July 2

Fireworks

I am reposting this with some new videos and a favorite lab. Happy Fourth of July blog family! Use this information anytime there is a celebration with fireworks.

I watched fireworks at my sister’s home in Kirkwood, MO. As I watched this impressive display, I wondered about the history of fireworks and how the colors and shapes are created. Check out the links below to find out more.


Watch full screen here.

Click here to watch this informative video full screen.

Go here to watch full screen.

Go here to make some explosive rockets of your own using chemistry.

Watch an idea for firework art full screen here. Be sure the black paint is thin (a wash).

June 30

Tomatoes

I was given a sunsugar cherry tomato plant at my garden club and placed it in a large pot on my deck to keep it away from wildlife. It has grown so fast, and all stages of growth can be observed. Such an easy choice to teach children about a plant’s life cycle!


Use math skills to track the growth of your plant. Tomato plants can be determinate or indeterminate. Indeterminate plants grow continuously and produce tomatoes regularly, but determinate plants stop growing after the first fruiting. I definitely have an indeterminate plant!

Task your children or students with keeping a journal of the tomato’s life cycle.

Read more about growing tomatoes on the Kid’s Gardening website.

Open the tomato to find the seeds, let them dry, and begin the cycle again. Before you open the tomato, estimate how many seeds will be inside. Do all tomatoes have the same number of seeds?

Remember a tomato is a fruit. Why? Watch full screen here.

Have a tomato tasting party and taste a variety of tomatoes. There are 10,000 varieties! Use the following humorous book, I Will Never, Not Ever Eat a Tomato, to begin your party. Watch full screen here.

June 25

New Discoveries

I have posted about caterpillars that have crossed my path many times. (See related posts below.) It’s exciting to encounter a new species. The colors, designs, and unique features are both amusing and intriguing. They are truly walking pieces of art!

This first caterpillar is the larval stage of a promethea silkmoth.


The larval stage of the eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly follows. Note the mimicry, false eyes, used to trick predators.


Related Posts

Caterpillars

More Caterpillars

A Bizarre Caterpillar

Lichen caterpillar

Another Example of False Eyes – Click Beetles

June 23

Spiny Softshell Turtle

On my Greenway walks, I’ve met box turtles, snapping turtles, and sliders, but this was my first encounter with a spiny softshell turtle. He eyed me cautiously and then lumbered back through the underbrush to the pond. I feel fortunate to have met this shy reptile!

Some Facts about Spiny Softshells:

  • The shell (carapace) is rubbery, flat, and flexible. There are no scutes (hardened, bony plates) which are found on most turtles. Its name refers to the spiny projections found on the carapace.
  • It has a long neck and a snorkel-like nose with a sharp beak.
  • Most of its life is spent in the water and it’s often found buried in the sediment. It can absorb oxygen underwater through its skin and brumates during winter months.
  • Females are larger than males.
  • Feet are webbed, each with three claws.
  • They will bite if threatened.
  • The spiny softshell can be found in freshwater throughout the United States.
  • They are primarily carnivorous and feed on aquatic insects, fish, and crustaceans,

Watch full screen here.

Related Posts

Turtle Lab

Sliders

Turtle Calendar

Snapping Turtles

Sea Turtles

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June 18

Carpenter Bees

As soon as I spy a pile of sawdust, I know to look for the telltale hole of a carpenter bee. Although often mistaken for bumblebees, there are significant differences between the two species.

How does a small bee drill a perfect hole into and through wood?? Remarkable!

Watch full screen here.

Watch full screen here.

Related Posts

Honeybees vs Bumblebees

Honeybees

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June 16

A Hiding Place

I was planting in my garden when I knocked over the cap of one of these fanciful mushrooms. To my surprise, I had discovered the habitat of a large group of roly polies. I found even more when I peeked under the other mushroom tops. Why do you think they chose this spot to call home?

Consider these facts as you ponder:

  • Isopods breathe with gills, so they need to stay moist in order to breathe. Roly polies are not bugs.
  • These decomposers break down organic matter, like leaves and other plant parts.
  • Predators include spiders, frogs, lizards, birds, and centipedes.

Watch full screen here.

What do you conclude? Never lose your sense of wonder.

Related Posts

All About Pill Bugs

Pill Bug Lab

It’s All in a Name

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June 12

Let’s Get to the Bottom of It!

We usually consider leaves and flowers when we think about the diversity between trees, but lately, I’ve noticed how the bases of tree trunks differ in appearance. Erosion, animals, decomposers, and roots work together to craft the base of the tree. Art is everywhere! So, when you or your children draw trees, reflect and then incorporate this understanding into your artwork.





Use creation to teach about diversity. More ideas in the previous posts below.

Related Posts

Shapes of trees

Tree Bark

More Tree Diversity

Roots

Holes in Trees

Forest Carpenters

Tree Knees

Codominance

Gratitude for Trees (with literature links)

June 9

Looking Versus Seeing

The colors, shapes, and patterns in nature enchant me. After a photography workshop, I was off to Chattahoochee Nature Center to practice capturing God’s beauty in nature. “You look with your eyes, see with your mind, and perceive with your heart.”


Go to a previous post about the centers of flowers and spirals.

Learn why the lizard has an orange head in this post.


Go to this previous post to learn more about galls.


Go to my previous post about colors in nature.


Go to previous posts about shapes and patterns found in nature:
Circles, Semicircles, Stripes


This butterfly resembles a leaf. Learn more about camouflage and mimicry.

Another post on noticing.

June 4

An Interesting Pattern

I imagined that when an insect munched on a leaf, the result might look something like the following two leaves.


So how and why would an insect eat a leaf in the manner below? What do you wonder? Share your ideas in the comments. Use phenomena to begin a conversation with your children or students.

Related Posts

More Curious Holes

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June 2

A Walk in the Woods

After days of rain, I waited for the mushrooms to appear from the woodland floor. My patience was rewarded.




But my favorite find were these perfect tiny mushrooms growing out of the trunk of a decomposing tree.

If you have followed me for long, you know that combining nature with art brings me joy! Andrea Nelson, a multimedia artist, inspires me. Watch full screen here.

Related Posts

Mushrooms

More Mushrooms

Growing Mushrooms

Fairy Ring

Purple Mushrooms

Tiny Perfect Things

Bracket Fungi

Category: Art, Science | LEAVE A COMMENT