Homeschool Kestrel Educational Adventures

Homeschool Adventures Kestrel Educational Adventures

Animal Heroes

Have you ever wondered or cared about the impacts of humans on wild animals and the environment? This fall we will take a look at human actions that have helped wild animals, and we’ll find places and things that can cause harm. As a group, we will brainstorm ideas for conservation projects and other actions that will help wildlife, and carry out one or more of our ideas. We might help restore populations of salamanders or turtles along their migratory routes, and possibly help raise, tag, or track sensitive populations of local creatures. Who knows what our group might come up with! We’ll follow the Service Learning Model as closely as we can, within the time constraints.

Overarching themes will be:

  • Looking at the world from a non-anthropocentric viewpoint
  • Identify issues that we can help improve
  • Learning the needs of certain wild animals
  • Practicing the skills of conservation scientists

Nature Connection Field Guide: 

Each day, focus on one type of wildlife, and discover the other living and non-living things in its web of relationships. For example, find a snowy egret, and then, using our own direct experiences and background research, build a web including marshes and green frogs and crayfish and mummichugs. Work towards the creation of a publishable field guide to the animals of our region, with each page highlighting an animal and  the many relationships that support the animals' lives.

Overarching themes will be:

  • Direct investigations into the intricate connections among parts of our local wild ecosystems
  • Using writing and drawing skills to represent the wild living things we see and catch
  • Publishing for an audience

PLEASE NOTE DATE CHANGE FOR ANIMAL HEROES

  • Dates    Animal Heroes: 6 weeks Wednesdays Sept. 28-Nov 2nd
  • Dates  Nature Field Guide: 4 weeks Wednesdays Nov. 9-Nov. 30
  • Time 9:30-12:00
  • Enrollment Cutoffs: Min. 8 Students to run and Max. 18 for each session
  • Ages              7-14
  • Price              $80 for Animal Heroes and $55 for Nature Field Guide; $125 for both
  • Location         TBA (Ipswich/Groveland Region)
  • Instructors    Clay and Jessica                  
Landmark Skills+ Summer Course at Landmark School in Beverly Massachusetts

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Boston Bruins Annual Pajama Drive

Drop off new pajama donations at libraries across the North Shore of Massachusetts as part of the Boston Bruins PJ Drive.
The Boston Bruins will be hosting their 19th annual PJ Drive with the goal of collecting 10,000 pairs of pajamas from February 1st - March 15th, 2026. The drive will benefit Cradles to Crayons and Wonderfund MA, two non-profits that ensure positive living conditions for children. Local businesses...
7:00 am to 9:00 pm

Saturday, March 14

Boston Bruins Annual Pajama Drive

Drop off new pajama donations at libraries across the North Shore of Massachusetts as part of the Boston Bruins PJ Drive.
The Boston Bruins will be hosting their 19th annual PJ Drive with the goal of collecting 10,000 pairs of pajamas from February 1st - March 15th, 2026. The drive will benefit Cradles to Crayons and Wonderfund MA, two non-profits that ensure positive living conditions for children. Local businesses...
7:00 am to 9:00 pm

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Maple Sugaring at Breakheart Reservation

Come to Breakheart Reservation Saugus Massachusetts to learn about maple sugaring - the process of making syrup..
Come to Breakheart Reservation for this FUN annual event! Experience the process of maple sugarin’ from tapping a tree to sampling real maple syrup.
10:00 am to 2:00 pm

Discover Saturdays at Cape Ann Museum

Discover Saturdays for Families at Cape Ann Museum in Gloucester Massachusetts
Enjoy a FREE guided activity (ages 4+) in the gallery. Learn about Cape Ann’s Granite Industry, try a fun art making activity, and join in gallery tour designed for kids and their caregivers, led by a CAM Educator. Afterwards grab a scavenger hunt to explore the property and enjoy the lawn.
10:00 am to 12:00 pm

CraneOutdoors: The Castle Hill Hike

CraneOutdoors: The Castle Hill Hike at the Crane Estate in Ipswich Massachusetts
Come explore the lesser-visited corners of Castle Hill and its surroundings with us this season. This hike is a CraneOutdoors guide favorite because it’s got a little bit of all the things that make the Crane Estate such a special place…
10:00 am to 12:00 pm

2nd Saturday at Lynn Museum

Lynn Museum in Massachusetts offers free admission on the second Saturday of each month.
Come to the Lynn Museum and Historical Society for FREE family fun. Join us on the second and fourth Saturday of each month for FREE admission to the Museum from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.! You can view our latest exhibitions, purchase Lynn-themed goods in our shop, check out books in our free library, and...
10:00 am to 2:00 pm

Maple Sugaring Saturday at IRWS

Sugaring Off tours are a fun and tasty way to learn about maple sugaring at IRWS
Experience the age-old tradition of maple sugaring at Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary! The warm days of late winter awaken the flow of sap in the maples resulting in sweet-smelling, billowing clouds of steam rising from the sugarhouse. On a naturalist-guided walk, learn how to identify a sugar...
10:30 am to 3:30 pm

Sunday, March 15

Boston Bruins Annual Pajama Drive

Drop off new pajama donations at libraries across the North Shore of Massachusetts as part of the Boston Bruins PJ Drive.
The Boston Bruins will be hosting their 19th annual PJ Drive with the goal of collecting 10,000 pairs of pajamas from February 1st - March 15th, 2026. The drive will benefit Cradles to Crayons and Wonderfund MA, two non-profits that ensure positive living conditions for children. Local businesses...
7:00 am to 9:00 pm

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Wonderful Winter Birding

Beginning winter birding is held on the 3rd Sunday of each Winter month at Halibut Point State Park in Rockport Massachusetts
Halibut Point State Park, along the Atlantic migratory path, is an excellent locale for winter birding species you rarely see anywhere else.Winter brings birds and ducks from frozen ponds up north to our seashore. See Harlequin ducks and loons among the winter visitors at this rocky coastal water’s...
8:00 am to 10:00 am