesson guide you can also download. In true CC form, it is simply amazing and covers every subject you could think of. They outdid themselves, I must say. Even if you do not use CC, use this guide anyway! It is worth it!

As a part of the kick off promotion for Dolphin Tale 2, one of our readers can win a Dolphin Tale 2 t-shirt and cool sunglasses just like you see here!