Academics

Here is a general description of what each grade is learning about so far:

First Grade:
Recently finished - solids
Currently on - liquids
Vocabulary - rigid, flexible, round, soft, pointy/sharp, opaque, transparent, translucent, viscous, colorless, bubbly, foamy

Second Grade:
Recently finished - balanced, spinners (tops - spin by applying force as a PUSH)
Currently on - spinners (zoomers - spin by applying a PULLing force)
Vocabulary - counterweight, balance point, spin, rotate, axis

Third Grade:
Currently on - Energy, different forms
Soon to be working on - Energy transformation and converstion
Energy forms studied so far - light, motion, sound, heat, electrical, chemical

Fourth Grade:
Currently working on - electricity, simple circuits
Soon to be working on - conductors/insulators, series and parallel circuits
Vocabulary - motor, light bulb, circuit, switch, insulator, conductor, D cell, electricity receiver, electricity source

Fifth Grade:
Just finished up - mixtures, solutions, separating mixtures
Currently working on - chemical reactions
Vocabulary - mixture, solution, dissolve, separate, evaporate, screen, filter

Sixth Grade:
Just finished up - identifying Grand Canyon rocks
Soon to be working on - correlating Grand Canyon rock layers, studying the Colorado Plateau
Vocabulary - calcite, limestone, shale, sandstone, acid, magnifying lense, correlate, layer

Worried about the animals

I have not been in the classroom for several days. I am worried that the animals have not been fed. I am going to school tomorrow and I will feed them! In the future I will try to make arrangements with students to feed and take care of the animals when I am absent.

Curriculum Update

First Grade
FOSS Unit: Solids and Liquids
Just Finished: Solids (important vocabulary: rigid, sharp, opaque, transparent, round, soft, flexible, etc.)
Current Spot: Liquids in a bottle
Important Vocabulary words: viscous, transparent, translucent

Second Grade
FOSS Unit: Balance and Motion
Just finished: Balance (counterweight, balance, etc.)
Current Spot: Spinners
Important Vocabulary words: spin, rotate, axis

Third Grade
FOSS Unit: Energy and Matter
Current Spot: Energy - the different forms (heat, light, electric, chemical, etc.)
Important vocabulary words: convert, source, electricity, light, heat

Fourth Grade
FOSS Unit: Electricity and Magnetism
Current Spot: Magnetism in their classroom, simple circuits in the science room
Important vocabulary: circuit, wire, D cell, electricity source, electricity receiver, motor, light bulb, open circuit, closed circuit, switch
Future Spot: series circuits and parallel circuits!

Fifth Grade
FOSS Unit: Mixtures and Solutions
Current Spot: Separating a mixture
Important Vocabulary: mixture, solution, screen, filter

Sixth Grade
FOSS Unit: Earth History
Current Spot: Studying the layers of the Grand Canyon
Future Spot: Differential erosion, rock layer correlation
Important vocabulary: calcite, limestone, sandstone

Betsy's home

I have been feeding Betsy more fruits and vegetables lately (baby spinach, watermelon and strawberries). The problem with doing that is she is such a messy eater. Her tank is DISGUSTING! There is so much... gunk in the tank. Organic materials floating around dirtying up the tank. This is why it is so important that we raise funds to get her a bigger tank AND a really good filtering system that includes and undergravel filter as well as a in tank filter like the Fluval 4+ that we have now. This whole system could cost $500 or more! It will be at least $200-250 for the new tank and $200-250 for the necessary filtering systems.

Ms. Evans-Vasquez's class - 2nd grade

Tomorrow Ms. Evans-Vasquez's 2nd graders will begin a FOSS science unit on BALANCE AND MOTION. Information for parents can be found here (in English), and here (en espanol) and here (the English version of the Spanish version). Enjoy investigating balance and motion with your children at home!

Cleaned up the millipede's habitat

I changed the substrate in the millipede habitat.

The crabs seems like they are doing well, as does Betsy.

I found a picture of a millipede that looks like our millipede! This is a North American millipede, Narceus americanus.
But, I think our millipede might be a Giant African Millipede. Our millipede isn't as red as the North American millipede is. The website I found says that Giant African Millipedes are commonly kept as pets.

all is pretty well

The animals seem to be doing OK.

Betsy seems fine. There are a few students that now know how to rinse her water filter and clean the water by straining using the fish net.

Two students are also crab experts now. They can take out the poop, give food and water and rearrange all the stuff in their crabitat.

One student can also change the millipede's water and I have trained another student to sprinkle the millipede's food with calcium.

One concern I have, that I haven't mentioned is that there are little white/clear dots/balls on the bark/substrate in the millipede habitat. I will clean the habitat and change the substrate. I found some at the pet store the other day that should work well. The students have been touching the millipede and really seem to enjoy him/her. I do not think that poor millipede enjoys being handled so much. He/she has started to burrow into the substrate to hide. I never saw it do that before. When I come in in the morning (between 6:45 and 7:05 am) I always see the millipede out of it's house crawling around and walking around the habitat. You can see it's full length and the little dirt mites/spider things crawling around on it. It's quite amazing.