Perfect Pitch

PHOTO: NASA

SPACE SCHOOL: In checking the handy-dandy this-day in history calendar I made at the beginning of the month, I was reminded that today marks the anniversary of the Hubble telescope taking deep space photos that let us know that Uranus has rings. 

So, we decided to learn a bit more about the planet. The first thing I did, of course, was find Hubble photos of Uranus. As you can see above, it’s beautiful!           

From a NASA Web site, we learned that Uranus was the first planet discovered by telescope – how ‘bout that! 

CJ wanted to know how Uranus got its name, so I thought I’d do a search for a video about the pale blue planet.  Lucky us, I found the discovery of the day – “Space School.” It’s a series of videos by the Science Channel (Discovery Channel/Discovery.com. We watched their short video with great interest and learned a lot. You can check out the Uranus video here: http://science.discovery.com/videos/space-school-uranus.html


Uranus is one of the gas giants - its surface isn't solid. However, its core is. In fact, it might be filled with diamonds, say some scientists. 

I asked the kids to each write five facts they learned about Uranus. Here's what they came up with. ... 

CJ: I just recently watched a video about Uranus. Uranus is not actually  blue, its atmosphere caused it to look  blue, because its atmosphere is blue. In 1881, Uranus was discovered by sir William Hershel when he was using his telescope. Uranus was named after the father of the Greek god Saturn. Uranus turns on a different direction because a asteroid hit it, causing it to turn in a different direction.The only thing NASA sent to Uranus was Voyager 2, which took 9 years to reach it. On Uranus, a day lasts 18 hours, and a season lasts 21 years.

Annabelle: Today I watched a video about Uranus. It had a few facts about Uranus and here are some of the facts. Uranus seems green-blue because we are not viewing its surface, but we are viewing it's atmosphere. There has only been one spacecraft to Uranus, and that spacecraft is Voyager 2. Uranus was discovered in 1781 by telescope. Imagine having a telescope that could see that far! Uranus is named after the Greek god, well, Uranus, the father of Saturn and master of disguise. Uranus is in a orbit on its side, we don't know how this happened, but scientists suspect it was a meteor. Days on Uranus last only 18 hours. Better do what you want to do quickly on Uranus!

ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER: This afternoon we read a picture book called "Light Up the Night." I'll admit, the red rocket on the cover was what drew us in initially.

Turns out the book was about a young child who starts out describing his universe as just that - the universe. Then with each subsequent page, his world (or continent or country or city or neighborhood and so on) got smaller, with the larger environments listed and re-listed in front of the smaller ones.

I told the kids that in structure, the story was somewhat like "there was an old lady who swallowed a fly" in reverse. In the old lady/fly story, the objects keep getting bigger.

I then challenged the kids to write their own sequencing-size story.

Here's Annabelle's:

There once was a monster who swallowed a gnat! I don't know why he swallowed the gnat. It'll make him fat!
There once was a monster who swallowed a spider. He swallowed the spider to catch the gnat. I don't know why he swallowed the gnat. It'll make him fat!
There once was a monster who swallowed a swallow. He swallowed the swallow to catch the spider, he swallowed spider to catch the gnat. I don't know why he swallowed the gnat. It'll make him fat!
There once was a monster who swallowed a cat. He swallowed the cat to catch the swallow, he swallowed the swallow to catch the spider, he swallowed the spider to catch the gnat. I don't know why he swallowed the gnat. It'll make him fat!
There once was a monster who swallowed a dog. He swallowed the dog to catch the cat, he swallowed the cat to catch the swallow, he swallowed the swallow to catch the gnat. I don't know why he swallowed the gnat. now he's fat.

And here's CJ's:

I live in the universe,
In the Milky Way galaxy.
I live in the universe, in the Milky Way galaxy, where the solar system is.
In the Milky Way galaxy, there is Earth.
I live in the universe, in the Milky Way galaxy, where the solar system is, in that is Earth.
In Earth, there is the West Coast.
I live in the universe, in the Milky Way galaxy, where the solar system is, where Earth is, where the West Coast is.
In the West Coast, there is America.
I live in the universe, where the Milky Way galaxy is, where the solar system is, where Earth is, where the West Coast is, where America is.
In America, there is North America.
I live in the universe, where the Milky Way galaxy is, where the solar system is, where Earth is, where the West Coast is, where America is, where North America is.
In North America, there is Washington.
I live in the universe, where the Milky Way galaxy is, where the solar system is, where Earth is, where the West Coast is, where America is, where North America is, where Washington is.
In Washington, there is Seattle.
I live in the universe, where the Milky Way galaxy is, where the solar system is, where Earth is, where the West Coast is, where America is, where North America is, where Washington is, where Seattle is.
In Seattle, there is my home.
I live in the universe, where the Milky Way galaxy is, where the solar system is, where earth is, where the west coast is, where America is, where North America is, where Washington is, where Seattle is, where my home is.

MR PERFECT: From our living rooms we watched a broadcast of sports history being made. This afternoon, Felix Hernandez pitched a PERFECT game for the Mariners. Nine complete innings. No walks. No runs. It had only been done 22 before in Major League Baseball history, and today was the first time ever a Mariners pitcher had done it. 

I have never seen a pitcher more on than Felix was today. He was definitely in a zone and it was something to behold.  Here's the last out (after a short commercial, no doubt ...)
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