It's all gotta go somewhere

Adaptation

This semester’s Loowit Thematic is animals.  At home we are supplmenting the material by taking a deeper look at the life of birds, bugs and mammals, by observing our backyard friends, and reading The Wind in the Willows. We’ve recently discovered the series Wild France with Ray Mears, which is fascinating look at some rare ecosystems and animals in France, and that is making for good dinner conversations.

D’s also been watching Planet Earth, which Jeff and I marveled at when it was first released several years ago yet has stood the test of time.  It was after watching an episode of Planet Earth that D took pen to paper to make these notes on the subject of adaptation.

 

Moose eats pine needles.

Cross bill’s beak opens pine code scales.

Cicadas all hatch at one time, so predators cannot eat them all.

Chameleons eat prey by zapping it with their tongues. They also have camouflage that allows them to not be food.  

Teacher Jackie sent this dispatch yesterday.

 

On Wednesday we are having a special guest come to Gardner. Brian Lacey, also known as the Bee Guy, will be coming to speak to our students about the honeybee. This will tie directly into our animal unit as the Loowits are studying insects in science, and by raising our silkworms. Brian is helping the school acquire an observation hive for our campus, so he will be visiting us a couple of times this spring!
 

Thursday is Loowit’s field trip to the zoo! The purpose of this trip is to do research on a specific animal from a certain ecosystem. The students are choosing their animals tomorrow and will have a research booklet and writing tools that they will be using while at the zoo. Be sure to ask your Loowitter which animal s/he has selected after school tomorrow. Reminders for this trip:

  • dress in layers (comfortable walking shoes) and be ready for any weather (looks like rain)
  • bring a lunch, complete with utensils & napkins
  • bring a water bottle
  • have a backpack or bag to carry lunch, water bottle, clipboard and research tools
  • booster seats (if you’re not chaperoning) 
And she attached a picture of the classroom silkworms….ewwww!
 
 

1 Comment

  1. Lori

    Terrific! Wind in the Willows is a lifelong favorite of mine. My Dad read it to Hal and me as kids. It stands the test of time.

Leave a Reply to Lori Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

© 2024 MaidaData

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑