It's Raining Leaves

SO LONG SUMMER: Since fall is now upon us, I thought it would be good to review the calendar and the seasons today. First up, a favorite: Chicken Soup with Rice. The kids pretty much have this memorized and sang along. Having reminded them of months, I pulled Dora's Search for the Seasons off the shelf to remind the kids that months are grouped into seasons - periods of similar weather.


LET'S LEARN ABOUT LEAVES: The leaves are definitely raining down 'round here, so I thought today would be a great day to talk about fall and cobble together a leaf unit. To help explain why leaves change color, I resourced a great fact sheet from the US Forest Service. We also watched a Flash animated video (a state of Maine production) about how/why leaves change their colors.

LEAFING THROUGH THE LIBRARY: Thursday means it's library day for CeeJ & me (while Bee's in ballet). I found Investigating Why Leaves Change Their Color. We read it sitting outside on the couch swing, under a blanket, amidst a shower of falling leaves. We learned that leaves on deciduous trees fall when photosynthesis stops. We also learned about why certain leaves turn certain colors after the chlorophyll breaks down - and that those colors (the reds, yellows, oranges, etc) have been there all along, they were just masked by the chlorophyll. The book had a glossary and an index, so it was an opportunity to remind CJ & Annabelle what helpful tools those can be.



LEAF HUNTERS: This afternoon we took Kirby for a very short walk. I had the kids each find five different kinds of leaves on the ground. We'll save them and make a fall centerpiece out of them soon. The thoughtful people at Better Homes and Gardens sent me all sorts of ideas about using fall leaves in decorations 'round the home.


GROUND CONTROL TO MAJOR TOM: So, believe it or not, I actually spent part of the day exchanging emails with a woman @ NASA. ... When Web searching for why-leaves-turn-colors info online this a.m. I found a link to NASA Web presence - a special site just for kids. Unfortunately, the lesson plans on the site wouldn't load. But I would not be denied!! I found an email address on the site, shot off a message and she actually wrote back with a workaround. I thanked her and then she followed up with another email letting me know about all sorts of new-and-cool educational resources NASA is just launching. Awesome! She wrote:
The elementary program is called Our World. This program focuses on science and engineering within NASA missions. It can be found in two places ...
Here’s the YouTube link … http://www.youtube.com/user/NASAeClips
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=31002AD70975DC1B
Here’s the NASA portal link … http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/nasaeclips/ourworld/index.html
There are some teacher resources for some of the segments ... and the Teacher Toolbox has some great tools, too.

I thanked her again, of course, and she wrote back: "So happy to share these resources. And thank you for sharing them with others. One student at a time ... one teacher at a time ... working together we can make a difference." Go us! : )

Oh, and back to the kids - one of the great things about the NASA leaf unit that I found this a.m. was it had a quiz about leaves changing color, so the kids could put their new knowledge to the test. Excellent!

ODDS & ENDS: The kids each did two math worksheets (simple addition and subtraction), and got some PE time in at the big park in Magnolia. Oh, and because I must torture CJ with coin values every day, our bedtime story involved Megaman being 25 cents (that's a quarter!) short of being able to buy a Rocket Pop. He enjoyed the story and whaddya bet he remembers what a quarter's worth in the a.m.?

PEACE OF MIND: Yesterday afternoon while CJ was in this Befriended class, I was listening to some parents of elementary aged kids trade stories about the trials and tribulations of their children's experiences during the first week of school. Man-oh-man did it reinforce my belief that an alternative educational approach would be best for my kids this year.