The Cenozoic Era began around 66 million years ago and continues to the present. It is broken into 3 periods- the  Paleogene the Neogene, and the Quaternary. The early part of the Quaternary Period, known as the Pleistocene Epoch, was our most recent ice age. If you haven't already, be sure to check out the other posts in my Learning About Geologic History Series: Learning About Fossils Learning About Geologic History- The Paleozoic Era Learning About the Mesozoic Era- The Age of the Dinosaurs Periods of the Cenozoic Era The Paleogene  The Paleogene Period is the earliest period of the Cenozoic Era. It lasted from about 66 million years ago to around 23 million years ago. The Paleogene is most notable as the period when mammals diversified. By the end of the Paleogene most of the major groups of mammals that we know today were present. Animals of the Paleogene Period include: t error birds (huge flightless birds), early horses, early rhinoceros and elephants. Learn more about the P

  We take a pretty student led approach to learning in our household, so I always sit down with my kids before we order our curriculum and supplies each year to get their input on what topics we are going to cover. This year I'm making plans for both a 6th grader and a kindergartner, so I'm planning on putting together some unit studies that can accommodate both of them. Here's a look at what we have planned so far: Science: The last few years we've chosen one pretty broad science topic as a theme for the entire year.  Last year we did geologic history, and learned all about the fossil record, dinosaurs, the ice age and more. The year before was birds. This year the girls picked astronomy. I'm putting together my own curriculum using a bunch of different resources. We're starting with learning about our solar system, then we'll learn about stars and other things beyond our solar system, and then I'm planning a fun STEM unit about rockets.  Some of the re