Science Rocks

I was looking over my old photos for an interesting nature picture to show you. I came across photos of a recent field trip. I thought you all might enjoy them and maybe they will inspire you to visit a nearby treasure if you haven't already!
I'm talking about Linville Caverns. This is series of underground caverns hidden under a mountain in Western North Carolina.
Our family visited this past December. We were looking for a fun day trip that didn't cost too much money. The admission to Linville Caverns is $6 an adult and $4 for children 5-12 years old. This includes a guided tour of the caves. Not too bad! To top it all off, after you have finished your tour of the caverns you can head over to Linville Falls.

First critters we got to see were the trouts swimming in the underground stream.

See if you can spot the next critter we saw. My six year old found this one!

We did see at least one cute little bat up close.


Here is a column. When stalagmites meet stalactites, they form columns. I always remember stalgmites come from the ground because of the g. Stalactites have a c, so they come from the ceiling.

This rock formation to the right is called Tobacco because it looked like stone tobacco leaves hung from the ceiling to dry.
There were lots of funny descriptions for the formations in the caverns: straws, skeletons, the alligator and the wedding, to name a few. It kept our imaginations going and we found ourselves naming them too. The guide told us a few historical stories and even allowed us to experience pure darkness.

Whew! After walking, climbing and crawling through the caves, we finally made it back up for fresh air and headed over to nearby Linville Falls.
Our first view was of two peaceful little waterfalls.


Then we turned around and saw a monster of a waterfall!
The stairs leading to the falls were a great example of sedimentary rock.

Hope you get to visit these places soon. Tell us about it if you do!

***clicking on title link will take you to the Linville Caverns website!***

Bring Your Paper Airplanes to School Day!

Yep, you read that right...bring in your paper airplanes on Monday and after we go over some flying factuals we will test out the aerodynamics of them!
Here is a copy of your homework assignments:

Read page 57-61
Also review pages 6-8 from Lesson 1
We will be performing the glider experiment on page 11 in class.

***Bring in a paper airplane of your own design. Research how to make the most aerodynamic paper plane possible. We will hold a class contest to see whose goes the furthest, highest and who's is most creative!


***Reminder: Feel free to do the vocabulary at your child's level of readiness! If they need to dictate the definitions to you or use the computer, that is just fine! Also, all of these definitions are found in your text. I usually underline them in pencil to help my children 'find' them.

2nd and 3rd grade vocabulary
thermal
air pressure
aerodynamic
lift
drag

4th and 5th grade vocabulary
upstroke
down stroke
thermal
lift
drag
air pressure
airfoil
thrust
aerodynamic

Birds of a Feather

"Birds of a Feather Flock Together"
So the saying goes...
Feathers for hats, feathers for pillows, feathers for quills...
Feathers have always been useful and nifty for us humans, but what about birds? How do they feel about their feathers?
Well they wouldn't be birds without them, that's for sure! Feathers are the main characteristic that sets birds apart from mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and others in the animalia kingdom. In class on Monday we will take a look at how something so light and airy can carry a bird soaring up to the heavens.
We will also make bird baths so our feathered friends can get spiffed up in our backyard habitats before they move on.
I am looking forward to hearing some of your observations from this past week! What kind of behavior did you see at your feeders? what kind of birds visited with you?


p.s._ The guinea photo at the top was taken by my son Benn! Looks great doesn't it?

Welcome

Welcome to a new journey! Thanks for joining me. It will take some time, but I will soon have lots of fun pictures, links and information here for you. Keep checking back for new weekly surveys and information.
Let's get started!