April 5

Ferns

Most ferns grow in a woodland ecosystem because they prefer lowlight and moist conditions. Isn’t a forest with a fern carpet inviting? In the spring, ferns grow new fronds. Spirals are one of the most common shapes in nature.

Have you ever turned a fern frond over? What did you notice and wonder? These clusters on the underside of fronds are spores which is the means by which a fern reproduces. Ferns, like moss, do not produce flowers or seeds.

When I was at the nursery, I looked for spores on other species of ferns.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can you find at least two different species of ferns when you go on your next woodland hike? Take a trip to a nursery and compare the various species of ferns there.

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March 10

Who Lives Underground?

When I pass by a hole in the ground, I can’t help but wonder who might be living right under my feet! Animals live in the trees, on the ground, and under it as well. Everyone has its own space-a perfect plan! Which animals have subterranean habitats? Chipmunks, moles, voles, rabbits, foxes, groundhogs, badgers, armadillos, and skunks live in burrows. Some crustaceans, insects (ants and yellow jackets), spiders, frogs, worms, turtles, and snakes also burrow underground. While many animals dig their own burrows, others will move into another animal’s burrow when it is abandoned. Underground tunnels provide a safe place to store food and raise young, a means to escape from predators, and protection from hot or cold temperatures.

Click here for the Safeshare link.

Click here for the Safeshare link.

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I just ordered this book about burrowing animals.

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Tape boxes together to make underground tunnels for a fun extension to your study of burrowing animals. I saw this at allfortheboys.com

To tie in STEM, build mazes with blocks, Legos, or paper towel tubes. Design an underground home for yourself. A German architectural firm, ZA Architects, is designing plans for subterranean living on Mars. This is also the perfect time to provide digging activities for your young scientists. Click here to inspire them.

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February 19

What Do You See?

Every time I pass these trees I smile because they spark my imagination!

Look for natural items, such as fruit, flowers, or other plant parts, photograph the objects, and then mark-up the images to add animal features. This is a fun virtual assignment!

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February 5

Rube Goldberg

A Rube Goldberg Machine (RGM) is a crazy contraption which accomplishes a simple task in the most complicated and funniest way possible. They are based on the “invention” cartoons of the famous, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Cartoonist, Rube Goldberg. To go to the Rube Goldberg site, click here.

The 2022 machine contest has been announced. Click here for the entry form. Be an engineer and create a Rube Goldberg machine!

Check out this biography about Rube Goldberg. Click here. What perseverance!

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Click here to read Rube Goldberg’s Simple Hum Drum School Day. Draw a crazy contraption! What a fun way to demonstrate cause and effect relationships and apply force and motion concepts! All ages will enjoy this creative task!

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January 24

Black and White

In a previous post, I shared pictures of the colorful birds that are frequenting my yard, but this little black and white chickadee is my favorite. Maybe it’s the name or the way they always appear formally dressed that appeals to me. Click here to learn more about the chickadee.

Although countless animals are colorful, there are many that are black and white. I’ve enjoyed reading the book below to my classes. How many black and white animals (fish, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, or birds) can you name?

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In this story, the reader hears clues about a black and white animal, and then the animal is identified on the following page. Discern the key words as you read:  fins, flippers, looks like a fish, water, mammal.

Click here and Click here for Safeshare links to watch videos of black and white animals. The first link is for younger children.

The following link is a movement brain break using black and white animals for younger scientists. Click here.

How fun to have a black and white themed day at school or home! Dress only in black and white, play dominoes or use dice for a math game, eat Oreos for a special snack, and make one of the art projects below.

This first project introduces symmetry and the fraction one-half. Turn the white paper over to hide pencil marks. For Valentine’s Day, use red and pink paper and cut out various sizes of hearts.

I do not know who originally posted the artwork below.

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January 24

Look Up!

As I stated in a previous post, my goal this month is to give you purposeful reasons to hike. This time, look up for nests. Winter is a good time to find them because they are more noticeable when deciduous trees have lost their leaves. As I hiked, I was amazed at how many nests (that I had previously walked by) I noticed up in the branches when I intentionally looked for them. Watch the Animoto below to see some of the nests I discovered. Are all nests bird nests? The larger ones most likely are squirrel nests. Click here to watch a squirrel build a nest.

I have a small collection of bird nests.  What materials did these birds use?

How astounding that every species of bird builds a nest unique to that species and that these nests are built without hands! Children will appreciate the difficulty of this engineering task when they try to construct nests of their own. Click here to check out this fun nest building investigation for families from Tinkergarten! Another option would be to collect items a bird might use to make a nest and then fashion one using your hands. How will it stay together?

Click here for the Safeshare link for the following video.

Use the videos below to compare fiction and nonfiction books about nests.

Click here for the video of Mama Built a Little Nest.

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Click here to watch an animated version of The Best Nest.

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I was looking up for nests when I spotted this bird. I think it is a red-tailed hawk.

On another walk, I eyed this hawk high in a tree. So majestic!

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January 18

Snow People

You don’t see many snow people in Georgia! My neighbor, Daphne, made this snow boy after our rare snowfall.

Click here to watch Snowballs, a favorite story of mine and a great inspiration for the art below.

Use doilies for the body of your snow people (or animals) and then let your children choose from a variety of materials to bring it to life! We dipped sponges in white paint to add the snow. Write stories about your snow people characters.

If you don’t have snow, try stuffing white garbage bags with recycled paper, stack them, and make the snow person’s features with recyclables, clothes, or other art materials.

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January 18

Snow Paint

After seeing posts about this activity for several years, I wanted to try this investigation. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any snow here. Finally, I had my opportunity!

I purchased these mist spray bottles at Target. Experiment with various sizes of spray bottles. After filling them with cold water, I squirted a few drops of food coloring in each. Yes, you could mix colors to make the secondary colors. Do be careful with food coloring because it stains. (Think blue popsicles). The following photo is my test.

Make a snow sculpture or a snow animal and then paint it. If we have more snow, I am definitely going to try something on a larger scale. What other tools could you use?

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January 18

Snowflakes

Watching snowflakes is enchanting! The activities below connect art, science, math, and reading.

Click here for the Safeshare link.

“Snowflake Bentley” (1865-1931) was fascinated by snowflakes and in his quest to share their beauty discovered a way to photograph snowflakes in the early 1900s. Click here to see Snowflake Bentley’s photographs. Click here for the Safeshare link of Snowflake Bentley.

Snowflakes are beautiful, pure, and white,
And like God’s children,
No two are alike!

I tried to capture some photos of snowflakes. I’ve found that a material that is dark and water repellant, like a garbage bag works best. I need a better camera, but I had a little success.

Cutting snowflakes is always fun! Trace a circle on a piece of paper with a plate or other round item. Fold it in half. Then fold the half in thirds, so it looks like a pizza slice, then you will have six sections.

Click here for the Safeshare link to learn another method to make a six-sided snowflake.

Make giant snowflakes with larger paper.

Click here to watch real snowflakes form.

It’s also fun to make snowflakes with pattern blocks. These snowflakes were made by former kindergarten students. There are six pattern block shapes – square, triangle, trapezoid, rhombus, parallelogram, and hexagon. Each student began with a hexagon which has six sides, like a snowflake. Two trapezoids or six triangles also make a hexagon.

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