The Search for the Monarch Butterfly

I found one!!! I was for sure that I wouldn't be able to find a Monarch Butterfly now that the weather had turned cold. Lo and Behold, the day after we were assigned this task I found one. Who would've thought that possible. Monarchs in the cold?

Okay, I lied a little bit. I actually found two and a half.

It's Those Little Things That Makes Life Easier

Let's all admit it, we like our creature comforts. No, I'm not refferring to cable television or the Ipod. I'm refferring to the simple machines that allow us to be just a little bit more lazier than needed. There are several different types of simple machines, that are the basis of just about everything we use. Nevermind, my rambling, read on...

Here is an example of a wheel and an axle. Without it we would have to actually walk. Imagine!!!

Here's an example of an inclined plan, it keeps the wind and bugs out of my face. Could you imagine getting bugs in your teeth or actually being exposed to the elements? To think the pioneers actually did that.

A lever! Who would've ever thought of this as a simple machine? It sure does make your life easier, just think if  you didn't have one. You'd be on your hand and knees scooping dirt into your hands. Ick!

The Elizabethan Era didn't know what thye were missing with Venetian Blinds. It would've made the peeping toms work just that much harder. Anyway, this is a perfect example of a pulley system.

Thank goodness for the screw like jar. It keeps my pickled green beans fresh.

As you can see from the examples shown, I'm living the high life. I couldn't imagine not having my simple machines hiding around everywhere. Next time you are using an object in your house try and figure out what kind of simple machine could be incorporated in it.

Being Involved at Home

It's most important to reduce, reuse and recycle, and it's very important to start at home. If you can't do it there, what's the point in trying to help out the community at all?

Here is a way my family reduces. We buy all purpose cleaner instead of buying cleaners for each individual need. Not only does it help releive your pocket book, but it's less plastic to be made and less that might accidently get thrown away. We also make sure to use every single drop to make sure that we are reducing toxics that may be accidently be let into the environment.

My mom reuses jars when she is pickling her cucumbers, green beans, and peppers.

We also reuse jars to hold old oil so we can later dispose of them properly.

We love to save money by using grocery bags as trash bags.

We like to recycle so much we need two bins to hold our stuff.

Finding Science at School

Welcome back!!! Today, we are finding science in a place where most of us first learned about it...School!!! School may not be necessarily where we were intriduced to it, but it is definitely where some of us came to hate it or some of us came to love it. Loving it or hating it really depends on who your teacher was and if they made the learning process fun.

Not everyone can have Bill Nye the Science Guy for a teacher therefore may not be learning through experimentation. In my class, the teacher uses technology to teach science,or that is what I have seen in the two times I have been there. The first time they watched a movie on erosion from the Discovery website, this last time, they answered questions from a worksheet getting answers from a website. I feel the website was user friendly, but kind of on the yawn side.

I asked some of the students what they liked about science, if they liked science class and what they want to learn more about in science.

"I like science, it's fun."

"I like going to the science lab, because when we're done with our work we can play games."

"I like science class because lunch is right after it."

"I want to learn to make things explode."

There you have it, the people have spoken. 



Science is All Around Us

Science is happening as I write and you may not even know it. It could be from anything cooking or pickling some cucumbers, both common occurences in my house. Animals and plants are common occurences around us. So join me on jaunt through my domicile and around it.

So let's start with what is around the house. Unfortunately, for you and fortunately for me, I just cleaned the house and if there were any insects crawling around I swept or vaccuumed them up. As you can see I have flora in my house. That's latin for plants. :)

If you come with me outside I have many other plants of unique beauty as well.

This is a hibiscus, a rare beauty to find among my family. No one seems to have quite as green a thumb as my mom.

 

This aloe and it used for medicinal purposes such as burns.

Mini peppers, a must have for any garden in the south.

Flowers are merely a neighborhood for smaller living things.

Pretty peppers that I'd rather admire than eat.

Science at work. Peppers riping for some picking then come eating.

Science at work in the rain droplets and in the rose itself. So pretty.

Dead cucumbers, science has worked againt them. :(

Fungi growing amidst the flora.

The neighborhood with the many trees and bushes. As you can see my lawn is the most beautiful and green because my dad is a mad scientist and must have the most trim and most green grass on the street. It must be because he's a recovering farmer.

The other side of the street. Photosynthesis at work.

Alas, what is that spec in the background? Could that be the elusive neighborhood tabby cat venturing out for a stroll.

Looks like a former home, of what we call the mud dobber. They're a bunch of hooligans and like to cause trouble, so the landlord probably kicked them out and to ensure no unwelcome trespassors must've razed the dwelling.

Spider web with what looks like several eggs. Going to have to warn the landlord, because I'm pretty sure they paid for two people in a room and there looks like there may be hundreds soon.

This is Bitsey, she's a felis catus, and a sub category to that 'the never dius.'

 She's 22 years old and it doesn't like she's going anywhere any time soon. She may be deaf, but with the lungs of a blue whale, our neighbors can hear her crying out for attention. She also has a nose of a bloodhound and can smell from the across the house at the opposite side of the kitchen that you're warming up something in the microwave.

Meet Oscar, a canis lupus familiaris. He's my nephew and I was watching him this weekend. He's super smart and cute. He talks to me and can say 'hello' and 'I love you.' Explain that science.

Meet the very lovely, Cleo, she is also a fetis catus. She's the baby of the family and often gets away with a lot of stuff. For instance, sitting in the chair with her front paws on the table trying to swipe at all the food. That's called adaptation. She doesn't eat human food, but she like to lick it and try it out. 

Thanks for joinging me on my jaunt around the house and neighborhood. I have found several scenarios of science at workand am glad to see it alive and well. Until next time...



Project Wild

It all started with waking up to a flash flood watch on a Tuesday morning. Tropical Storm Hermine was making her presence known. She didn't want to miss the chance to participate in the first Project Wild seminar of the semester. Who can blame her, it was a BLAST!

Despite the rain we were seated under a pavilion where we were facilitated by wonderful instructors. Evidence below indicates that I was present.

We were given a set of wonderful activity books and being very free added to their appeal. To make the book and experience even more wonderful we did a 'hike' through. I can now say I am able to find my way effectively through these books. My free book bag indicates so. Some might be wondering at this point, 'We got a free book bag?' Not we I would say, but me. Due to my fast counting skills I won chips for correct answers and was able to trade them in for my awesome reusable bag. Woot, Woot!!!

Below is an example of the questions and how dedicated we were looking up the answers in our big book of activities.

Sitting and listening wasn't the only thing we did. We happened to have a rapper give us a guest appearance. Some know her as S-Dawg, but you may know her as Susan.

Not only was S-Dawg there but Kristin Krazy Kritter from the block was too, sporting her urban fashion.

After doing the same icebreaker activity year after year, the bingo wildlife icebreaker activity was an awesome break from the norm. The activity had us have a black out on our paper before we called out BINGO, which made this a bit more challenging for the lazier ones of us. For those who are extroverts this was just an opportunity for them to talk and move around. This was not a challenge for them at all.

We participated in several activities that are featured in the free books that we got. One had us differentiate between animals found inside dwellings and outside or ones that were domesticated or wild. There was much controversy over what has been domesticated. Just because your grandfather had a pet deer that doesn't mean it would be an appropriate pet for the masses. The fact still remains that there have been no other animals domesticated in the past several hundred years. As you can see from below there was some controversy in our group, but not wanting to stir the waters I said nothing.

To wrap up the event we were divided into five groups given an activity for us to organize then present to the class. Our group was called:

Our activity to present was Aquatic Charades which was geared toward preschool to second graders. children learned how important water was to not only humans, but plants and animals as well. To get the kids up and moving as they most often want to do we had them act out (a.k.a. charade) water being used one at a time and the others were to guess how the water was being used. The coolest part of our presentation was the opening song, sung to the tune of 'Frere Jacques.'

Note:Please excuse the unsteadiness of the camera, I'm a teacher not a videographer. :)

Now that you have had the full experience I hope you are more interested in Project Wild and the learning opportunities it makes possible.