Bunny Love

Let us start!

This is the one.

Hip Hop is a new companion for The Education Girlz. Our friend will be a motivational classmate by providing us writing ideas and scientific observations. The Education Girlz went to the Humane Society to purchase a bunny. When we were there we learned a plethora of information about bunnies. The most educational fact we learned is when rabbits sleep. They are crepuscular which means they're most active in dawn and dusk. Welcome Hip Hop to our classroom.    

Petroglyphs at the White Tank Mountains

The Hohokam left  pictures carved in the granite when they disappeared over 600 hundred years ago but we are not sure what they mean. Today we hiked off-trail in the White Tank Mountains with a ranger in search of celestial petroglyphs from long ago. We observed stars, suns, moons, snakes, arrows, goats, waterfalls, and spirals. Some of these shapes are found as far away as China. We were walking on some of the oldest exposed rocks on the planet!

No problem hopping over boulders!

This "double sun" could be a depiction
of a super nova from the year 1046!

Interesting saguaro!

Our ranger describes these "tanks" of water
and how these mountains got their name.

Petroglyphs are made by chipping away the patina,
or "varnish", on granite one dot at a time.
This is a very time consuming job.

Most archaeologists think that the shape on the left represents
a star, but we think it looks like a sea star ready for dissection!
The arrow in the middle points to the north star. Most petroglyphs
are carved on east facing rocks.

We learned that the Teddy bear cholla has barbs to attach onto
 passing animals so the cactus can spread its seeds. 

Sea Star Dissection

"I do not have a backbone, therefore I am an invertebrate and am NOT a fish!"

Sea stars are echinoderms (spiny skin). Other echinoderms include sea cucumbers, sand dollars, and brittle stars.

Sea stars ready for dissection.

Sea stars have no heads and no circulatory system. They have eye spots on the tips of each of their arms. Sea stars live in temperate and topical waters, not fresh water. Some are bottom dwellers, while many live mostly in shallow marine environments. Sea stars come in a variety of colors, sizes, and shapes and can live for 30 years. They can regenerate their arms if they lose one.

Our sea star has radial symmetry.

They eat scraps of food, algae mats, or even deceased organisms. Others are active predators that will attack clams, snails, sponges, and corals. Their stomach comes out of their body to eat and then the stomach retracts.

Notice the mouth at the center?

To dissect them, the girls first sliced it completely in half with scissors. They observed the sieve plate, tube feet, stomach, and mouth.

Notice the half of a leg on the plate!

Using tools to slice it in half.

Teamwork!

Ant Farm

Today we made an ant farm in school. It was difficult to assemble.

Our Ant Farm

                                         

Where are the ants?

Did you know that ants can eat bread, cake, fruit, crackers, meat, and leaves?  In our neighborhood  males usually work instead of females; however,  in the ant's  life females work instead of males! C'mon ants let us hear you talk or sniff. Ants can communicate by sniffing. We will watch our ants to see how they create their environment. 


                                                             

Discovering Animal Facts

Today we went to the Phoenix Zoo. One highlight was riding the camel, or dromedary to be precise. It was bumpy and a bit scary because the dromedary would sway back and forth while he walked.

The difference between a camel and a dromedary is that the
dromedary has only one hump. This hump is to store fat that
can be converted into energy so that the animal can go for
 long periods of time without food or water.

After the exciting dromedary ride, the girls touched cownosed stingrays. They felt slimy and "muscley".

These stingrays have had their stingers removed.
Don't they look like they are flying?

This is a piece of the sting ray's dental plate.

The Komodo dragon was huge! Did you know that he has over 200 bacteria in his saliva to paralyze his prey and send them into shock so he can eat them at his leisure? We observed baby and adult Komodo dragons.

This Komodo dragon weighs over 300 pounds
and can run up to 12 miles per hour.

This one is the friendliest!

Babies!

Harmony Farm was a place to pet goats and to try out tractors.

Do you have a license to drive this?

There were several different breeds of goats,
 some with floppy ears and some with small ears,
 but they all like to be scratched on the head.

We knew baby goats are called "kids" but did
 you know that a group of goats is a "trip"?

Print Making

Inspired by petroglyphs from thousands of years ago, the girls drew and "carved" their own unique designs onto foam. Then, using brayers, they created many prints by experimenting with color and pressure.

You know you are having a great time
 when your hands look like this!

Making Lemonade from Lemons!

What do we do with lemons? (Besides powering a digital clock!) We make lemonade, of course. Finding the right amount of water and sugar took some experimenting, but we eventually created the perfect recipe. Thank you, Mrs. Henry, for the fruit!

Thank you also for the unusual pot!

Navajo Weaving

          Today we traveled to Mrs. Henry’s studio for our art lesson. First we finished our collages of cityscapes, and we even added a real photograph of us surfing in the foreground!

Then we read the story The Goat in the Rug that lead into the next lesson of dyeing and weaving. It is a Navajo tale set in Window Rock. We learned that goat hair is “mohair” and sheep hair is “wool”.  We used many tools: carders, looms, dye from onion skin and berries picked from the yard, and wool. We followed up our lesson with Annie and the Old One, a Newbery honor book.

Lauren carding wool.

Samantha carding wool.

Carders

Gathering berries from the garden
 to make home-made dye.

Finished product!

Our looms before our weaving.

                                                                         



     

Energy

Energy: What is it? Where does it come from? Can you see it? What do we do with it? These were the questions posed to us today at the Arizona Science Center. To answer some of these questions, we experimented with "wacky walkers", poppers, and balloons. The wacky walkers walked, the poppers popped, and the balloons shot around the room - Lauren's balloon even landed in the recycling bin after a crazy flight around the science lab!

Wacky Walkers ready to roll across the floor.

We discovered some laws about energy.
1. Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only converted from one form to another.
2. The amount of energy in the universe is constant.
3. Sometimes energy is unavailable for use.

We even learned a formula for work:
W = F x D
That means that work is force (push or pull) over a distance. So the boy trying to push the building down is NOT working, but the girls fanning herself with a piece of paper IS working. Amazing!

Finally we learned about two categories of energy: potential and kinetic.

After our lab, Lauren rode the Sky Cycle 30 feet above us!

Don't look down!

Catch BookBreath

The girls joined the Phoenix Public Library’s annual winter reading program, “Catch BookBreath @ your Phoenix Public Library,” which kicked off Jan. 9 and runs through March 10 at all library locations.

Children up to 12 years old are eligible to participate in the program and earn prizes by reading or listening to books. Prizes include a book for children to take home and keep, and a “Happy Birthday Arizona” t-shirt in honor of the Arizona Centennial.  

We visited the Mesquite branch today and picked out our first prize while we loaded up on new books to last us until next Monday. 

Order of Operations

Samantha shows all of her steps!

Lemon Clock

Using inquiry investigation, the girls asked if lemons could power a digital clock. They stated the problem, stated the hypothesis, planned the investigation, made a mind map, anticipated problems, built the clock, drew conclusions, and learned about electrochemical cells and the properties of electricity. The girls will continue to experiment with tomatoes, potatoes, oranges, and soft drinks. Did you know the first battery was made by Italian scientist Alessandro Volta (1745-1827)? Another fun fact is that the cooper and zinc strips are called electrodes, and the lemon is called an electrolyte.