I have taken a few moments to discuss holiday plants with my scientists. We learned that mistletoe is a parasite that takes water and nutrients from the tree on which it lives. Poinsettias are indigenous to Mexico and were brought to America by Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first U.S Ambassador to Mexico. Pine trees and holly are both evergreen. Christmas cacti bloom in December and are found in the rain forests of Brazil. God provides the berries on mistletoe and holly for animals during the winter, but people and pets should not eat them. The leaves on pine trees are called needles. The small yellow flowers of the poinsettia are found in the middle of each leaf bunch. The red leaves (bracts) are often mistaken for flowers.

Caught Luke eating a cricket.

My third grade geologists studied the layers of soil and then ate their lab! The square of chocolate in the bottom of our cup was bedrock and the Fruit Loops above it represented weathered rock. Then we added a crushed Graham Cracker for subsoil. Chocolate pudding became topsoil and a crushed Oreo was humus. We topped the cup off with leaf litter (green sprinkles).

After a review of water concepts, this lab was all about air pressure and Bernoulli’s Principle.

This is what hanging out in the lab looks like!

Many of my scientists are memorizing the elements of the Periodic Table in order, so when I saw this clock, I just had to have it for our lab!

Our new lizard, Lucky, was molting today. “Brown anoles molt in small pieces, unlike some other reptiles, which molt in one large piece. Anoles may consume the molted skin to replenish supplies of calcium.”

One morning during our book fair, JP and I happened to both be looking at posters. I mentioned that I wanted a Minion poster because they dress for lab. When he won a free book at the book fair, he chose this poster for me. What a sweet surprise!