Cinnamon Ornaments

Eco Heroes made ornaments using cinnamon and applesauce. The dough: equal amounts of powdered cinnamon and applesauce.  Form into a ball and roll out, using extra cinnamon to keep the dough from sticking.  We cut with cookie cutters and formed a hole for a hook or ribbon using a plastic straw.  Let dry or jury up the process in a slow oven - 250 degrees or so.

Little Red Hen Does Seeds

Here's some excellent books on seeds, sprouts and plant growth:

Little Red Hen - traditional
From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons
The  Tiny Seed - Carle
How A Seed Grows - Jordan
A Seed Is Sleepy - Aston
The Reason For A Flower - Heller
I Am A Seed - Marzollo

We use our illuminated 30 power microscopes to view seed coat and embryo.  We say that the rest of the seed is the "lunchbox for the baby plant" since it has food for the plant when it grows under the soil.

We've learned that there is a baby plant in every seed.  Investigating soaked lima seeds and uncovering the plant embryo is fantastically exciting!

It's good to have simple cut and paste activities to reinforce our independence.

Enjoy this time lapse video of seeds, roots, shoots, leaves and flowers:

From Seed to Flowerhttp://www.teachersdomain.org/asset/tdc02_vid_plantsgrow/
Your child likes this plant growth sequence for children:

From Seed to Fruit (interactive)
http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/evscps.sci.life.seedint/

We found the baby seeds in donated altar flowers.  It's lots of fun to take them apart and make 'flower soup' for outdoor play.

We pick corn seeds off the cob and grind them up.  We're saving the seeds to feed the ducks and chicks once they are older.  Right now, they need baby food, just like we did!

We are very careful with the ducks and chick.  They peck at our hands when we offer food, but they don't have teeth, and it tickles!  Their constant peeping makes for a cheery classroom.

 

Fifth Grade Electrical Circuits

                   

 

Electricity flows in a path along a closed circuit, and what fun it initiates on its way!




To open, highlight, right click, then click on the blue GO TO LINK pop-up on your screen.

A good short lesson on electric motors can be found at my favorite site, TEACHER DOMAIN:http://www.teachersdomain.org/asset/psu06-nano_vid_electrons/

Here's a fun learning game that teaches the symbols used to draw a circuit: http://www.andythelwell.com/blobz/guide.html
And here's a great link for static electricity - rub a ballon on a wool sweater! (Just hit RUN NOW and ignore the ads!)
http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/balloons

From this same site, University of Colorado at Boulder, comes an exciting skate board game combining kinetic, potential, and thermal energy.  (Just play around and be sure to check out the graphs.)
http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/energy-skate-park



Hands-on activities generates loads of learning-related conversation.

 

And cooperation can lead to unanticipated results!

Bunny Boy or Bunny Girl?

We had a problem; lots of baby bunnies and limited cages.  Who do we bunk with whom? A wonderful Redeemer mom visited this week to show us how to solve our dilemma.  Her report:

I had such a fun morning with the 5th graders today! We learned how to determine the gender of a bunny and why it is important. The children learned:

1. Boy bunnies are territorial and if placed together it can lead to fighting
2. A boy and girl bunny placed together can produce babies.
3. Gender is easily determined with adult bunnies and more difficult with younger bunnies.
4. Some species such as cardinal birds and some ducks are easy to look at and determine gender. Bunnies require a bit more investigation especially with the younger, less developed bunnies.

We wrote down our findings and identified each bunny and its gender. As they develop a bit more in 2 weeks, we will investigate again to see if we were correct.

What amazed me the most is before we determined gender I asked each child whether they thought the bunny was a boy or a girl and in almost every case, they had guessed correctly. I was baffled by this because they have not been told if the bunnies are boys or girls before today. A possible theory could be that they notice different behaviors in the animals or physical characteristics and base their conclusions on that. However, 2 of the bunnies were impossible to tell apart, yet they still guessed the correct gender. From this, an additional more physiological theory developed. Possibly, the children’s instincts led them to their conclusion which could have something to with pheromones that exist that we are not aware of and yet help us determine who is whom.

As I watched the children holding and caring for the animals, I noticed their nurturing instincts. The children are compassionate, loving care takers of Redeemer’s little furry ones and now they know, based upon the gender of the bunnies, how to keep them even more safe.

opppps he is a boy

Thank God for all the little creatures and of course Ms. Keyburn for bringing this opportunity to Redeemer!



First conclusions, will check again in 2 weeks and see if we were correct
Youngest bunnies:
Dark gray - Asteroid - boy
Light gray - Twitch - girl
White with brown spots - Carmel - boy
White with black spots - Oreo - boy

Next Oldest:
Lighter gray - JJ - girl
Darker gray - Falon - girl

Lionhead bunnies:
Smaller - Clover - girl
Bigger/more fluffy/lighter - Emma the boy - boy

Third Grade Good Eggs

 

IT'S SPRINGTIME!
Six fertile chicken eggs (courtesy Harvey Schlomach, Redeemer member) are nestled quite nicely 'neath our Mama Chicken in the Rainbow Room.  They should hatch over spring break.

Fortunately Mrs. Faidley brought baby chickens for us to love on.  We blew out eggs for our Easter ornaments. We know that these eggs, from the grocery store, come from egg factories.  No roosters there. And everybody knows that it takes a mommy and a daddy to create a baby in God's World.

Many students have chickens in  their backyards, thanks to Austin's backyard coop movement.

 

Developing chickens: Did you know there's an ap for that! Here's us candling our fertile
chicken eggs using the iPhone light ap.

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

EGGS!

Our chicken eggs should hatch March 11.

Second graders discover that hard-boiled eggs spin quite nicely.

EGGS EGGS EGGS!    
This week, most classes investigated the structure of the chicken egg.  Yolk, egg spot, membranes.  Albumen (did you know there was a thick and thin egg white?)

Holes in the eggshell for the developing embryo to breath.  Egg shapes differ depending on the environment of the nest; seabird eggs are pointy so they will roll in a circle and not roll off a cliff. 

 

Not all were thrilled with the textures.

And some first-graders definately were.

We're coloring the shells for Easter projects.