IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS: Everywhere we go, holiday decorations are hanging. The baubles above are from a tree in the lobby of the community center where CJ takes his Theater of Possibility acting class.
This was his second-to-last class. Next week, it's on with the show! I can't wait to see what the group has come up with. The class has been a wonderful experience for CJ. I hope we're able to find another outlet for his wacky thespian tendencies in the not too distant future.
CAMEL-LOT: Yesterday we got to see a real live camel. Today, we read up on 'em. We started with the flyer provided by Swanson's Nursery, temporary home of Curley the Camel. A dromedary or Arabian camel, Curley has just one hump. Turns out dromedaries make up 90 percent of the global camel population (with the balance being the two-humped Asian or Bactrian camel).
We read about camels' long history as helpful beasts of burden. Annabelle was relieved to read that camels don't spit on people. But then she was horrified to read it's more like projectile vomit - as what comes out is regurgitated. Ewwwwww.
A camel was also a central character in a "Reading Rainbow" video we watched today. The DVD featured two RR episodes, both books by Aliki, with "Mummies Made in Egypt," being the one featuring a camel.
"Reading Rainbow" reminds me of Rick and Kennedy's childhood - it aired from 1983 until 2006, so it definitely spanned them growing up - and then some. LeVar Burton definitely looked '80s-riffic, but content wise the show held up wonderfully. Case in point, when the DVD concluded, Bee turned to CJ and said, I "I love 'Reading Rainbow,' don't you?" Nice!
In addition to the "Mummies ..." book, the show had segments about camels and fascinating info about mummification, of not just humans, but other animals, too. "I never knew they mummified animals," CeeJ said as the video showed a mummified cat, lamb and crocodile.
The other episode was "Digging Up Dinosaurs," also by Aliki. In addition to the book being presented, the video showed a gigantic dinosaur dig and shared lots of information about
ENCAPSULATED: Mummification and dinosaur digs both involve artifacts from the past, and one of the "Reading Rainbow" episodes we watched made mention of a time capsule.
Given that, I asked the kids to list five things they'd put in a time capsule and explain why they chose those items.
"My Time Capsule by Annabelle" - In my time capsule, I could put: A watch so they could know how we tracked time on the go, and I would also9 put a bucket so that they could see how we carried water, and a newspaper, so they could see how we read the news. I would also put in a bead neckless so they could see what fashion was like back then, and I would also put in a toothbrush so they could see how we would brush our teeth."
"My time capsule by: CJ
My first item in my time capsule is a VHS with 4 tapes. I would put it in so that they could see how we watch videos back then. My next item is a TV and some cables. I would put it in so they could see how we would watch things back then. My next item is a chess board and figres. I would put it in so they see how we would entertain ourselves back then. My next item is a cereal box. I would put it in so that they could see how we would pack cereal back then. My next item is a toy. I would put it in so they could see how we would play back then."
OUT AND ABOUT: We have a baking project going on this week, so we hit up Jo-Ann for some supplies and stopped at the Ballard Library just across the street. The kids love that place. Every time we visit, there's an intriguing display right up front. The theme of the one we saw today was maps. The kids loved checking out the maps on the wall and spinning the globe.
We came home with a TON of books and DVDs. Love the library, yes we do.
STARRY EYED: We received an update from Curiosity today. In its 10 days since launch, the Mars Science Laboratory has traveled over 18 million miles from Earth (!!!)
On the other end of the Mars expedition spectrum, poor Phobos-Grunt is going nowhere fast. Despite efforts by the Russians, the European Space Agency and, of course NASA offered to help, the doomed spacecraft is still stuck in orbit. It's projected to become a potentially toxic, Earthbound missile in January. Keep your helmet handy ...
It is so wonderful to always get to read what's up at Magnolia Prep! Not to nitpick, but a quick learning note: Archaeology = the study and digging up of historic and pre-historic human civilizations (like Egyptian Mummies, projectile point arrowheads etc); while Paleontology = the study and digging up of really ancient stuff, like dinosaurs. So the dino story was probably about paleontologists... Possibly one of the most common job title switcharoos ever though... Just thought you and the kids would like to know :)
ReplyDeleteThank you UCT! Last night as I was sitting here trying to finish the blog post up I hesistated before typing archaeologist. I thought, 'Hey, should that be paleontologist?' but then I got lazy and just posted it. Important distinction - you're right, of course, the Egyptian mummy story had archaeologists, the dino one had paleontologists. We're going to have to have a special lesson on the difference! thank you!
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