December 6

Pine Trees

What do you notice about these needles?

Pine needles grow in clusters of two, three, five, or occasionally seven needles on twigs. Pine trees are identified by the number of needles in each bundle (farcical). The length of pine needles varies.

Do evergreens ever lose their needles? Yes, they just don’t lose them all at once like deciduous trees.

Favorite Books about Evergreen Trees

Go here to watch Mrs. Willowby’s Christmas Tree full screen. Sequence the events.

Christmas Farm: “This lovely tale celebrates intergenerational friendship and determination, growth and nature, and the joy of the holiday season.”  —School Library Journal

Christmas Farm: Ray, Mary Lyn; Root, Barry (ILT)

The Christmas Cobwebs: On Christmas morning, the poor shoemaker and his wife awaken to a shimmering surprise hanging from their tree.

Hardcover The Christmas Cobwebs Book

A story of Gratitude: The Littlest Christmas Tree. Go here to view full screen.

Related Posts

Conifers

The Night Tree (A holiday tradition)

Evergreens and Conifers

November 29

Olive Trees

I wanted to visit an olive farm when we were in Europe, but the best I could do was to sample a variety of olives at the market in Athens. There are so many varieties!


And of course, they were in our Greek salads. Traditional Greek salads do not contain lettuce.

We saw olive trees, short and evergreen, in both Italy and Greece. They are native to the Mediterranean, but olive trees were some of the first old world plants brought to the Americas. Olive trees are grown for their wood and fruit, but primarily for oil.

Growing on the Acropolis

Although olives are a favorite food of mine, I realized I knew very little about how they are grown and harvested. I wondered if it would be tasty to eat an olive right off the tree.

How is olive oil produced? Go here for full screen viewing.

A little more information about traditional practices. Go here to view full screen.

Olives and olive oil have been part of the Mediterranean diet for thousands of years. Include them in your study of ancient Greek and Roman history. You will find mention of the olive tree in science, literature, art, and philosophy. There are also many references to olive trees and olive oil in the Bible. The first time an olive tree is mentioned is in the book of Noah when the dove brings back an olive branch. Both the olive tree and dove became symbols of peace.

Have an olive tasting party with your students or family and learn the names of several olive varieties. Do you have an olive bar at your local grocery store? Give each participant a few cubes of bread and dip them into a different olive oil brands. When you are shopping with your children, compare the types of olive oil available. Read the labels. The bottle of olive oil below was recommended by our Athen’s food tour guide.


Have you tried growing an olive tree? Go here to view full screen. Listen for the reason why you shouldn’t eat an olive directly off a tree.

November 27

Symbiosis

As you scroll through these photos, what do you notice? What questions do you have about what you see and what conclusions can you draw?



Mealybugs and ants have a symbiotic relationship. In this type of symbiosis, two different species obtain a mutual benefit from their relationship. Mealybugs are soft-bodied insects that infest plants, suck sap, and produce honeydew. Ants collect and eat the honeydew and in return, care and protect the mealybugs from predators. Vintners have learned that reducing the ant population in their vineyards will help control a mealybug infestation.

Go here to watch a Study Jam about symbiosis.

Go here to watch full screen.

What are other examples of symbiosis? Studying symbiotic relationships is a fun adjunct to any study of living things. Identify the symbiotic relationship in this post about Spanish moss. Go here.

Related Post

November 20

Mural Trail on the Greenway

In this season of giving and gratitude, I want to thank each of you for being a part of my blog family and community. I hope that my posts have helped you learn more about the outdoors and supported you in your work with children.
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I look forward to my walks on the Big Creek Greenway and many of my blog posts are inspired by my time there.

Recently, I saw numbers painted on some of the raised manhole covers that are scattered along the twelve-mile trail and subsequently learned that the North Fulton Rotary Club had chosen local high school artists, under the guidance of a professional mural advisor, to paint nine of the sixty manholes. According to Rotarian Richard Matherly, “The New Alpharetta Greenway Mural Trail will advocate clean water for all and celebrate plant and animal life on the greenway.”  The Arts Commission and Public Works Department also cooperated in the success of this community building project!

Work in Progress


Finished Work


Do you have any areas around your neighborhood or school that could be improved through a cooperative project?

Category: Art, Science | LEAVE A COMMENT
November 15

In November

November is a transition month where I live in the Southern part of the United States. Fall blends into winter and everything in nature seems to be tired. The vibrant color palette of scarlet, burnt umber, and ochre becomes muted, as the brown shades of winter become dominant. Creation is ready to rest.

Some of my blog family in the Southern hemisphere are moving away from the browns of winter. You will appreciate the related post below.

Go here to view full screen.

Related Post 

November 13

Fall Art

I always looked for meaningful ways to integrate art with science in my lessons. The process was always emphasized over the product, meaning that children were free to use the available materials creatively. Finished products were not identical. I have compiled a list of fall art activities below, although many of these activities could be implemented during spring or summer months. Try them with your families too!

Teach the concepts of diffusion, hydrophilic, and symmetry, as well as the shape of leaves in this investigation. Go here to learn more.

Review the states of matter and create beautiful stained-glass leaves. Go here for directions.

Identify the shapes of leaves as you create animals.  Go here for a literary connection.

Paint designs on leaves. Go here for materials. (For older children)

Introduce symmetry, leaf margins, and venation through this activity. Go here and here for examples.

As you hike, collect items to fill vases that children create on the sidewalk. Go here for more examples and ways to extend this activity.


Forage for items on the ground as you hike, such as seeds, nuts, sticks, and pinecones. Create land art for others to enjoy! Go here to learn the history of the land art movement and for a literary connection. Such an engaging way to create patterns!

Print leaves to create cards or placemats. Go here and here for additional information.

Use a variety of materials (paper, paint, and/or tissue paper) to create fall trees and strengthen muscles in young hands. Go here for complete instructions. This is just a sample. Be sure to add details to the sky, ground, and even in the branches.

November 8

Parquet

When we visited France, parquet floors covered the magnificent chateau rooms. Parquetry is created by using wooden slats in repeated geometric patterns. The first parquet floors were installed during the 17th century in the opulent Palace of Versailles. They were a sign of wealth and power, but this flooring was also functional and easier to maintain than marble floors. Artisans used lumber of contrasting colors and grains (oak, maple, walnut, cherry, mahogany, and pine). Go here and here to learn more about the history of this art form.

Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles


Use Parquetry to integrate engineering, art, math, and science in a meaningful and historic context. What an engaging way to incorporate angles, fractions, problem solving, and measurement!

Go here for an introductory video about angles.

Keva planks are a favorite building/engineering material of mine. Go to the official website here. Use painter’s tape to mark a square, and task students with creating a parquet floor in the provided space. Many school buildings have tiled floors, so students could cover a number of tiles to create a parquet floor. Teach and practice common patterns, such as basket weave or herringbone. As an alternative, students could use larger graph paper.

Keva Maple 200 Plank Set by Mindware MindWare,http://www.amazon.com/dp ...

Basket Weave Design:

My original design: what should I name it?

 

Artisans who created parquet floors were knowledgeable of different types of wood and how they would respond to heat and moisture. Compare samples of wood here.

November 6

Doors

What is the purpose of a front door? Brainstorm with your students or children. Ideas may include safety, a means of welcoming others, or a reflection of the homeowner’s style. We often decorate for holidays around our front doors.

My former school made this video of our front doors when we moved to online instruction during Covid. Go here to watch full screen.

The more I introduced engineer or design activities in my classroom, the more I realized how much my students both enjoyed the challenge and benefitted from the skills required to complete them. These tasks were especially meaningful when there was a real-world component. For background knowledge on engineering, go here.

I’ve always been drawn to the beauty of front doors and while I was in Europe, I took photos of some of my favorites.



Engineering Task: Design a front door on graph paper or construct a prototype of a front door. Depending upon the age of your engineers, increase the complexity of the assignment. Incorporate measurement skills as appropriate. Is there a standard measurement for the height and width of a door?

There are so many design choices to make before you construct a door. Walk through a neighborhood or outdoor shopping area and take photos or sketch design choices that capture your engineer’s interest.

Some Questions to Consider:

What materials would you choose to construct your door – wood, stone, metal….

Will there be glass in your door?  Consider the placement, color, and shape of the glass. If your student is constructing a model door, use plastic to represent the glass.

Will you have a double or single front door? How will you design the doorknob?

Will there be any kind of trim around the door?

Some other door related activities:

Everyone loves a little mystery. Introduce a unit, a story, or as I did, objects that begin with the letter D behind doors. Teachers could also reveal class awards or incentives behind doors.

Melissa and Doug Wooden Puzzles:

I found that many of my students had not memorized their home addresses in second grade. Spend some time during this mini-unit to teach your students to memorize their addresses and how to write an address on an envelope.

November 1

Topiary

Topiary is the art of sculpting greenery into fun and creative shapes. Evergreens, such as boxwood, ivy, or privet, are popular shrubs for topiary because they have small leaves and grow compactly. On my trip to Europe, I saw topiaries in some of the chateau’s formal gardens.


Both The Curious Garden and The Garden of Abdul Gasazi include topiary illustrations, but they are not the focus of the story.

(story)time: The Curious Garden by Peter Brown – third story(ies)

OSBORNE DOGS — Art of the Picture Book

Go here to view The Curious Garden full screen.

Teach your child how to create a topiary. Go here to view full screen,

When I was in the classroom, I intentionally shared unique careers with my students, Caring for topiaries, a topiarist or topiary engineer, is a career in ornamental horticulture, and certainly an ideal career for those who want to combine science with art! Go here to view full screen.

Green Animals Topiary Garden in Portsmouth, Rhode Island has over 80 sculpted trees. For full-screen viewing, go here.

October 30

Singing Glasses

When I taught a sound unit, “singing glasses” was always included. How is sound created? What makes the pitch change?

Go here to view full screen.

Go here to view full screen.

When we turned a corner in Venice and discovered a musician playing the glass harp, I was able to check an item off my bucket list. It was such a delight to see this in person! Such artistry!

Go here to watch her play.

Might be fun to try this investigation at your next dinner party or family meal! There are numerous ways to add to this investigation. Collect a variety of goblets, give your student or child a pitcher of water, and let the discoveries begin!