Whisper words of wisdom, letter "e"

This week we learned how to use a compound microscope. First we reviewed the parts of a microscope and what they do. Then the kids learned how to prepare a wet mount (a slide with a specimen + a drop of water and a cover-slip) The first specimen the kids examined was a lower case "e." When it comes to the letter "e," there's more than meets the eye. It doesn't just get bigger...

After we got the hang of things, we looked at some serious specimens. If you think spiders are scary, try looking at one magnified 400 times!

Catapults

This week the kids were challenged to reverse engineer a catapult. Presented with some old broken catapults, the kids had to figure out how they were made. Then, using slightly different materials, they modified and improved this initial design to produce catapults of their own. These catapults are examples of a 3rd class lever .

Daffodiaries

The daffodils we planted in the yard are just starting to emerge from the ground. We can see a few tiny shoots. On the other hand, the bulbs growing inside show visible changes day-to-day. That's why we decided every kid should have a bulb of his own to plant and observe at home. Weekly observations just aren't enough! The kids made special diaries, "daffodiaries," to keep track of how their bulbs develop.

You can plant a daffodil outside in the soil, but we decided to "force" our bulbs to grow indoors without soil, so that we could better observe the changes.  The downside of doing it this way is that the daffodils will take in fewer nutrients for NEXT year's growth. With the exception of water and sun, everything the flower needs is already packed inside the bulb.

With that in mind, here's what we're going to do when we get home:

1. Find a small glass bowl. 
2. Fill it with some rocks, marbles, legos, etc. 
3. Place the bulb on the rocks/marbles/etc. pointy side up.
4. Pour just enough water into the bowl, so that ONLY the base of the bulb is under water.
5. Leave the bowl in a sunny spot, and wait and see.

Within a day or two we hope to see roots, and not long after, a shoot coming out of the top. We just need to make sure that the roots have water, and that the plant gets enough sun.

Make like a tree and LEAVE

Continuing our unit in plants, we started to discuss leaves and their role in producing food for the plant. We took a walk outside and collected leaves, and then we classified each one according to its

• general anatomy: simple or compound

and

• margin: simple, serrated, or lobed

Next week we'll finish graphing our results to see which leaf types are the most common.

It's only been a week!

Not much going on with the bulbs we planted outside, at least not much that we can see, but WOW...the bulbs growing inside are unstoppable. After a day or two, we could already see the roots coming down from the basal plate, and after 3 or 4 days, a tiny shoot started to emerge from the top of each bulb.

How many 3rd graders does it take to change a bulb?

This week we started our unit on plants with a discussion of bulbs, that is a type of plant that uses an underground storage system for everything it needs to grow. After comparing and contrasting different kinds of bulbs including onions, garlic, and daffodils, we dissected a daffodil bulb, noting the scales, providing food for the young plant to eat as it grows; the basal plate, where roots develop; and most amazingly, the miniature leaves, stems, and flower parts.

Finally we planted daffodil bulbs both in the soil and in a glass bowl, which will remain indoors.We're looking forward to tracking their progress

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Separating Inks

This week we separated yet another mixture - in this case, the ink you find in a typical water-based marker. To do this we used a technique called chromatography. Using the marker we wanted to investigate, we drew a line on a piece of filter paper. Then we dipped one end into a bowl of water. As the water traveled up the paper, it dissolved some of the dyes in the ink. Because each dye has different properties, they travel through the paper differently, and as a result separate into bands of different colors.