Monarch Butterflies

After much searching, I was finally able to capture a picture of a monarch butterfly while sitting in my backyard.  I had to wait until the weather was a little warmer, so I was able to find this one last week.  I took it kind of far away because I was afraid of scaring it so the picture is very small, but I got it!  This was taken in my backyard in Leon Springs off of Boerne Stage Road and IH10.

Also, I was in Vegas last weekend when we were first assigned this Blog and took a picture of this giant sized monarch butterfly that moved its wings at the Rainforest Cafe :) It's not real, but it was definitely interesting to look at!

Simple Machines

Looking for simple machines throughout my house was pretty simple, because they are everywhere!  Here are just a few examples:

Lever:  A lever is a simple machine.  A lever is a board or bar that rests on a turning point.  This turning point is called the fulcrum.  An object that a lever moves is called the load.  The closer the object is to the fulcrum, the easier it is to move.  An example of a lever is this bottle opener:

Inclined Plane:  An inclined plane is a simple machine.  It is a flat surface that is higher on one end.  You can use this machine to move an object to a lower or higher place.  Inclined planes make the work of moving things easier.  You would need less energy and force to move objects with an inclined plane. An example of an inclined plane is a ceiling fan:

Wheel and Axle:  The wheel and axle is another simple machine.  The axle is a rod that goes through the wheel.  This lets the wheel turn.  It is easy to move things from place to place with wheels and axles.  An example of a wheel and axle is this bicycle gear:

Screw:  A screw is a simple machine that is made from another simple machine.  It is actually an inclined plane that winds around itself.  A screw has ridges and is not smooth like a nail.  Some screws are used to lower and raise things.  They are also used to hold objects together.  An example of a screw is a key ring:

Wedge: A wedge is a simple machine used to push two objects apart.  A wedge is made up of two inclined planes.  These planes meet and form a sharp edge.  This edge can split things apart.  An example of a wedge is a knife:

Pulley: This simple machine is made up of a wheel and a rope.  The rope fits on the groove of the wheel.  One part of the rope is attached to the load.  When you pull on one side of the pulley, the wheel turns and the load will move.  Pulleys let you move loads up, down, or sideways.  Pulleys are good for moving objects to hard to reach places.  It also makes the work of moving heavy loads a lot easier.  An example of a pulley would be blinds on a window:

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

In my own home, my family tries to be as environmentally friendly as possible.  We practice "reducing, reusing, and recycling" daily.  For example, to reduce the use of plastic bags when we go shopping, my mom & I like to use the little canvas type bags that many stores now sell or provide.  A common estimate is that global consumption of plastic bags is over 500 billion plastic bags annually, that’s 500,000,000,000 plastic bags used per year. In other words, that’s almost 1 million plastic bags used per minute.  Using these canvas bags to shop is one way that I can help to reduce this number.

In terms of reusing, my family often reuses items such as water bottles, Ziploc bags, and plastic bags when we do get them from the store.  We wash out plastic disposable water bottles and I will take them with me to the gym where I will then place them in a recycling bin when I am done with them.  Also, when we do have plastic bags from the grocery store we use them around the house as trash bags.  Not only is this better for the environment, but it saves money on having to buy trash bags from the store.

To recycle, we try to throw the least amount of stuff away in the trash as possible.  We put any recyclable items such as plastic cartons, newspapers, and aluminum cans in a recycling bin which gets picked up from our neighborhood once a week.  Recycling is something that does not take a lot of time or effort from us, but I know that it can make a HUGE difference in the long run.

Science in my Classroom

To be honest, there was not a whole lot of evidence of science in my 1st grade classroom.  Since most of the day is spent with an emphasis on language arts and reading, the walls are filled with items relating to that subject, as shown in this picture of the room's math wall.

 

I asked my CT about science in the classroom, and she explained that they alternate between social studies and science in the first grade curriculum.  She provided me with a timeline of what the students would be teaching throughout the year and according to it, their science focus right now is on "Magnificent Magnifiers", in which they learn about magnifying glasses and be able to observe and record changes in size using the magnifiers.  Also, included in one of the classroom centers was a "science or social studies center".  It currently projects displaying what the children had done over the summer, as well as a little coloring worksheet pertaining to weather, which my CT informed me that they were also learning about.  So, when I asked some of the first graders in my class what they thought about science and what science meant to them, most of them all had the same answer: weather!

One thing I did notice in the classroom though was the variety of books available in the classroom's library, many which can easily be related to science.  Since the students were on the topic of weather, my CT read a book to the class about the first day of fall, since it was going to fall on the next day.  She also showed the students other books about autumn, including this book called Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert in which she constructed all of the book's illustrations with a collage of different types of leaves.  This book was read to my class the previous week in the LSE Library, and afterward they were encouraged to go home and make their own "leaf people" out of leaves that they found around their own neighborhoods so that they could be displayed in the library.

 

Living Organisms at Home

Living a few minutes outside of the city in Leon Springs, I definitely see plenty of examples of living organisms in and around my home.  For example, when coming home late at night or leaving for school early in the morning I have to constantly be on the lookout for deer on or around the roads.  I will often see deer feeding from the grass on my own front lawn when I get home at night.

Inside my own home, I also have my favorite example of a living organism, my mini dachshund Nova.  She is also the most SPOILED example I could think of. 

My dad has our backyard very well kept up so there are numerous examples of organisms out there as well.  He has rows of roses and various plants throughout the yard.

I took these pictures after a heavy rain we had, so the droplets of water were still on the rose.  We also have two hummingbird feeders hanging from our back porch, which is always attracting the birds.  My mom and I like to sit outside on the swing (very quietly, or else they'll fly away!) and watch the little hummingbirds use the feeders.  I tried to get a picture of one, but they kept flying away as I tried to get close enough to capture the shot!

Project Wild

On Tuesday, September 7th we participated in Project Wild at Eisenhower Park.   Beforehand, I had no idea what we would be doing all day because 8 hours spent in a park seemed like a bit much to me.  Starting off the day I was a little worried because it had been storming all night and morning and it didn't look like it was going to stop anytime soon.  With all the rain and morning rush hour traffic, it took me about an hour to get to the park, which should have been just a ten minute drive!

 

When I finally arrived at the park, I ran through the rain to find everyone sitting around a large pavillion.  Luckily, instruction hadn't started on anything so I was able to quickly get my books and supplies and find a seat with a group already sitting down.  Just a few minutes later, the presentations began and we were told what we were going to do during the day, as well as what parts of our itinerary were going to be cut out because of the weather.

We began by going through and learning about all of the useful resources in our new Project Wild and Growing Up Wild curriculum and activity guides.  We did a little "hike through" the books, since the rain would not allow us to take an actual hike through the park that day.  I was VERY impressed with how detailed the books were and how simple, yet fun the activities were to teach children about the important of preserving wildlife and the environment.

After we did a few activities as a whole, we were informed that we would have to get in large groups and actually present and teach a lesson that we were assigned to from one of the books.  We were given about thirty minutes to prepare the lesson and figure out how we were going to teach it to the rest of the group.  This part of the day was most definitely my favorite because it allowed for a lot more interaction and moving around than anything we had done earlier. 

The activity my group was assigned to was named "How Many Bears Can Live in This Forest?".  It was a lesson in which students learn about what a limiting factor is and how these limiting factors affect animal populations in the wild.  For the activity, we set out various colors of little bear figurines in which each color represented a different type of food group  as well as different pounds in food for the bear.  We then set these bears down all over an empty picnic table and asked for volunteers from the audience to act as if they are the bears hunting for food.  Three of these "bears" had special circumstances, such as an injured leg or a mother bear who was required to get extra food for her cubs.  My volunteer was a blind bear, so she had to be blindfolded while I helped lead her to the food, very slowly.  In the end, the activity helped students realize that it is not always easy for wildlife to survive, and there are limiting factors that can affect the population of a particular species.

Overall, I would say that Project Wild was a great experience and I am thankful that I was given the opportunity to be a part of it.  I think it is a wonderful workshop that all future (and present) teachers should attend because I felt like I walked away with so many new resources that I will be able to use in my own classroom one day.