"For the Birds!" Update

We have been keeping track of the birds we're seeing and hearing here at home (and nearby locations as well)! Thanks for the great idea, Wendy!

This has turned into a family event, encouraged my oldest daughter to practice her months and reading skills, and brought the bird guide out for another exciting season of birding!

Here's the simple chart we're using at home:

Wind!

When I walked out the door this morning there was no way to miss the inspiration for today's lesson idea...WIND! Not only does wind tie into so many topics, but it is an easy topic for learners of all ages and abilities. You can hear it, see it, and feel it! (Don't worry if you don't make it out today, tomorrow supposed to be just as windy :-)


There are some great books that have to do with the topic of wind, and topics related to wind! Here are a few to take a peek at:

Windy Day

Science With Air

Weather


The first thing we did today to investigate the wind was use pinwheels. We would hold them up and see which direction we could hold them to "catch" the wind and make them spin. We discussed how we thought the wind was making them spin, why it would spin some of the time, but not always, and discussed how fast they would spin in relation to the strength of the wind.

(If you don't have pinwheels at home, here's a place to learn how to make one using supplies you most likely have at home.)

*Other fun items can be used outside in the wind to investigate strength, direction, etc. Think of things that are made for the wind like kites and windsocks. Also consider a ribbon tied onto something sturdy and easy to hold. The possibilities are almost endless!

Investigative Thinking Starters:

• What is wind useful for?
• How can it be helpful to humans? animals? plants?
• What problems could wind cause?
• What makes the wind blow?

Connections to other topics:

• directional words like "north", "south", "east", "west"
• warm fronts and cold fronts
• Mt. Washington, home of the world's worst weather!
• seed adaptation and dispersal (Click here to learn about all the ways seeds can take flight in the wind.)



Wind, Wind, and Even More Wind Info., Activities,

and Ideas by clicking here!!!

As I was making my way around the yard today, putting away sleds, raking around large patches of snow, I found the most peculiar thing...a little tunnel in the snow. I crouched down to peek in the hole then took a few steps back to observe the whole area. There were so many tunnels! I called my daughter over and our impromptu discovery session began!

Here are some pictures of what we found as we explored around the house, in the edge of the woods, and along the driveway:

These are the first couple of tunnels I found behind the house.

The tunnels were numerous!

This leaf helps give perspective to how small the opening to the tunnel was.

After exploring the backyard, we decided to venture into other areas where there was snow and see if we found any other evidence of tunnels. Here's what we found on the edge of the woods and along the driveway:

The recent melting had really opened up this tunnel, but it was so neat to peek through a snowbanking!

This picture was taken in one of the colder sections of our yard. Here you can see how the tunnel
would appear in winter. The tunnels are usually close to the ground, between the leaf layer and the snow.

Some of the other tunnels had formed ice towards the bottom of them
from the melting and refreezing that has been occuring as of recent.

My daughter and I had more questions than answers, but were so excited to search for more tunnels. It almost felt like a rush job to find as many as we could because we knew the snow that was left wouldn't last long in the very warm temperatures. We found so many tunnels, and had so many questions...

• What made these tunnels?
• Where was the animal going?
• What was the animal doing?
• How many more tunnels are there around us that we can't see?
• When were these tunnels made?

We hypothesized about mice, squirrels, and chipmunks. Even started thinking of stories we could make up as we pretended to be the animal crawling through the numerous tunnels! It was a rewarding adventure outside and we were thrilled to have that unexpected adventure...then we came inside and had one of the biggest treats of all...

This was the view outside my daughter's window. We somehow had missed these when we were
outside, but were treated to a special viewing from her window.

With more questions than answers, a quick online search was in order. It appears that these tunnels were most likely the work of voles!

(information about moles and voles)


Head on out before all that snow is gone! Maybe there are tunnels near your home...? Maybe there are some fresh tracks in that soft, mushy snow...?

Share your ideas and adventures here!







Happy "Pi" Day!

What a great "Pi" Day it was today!

We tried to eat only round things for our meals...

made, measured, and decorated pies...

and noted all the wonderful circular objects around us! 

Here is one of our mini-pies, as we were finding the diameter (Action shot... the ribbon moved as my daughter snipped it...):

Here we are finding the circumference of the pie:

Here's where the magic starts to happen... We used the diameter-length ribbon and figured out how many fit across the circumference-length ribbon:

I had my daughter mark a dot showing where the length of the diameter-length
ribbon fit, as we moved it across the circumference-length ribbon. We counted
it out together and found that it fit just about THREE times!





To extend her thinking even further, I let her use my wedding rings to try the same experiment, but let her do most of the process on her own...

The same was true... The circumference was about three times longer than the diameter!

I'm hoping that for the next few days, circles are noted everywhere, and this experiment is reproduced often! Who says math is boring and difficult...? I believe that there is ALWAYS a way to make it fun!!!



"Pi" Day is March 14th... 3/14!

Many math teachers are very excited about this Wednesday...

It will be “Pi” Day!

Pi (π) is a very important number in the math world, especially in the area of geometry. Let's celebrate this special day with some fun activities!

Activity Ideas:

• Read Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi
• Help Radius investigate and find the magic number to break the spell!
• Make a pie of your choice
• During the process of putting the pie together...review fractions, measuring, accuracy, and step-by-step instruction.
• Once the pie is completed... Find the circumference of the pie, then find the diameter of the pie. Divide the first measure by the second. (answer should be close to 3.14)
• Do an investigative circle activity
• Find five round objects
• Measure the circumference (distance around outer edge of circle) and diameter (distance across middle of circle) of each object.

A piece of string, yarn, or shoelace work

well when measuring round objects.

Use a ruler or meter stick to measure the string.

Use the ruler or meter stick to measure the diameter

(measure across middle of circle).

•  Record the data for each object in a table similar to this one.
 

 

• For each object, divide the circumference by the diameter and record the number in the table.
• Are there any patterns/similarity? (all divisions should equal about 3.14)

BIG idea about Pi (π) ...
For any circle, the measure around the edge is just over three times the measure across its middle!
"Pi" Resources:
•  piday.org
• How pi works...
• BrainPOP: "Pi" video
 


For the Birds!

Birding is one of my family's favorite past-times. The National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds (Eastern Region) sits on the sill of a window in our living room that overlooks our feeders. As the birds fill their bellies, we like to identify them. My young daughters are becoming familiar with those that are most common in our neck of the woods: Chickadee, Nuthatch, Titmouse, Goldfinch, Blue Jay, Robin, Woodpecker, Morning Dove, Crow, and Wild Turkey. The book comes in handy when we are trying to distinguish which type of woodpecker is at our feeder or when we have a rare sighting, like that of the Scarlet Tanager, the Pine Grosbeak, a Ring-necked Pheasant, or an owl. In addition, my girls are learning the calls/songs of the birds. I get great pleasure out of listening to my girls reply to a birdsong they've just heard.

A favorite chore around our house is feeding the birds. We lug the big bag or bucket of food to the feeders, then use a small cup to overflow the feeders. My daughters, ages 3 and 1, enjoy grabbing hand fills and scattering the food about for the ground feeders. They also like squishing the suet into its cage and helping mom or dad hang the cage back on its branch. There's some pride and ownership they have developed in picking out the bird food, putting it in the feeders, and then witnessing the birds gobble up what's been provided them by our family. Yes, I know the bears are waking up and there's a possibility the bird food will bring them to our yard, but we cannot resist feeding our feathered friends. Not to mention, the love my girls have developed for the birds is heart warming; when we drive away from the house my girls say, "Goodbye birdies, see you soon." Then returning home they shout, "Hello birdies!" Like I said, we can't resist.

Below, please check out some ideas for having bird fun of your own with your young ones or students.

Conversation Starters:
-Why are some birds here in the warmer weather, but not the cold? Where do they go?
-Why do different birds like different types of food? What else do they eat besides bird food?
-Check out the beaks of some different birds. Why are their beaks shaped differently?
-Why are most male birds brightly colored while the female color is more subdued?
-Why do birds come in different shapes and colors?
-Why do birds' calls/songs vary? What do their calls/songs mean?

Identification:
-Using a resource, such as the field guide mentioned above, identify species, either by sight or sound or both. Birds can also sometimes be identified by their nest and/or eggs.
-If child/student has some familiarity with birds, have them make a guess as to what he/she is seeing. Then,using a website, such as Birds of North America http://identify.whatbird.com/mwg/_/0/attrs.aspx, have him/her type in the guess and see what's revealed.
-For very young children (my 1 year old does this) have them identify birds by color. For example, when seeing a Goldfinch have them say, "Yellow bird."

Tracking, Patterns, and Measurements:
-Develop a bird log. List all birds seen during the different seasons. Then, decipher similarities and differences between seasons.
-List all the birds child/student sees at a specific feeder and note the time of day. At the end of the day, week, or month, examine the list and notice any patterns (such as what birds come in the morning or evening).
-Measure the amount of bird food being eaten: Record how many ounces are put into a specific feeder and note how many days until it's empty. For example, 24 oz/3 days. (With this formula, child/student would learn 8oz are being eaten per day.)
-Make a chart with colors across the top (Blue, Red, Brown, Gray, Yellow, etc.) Next, list each bird seen under the appropriate color.
-For very little ones, simply have them count the birds they see in one day.

Fun and Games:
-Smear a pine cone in peanut butter, then roll it in bird food and hang it from a tree branch.
-Imitate bird calls/songs.
-Bird fiction: Have child/student tell the story of where a bird goes and what it does once it leaves the feeder. For example: Charlie the Chickadee is flying to the stream for his bath. He wants to get cleaned up before flying to the neighbor's big pine tree and visiting with the Blue Jay babies that hatched yesterday. (You get the idea!)
-Go outside for a "Bird Evidence Scavenger Hunt". Look for tracks, nests, feathers, and eggshells.

Whatever you do, enjoy the birds!