Mr. Dragonfly

We had a visitor the other day. I heard the kids yelling for me to grab my camera so I came running. Fortunately this guy was willing to stick around for a few shots. Dragonflies are so cool.

 I wonder what he was thinking? He looks as though he has something to say.

  Linking up this shot below for Shoot. Edit. Submit.

What have you captured lately? Thanks for stopping by today. Have a great weekend and a very happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!!

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Wordless Wednesday

Greetings friends! Happy WW to all.

 I awoke this morning to a broken water heater. Awesome. But, I also awoke to a new blog design. Love it? I do! I'm thrilled. Grace from Gracely Designs did the work for me and she was simply wonderful to work with. So quick and attentive and easy. I highly recommend her skills if you are in the market for a makeover. She's super affordable too. Check out her site here!

A few pics from our recent trip to the VA Living Museum. It was tons of fun. That is, aside from the hour we spent sitting in the same spot on the highway on the way home ;/

Thanks for stopping by today! Be sure to enter my giveaway from Blue Bunny Ice Cream Treats. Yum!
For more Wednesday fun, be sure to visit these fabulous blogs:
5 Minutes for Mom
Wordless Wednesday HQ

Watch the Sky This Weekend For a Super Full Moon

On March 19th, a full Moon of rare size will rise in the east at sunset. It's a "perigee moon" and the biggest in almost 20 years.

Full Moons vary in size because of the oval shape of the Moon's orbit. It is an ellipse with one side (perigee) about 50,000 km closer to Earth than the other (apogee). Perigee moons (closer in orbit) are about 14% bigger and 30% brighter than apogee moons (farther in orbit).

The full Moon of March 19th occurs less than one hour away from perigee--a near-perfect coincidence that happens only every 18 years or so, according to NASA.

A perigee full Moon brings with it extra-high "perigean tides," but this is nothing to worry about, according to NOAA. In most places, lunar gravity at perigee pulls tide waters only an inch or so higher than usual.

The best time to look is when the Moon is near the horizon. That is when illusion mixes with reality to produce a truly stunning view that looks almost as if you could reach out and touch it.

Don't bother trying though. Even a super perigee Moon is still 356,577 km away. But what a spectacle! :)

Credit: Science@NASA

Top Educational Websites for 2011

Homeschool.com has come out with their annual list of the top 100 educational websites. The full list is categorized by subject and you'll want to bookmark it as a great reference tool. I've linked the top five sites here, but check out the full list. There are some great tools for fun and learning with your kids!

The Top Five Sites for 2011

1. www.exploratorium.edu
2. www.pbs.org
3. www.brainpop.com
4. www.sheppardsoftware.com
5. www.donnayoung.org

For the full list click here.

Got Snow? Here are some learning links for frosty fun.

We've had a record snowfall here. The third largest in our area in the last 100 years. And snow on Christmas day? That's never happened before here, at least not in the 37+ years that I've been here. It's been so beautiful to see and loads of fun playing and watching the kids sled. How about you? Were you effected by the recent storm?

Just for fun, here are some links to learn more about snow:

Why are snowflakes shaped like that?
http://chemistry.about.com/od/moleculescompounds/a/snowflake.htm

http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/

http://www.lessonplanspage.com/ScienceArtCategorizingSnowflakes2.htm

http://library.thinkquest.org/3876/scienceofsnow.html

Why is snow white?
http://weather.about.com/od/winterweather/a/snow_white.htm

Other questions and answers about snow:
http://nsidc.org/snow/faq.html

Why do we put salt on the roads?
http://www.gryphonhouse.com/activities/activityDetail.asp?bookid=18325&page=557

http://www.gryphonhouse.com/activities/activityDetail.asp?bookid=10015&page=111

Snowflake cutouts
http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/kids/kids.htm

Enjoy, and stay warm!

The Luna Moth

Have you ever seen a Luna Moth? Heard of one? Even though I have lived in the same general area for the past 37 years, and these moths are indigenous to this area, I had never seen or heard of one before. That is, until my 8 year old called from the back yard one afternoon, "Hey mom, come look at this huge caterpillar!"

I grabbed my camera, as per my usual M.O., and took a few shots so that we could research this species on the internet. Fortunately I had recently purchased a butterfly cage for the kids, so we put our caterpillar in the cage with some leaves and sticks from a gum tree and waited to see what would happen. The kids affectionately named her Coconut (though we're not sure if it was a male or female). Within two days she had cocooned and about three weeks later she came out and flew away.

This is what we found from the Butterflies and Moths of North America website. You can also find out more by watching this youtube video.

Attributes of Actias luna
Family: Wild Silk Moths (Saturniidae)

Subfamily: Giant Silkworm Moths (Saturniinae)

Identification: Hindwings have long curving tails. Wings are pale green, each with a transparent eyespot. Outer margins are pink in the southern spring brood, yellow in the southern summer brood and in northern populations.

Life history: Adults are nocturnal and very strong fliers. Mating takes place after midnight, and egg-laying begins that evening. Females lay eggs in small groups or singly on both surfaces of host plant leaves. The eggs hatch in about one week and the caterpillars are sedentary and solitary feeders. Leaves and silk are used to spin papery brown cocoons in litter under the host plant.

Flight: One brood from May-July in the north, two to three broods from March-September in the south.

Wing span: 2 15/16 - 4 1/8 inches (7.5 - 10.5 cm)!

Caterpillar hosts: A variety of trees including white birch (Betula papyrifera), persimmon (Diospyros virginiana), sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua), hickories (Carya), walnuts (Juglans), and sumacs (Rhus).

Adult food: Adults do not feed. After hatching from their cocoon they live for about 5 days, with the sole purpose of mating. Mature moths do not even have a mouth.

Habitat: Deciduous hardwood forests.

Range: Common. Nova Scotia west to Saskatchewan and eastern North Dakota; south to central Florida, the Gulf Coast, and eastern Texas.

I'm so thankful we had the opportunity to experience this wonder of nature. These moths are bigger than any I've ever seen and are simply beautiful! We have since found two adult moths in out back yard.

Our Field Trip to Nauticus

This week has been a busy one with sports, ice cream parties, field trips and more. Here are some photos I wanted to share from our visit to Nauticus, a maritime museum. The kids and I really had blast exploring. The highlight of our day was petting a shark...ok, a small shark, but still pretty darn cool!

If you'd like to learn more, check out the for educators and for kids pages on their site. And don't miss the free ebooks.

Celebrate Arbor Day April 30th!

The first Arbor Day took place on April 10, 1872 in Nebraska. It was the brainchild of Julius Sterling Morton (1832-1902), a Nebraska journalist and politician originally from Michigan.  Throughout his long and productive career, Morton worked to improve agricultural techniques in his adopted state and throughout the United States when he served as President Grover Cleveland's Secretary of Agriculture. But his most important legacy is Arbor Day. 

~ Trees absorb pollution from the air ~

~ Trees make oxygen, which we need to breathe. ~

~ Trees stop soil erosion, prevents floods, and filter water ~

~ Trees create food and provide protection from the wind ~

~ Trees provide home, shelter, and food for birds and other wildlife ~

~ Fallen tree leaves eventually turn into soil, for other plants to grow in ~

~ Trees provide shade to keep our houses, schools and cities cooler ~

~ Shaded buildings need less energy for air conditioning. ~

~ Trees reduce noise pollution. ~

Trees provide:

nuts, fruit,

wood,

paper,

syrup,

cork, soap,

paint, film,

polish, lotions,

medicine, dyes,

pencils, crayons,

toothpaste, perfume,

~and 5,000 other products~

Arbor Tree by Ruth Fritts for HotChalk
Find Lesson Plans here.
Visit ArborDay.org for more info on this holiday.

North American Black Bear Webcam

If you haven't visited her yet, check out Lily. She's a North American Black bear who just gave birth. Her den is equipped with a special infared webcam that captures her movements without disturbing her. She's a beauty :D  Today, we were able to catch a glimple of a cub...such cute little piggies on those paws!

Find out more about North American Black Bears here and here.

Aloha Friday - November Nor'easter

Greeting friends! Happy Friday. I hope you are all safe and dry :D It has been raining here for over three days. We're sitting under the "November Nor'easter" as they are calling it on the news. Our back yard is flooded and we've been pumping water our for over 20 hours. We have had a little water under the house, but nothing major thankfully. And, despite a few flickers, we still have power, woo hoo!

Local tunnels and bridges have been closed, schools and city buildings are closed, a huge local fishing pier was washed out, there have been about a zillion car crashes, and thousands are without power, and there is quite a bit of flooding. But, as I look back, having lived on the East Coast all of my life, there have been worse storms. Which brings me to my question...

What is the worst weather event you have personally experienced?

The video below is of a popular local restaurant area on the Chesapeake Bay.

For more Aloha Friday fun, visit An Island Life.

Halloween Candy Experiments

Ok, when I was a kid, my sisters and I did some Halloween candy experiments of our own...how many mini Tootsie rolls can you fit into your mouth? At 11 I managed 16. How long can you cook a fun-sized Snickers in the microwave before it burns? About 10 seconds and it's scrumptious atop vanilla ice cream. We also had a bartering system down pat, like two mini Twix = 1 Reeses Cup. Three chocolate kisses = 1 Mini Nestle Crunch, unless they are almond kisses then they're only worth a pack of Necco wafers. You get the idea, I'm sure.

I remember pillow cases full of candy that we gorged ourselves on for weeks. Aside from an occasional pack of pretzels or granola bar, today's Trick or Treat haul is not much healthier than what I remember from my youth. But, I have found a great site that will help you use that candy loot for some great learning fun! Check out candyexperiments.com for new ways to get rid of all that excess sugar ;)

And you can always get creative with candy math...estimating the number of M & M's in a pack, graphing the quantities of each variety of candy, measuring household items by lengths of candy bars, etc. Or, use much of the lot to decorate a gingerbread house for the holidays. Here's a how to that easy enough for little ones to enjoy.

Also, I've found lots of fun holiday printables at Family Fun Education's website. You can also explore recipes and craft ideas there to get you in the "spirit". Or, check out my Halloween craft post here. Have fun!

H1N1 Free Resources Help Kids Understand the Swine Flu

Brain Pop and Brain Pop Jr. are offering free educational resources to help you explain the flu to kids and teach prevention:

All About Pumpkins Lesson Plans, Crafts, Recipes and More!

How to Grow Pumpkins, Pumpkin Seeds, Growing Pumpkins, Varieties of Pumpkins - By The Gardener's Network

Pumpkin Patch - Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Pumpkins!

Lesson Plans

BIG Pumpkins!

Blushing Pumpkins Lesson Plan
Christian Object Lesson - Pumpkin
Elementary Level Mathematics: Model Unit - Grade 2 - Pumpkins
Estimating With Pumpkin Seeds Math Lesson Plan
Exploring pumpkins

How Pumpkins Grow Lesson Plan
Introducing shapes with pumpkins

Life Cycle of a Pumpkin Lesson Plan for Preschool- From Seed to Pumpkin

Oodles of Pumpkins Lesson Plan
Pass the Pumpkin colors, color recognition

Predicting Pumpkins
Pumpkin Carving for K-2 Students

Pumpkin Investigations

Pumpkin Life Cycle
Pumpkin Math
Pumpkin Numbers Game Math Lesson Plan
Pumpkin Patch
Pumpkin, Pumpkin
Pumpkin Puzzler

Pumpkin Science
Pumpkin Unit - Ideas for Teaching
Pumpkins Lesson Plans

Pumpkins Teaching Theme at Little Giraffes Teaching Ideas
Pumpkins - The Life Cycle of a Plant - 1st Grade Science Lesson Plan
Teach Kindergarten Kids How a Pumpkin Grows

Crafts

Bottle Cap Pumpkin Magnet Craft
Clay Pot Pumpkin Bell Craft

Grocery Bag Pumpkin

Halloween Lacing Project
Pumpkin CD Craft

Pumpkin Dominoes Craft
Pumpkin Paper Plate Craft (Easy)
Pumpkin Seed Mosaic

Cooking

How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds (with video)

Pumpkin Doughnut Drops
Pumpkin Marmalade
Pumpkin recipes, ideas and activities for kids Seasonal cooking activities.
Pumpkin Seeds Recipe
Pumpkin Snacks and Treats for Kids

Multimedia

Welcome to Pumpkin Stencil Maker

Virtual Tours

Bottomley Evergreens & Farms Virtual Farm Tour

Music

Five Little Pumpkins
Preschool Pumpkins Songs and Music
Pumpkin Songs

Online Stories

Pumpkin, Pumpkin
The Magic Pumpkin

Online Activities

Carve your pumpkin online
Create your own Online Pumpkin- Virtual Pumpkin Carving!
Halloween Pumpkin Catch Game
OnLine Pumpkin Carving
Pumpkin Jigsaw Puzzle
Pumpkin Online Jigsaw Puzzle
Pumpkin Trivia Quiz

Printouts

Adding Pumpkins Printable Worksheets
How a Pumpkin Grows Cards
How to Grow a Pumpkin Booklet
Pumpkin A-Z Dot to Dot
Pumpkin Adjectives Worksheet
Pumpkin Coloring Pages
Pumpkin-Eater 1-10 Dot to Dot
Pumpkin Patch Word Search
Pumpkin Patterns Worksheet
Pumpkin Problems

Pumpkin Seed Word Sheet
Starfall Pumpkin Patch

Apple Lessons

For some fun Fall apple activities check out my posts on How To Make An Apple Doll and Johnny Appleseed. Plus, visit these sites for more sweet, crunchy fun ;P

Apple Unit Helps
http://www.kinderkorner.com/apple.html
http://www.thevirtualvine.com/apples.html
http://www.thekcrew.net/apples.html
http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/Apple_Math_Booklet.pdf
http://www.teachingheart.net/appleunit.html

Autumn/Fall Unit Helps
http://www.fvsd.ab.ca/stm/autumn%20Themes.htm
http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/leaves.html
http://www.homeschoollearning.com/units/unit_09-21-01.shtml

Seasons Change Lesson Plan

Fall is upon us and oh the changes we will see! Nature provides a vibrant show this time of year. Here are some resources for finding out more about what goes on when the seasons change:

Trees Are Terrific
An Autumn Poem
The Park in Fall - color by number
Fall Foilage Facts
Annie's Fall Links Page
Fall Reading Book List

Earth Science Week Contests and Information

Celebrate Earth Science Week!

Since October 1998, the American Geological Institute has organized this national and international event to help the public gain a better understanding and appreciation for the Earth Sciences and to encourage stewardship of the Earth. This year's Earth Science Week will be held from October 11-17 and will celebrate the theme "Understanding Climate." Take part in the following contests to celebrate Earth Science Week.

* Photography Contest: “How Climate Shapes My World”
* Visual Arts Contest: “The Climate Where I Live”
* Essay Contest: “Climate Connections”
* International Year of Planet Earth & Earth Science Week 2009 Photography Contest: "Exploring Earth Science Around the World"

Earth Science Week 2009 Photography Contest -- Open to All Ages

The American Geological Society is sponsoring a photography contest to celebrate Earth Science Week 2009. Photographs should focus on the topic “How Climate Shapes My World.” The contest is open to any resident of the United States. Participants should submit a picture that best represents the climate in their area. Entries may be submitted electronically or by mail. Only one entry will be accepted per person. The deadline for submitting photos is Oct. 16, 2009.

* http://www.earthsciweek.org/contests/photography/index.html

Earth Science Week 2009 Visual Arts Contest -- Open to Students in Grades K-5

The American Geological Society is sponsoring a visual arts contest to celebrate Earth Science Week 2009. Artwork should focus on the topic “The Climate Where I Live.” The contest is open to students in grades K-5 who are residents of the United States. Participants should submit an original two-dimensional visual arts project that best represents the climate in their area. Entries must be submitted by mail. The deadline for submitting entries is Oct. 16, 2009.

* http://www.earthsciweek.org/contests/visualarts/index.html

Earth Science Week 2009 Essay Contest -- Open to Students in Grades 6-9

The American Geological Society is sponsoring an essay contest to celebrate Earth Science Week 2009. Essays should focus on the theme “Climate Connects.” The contest is open to students in grades 6-9 who are residents of the United States. Participants should submit an original essay no more than 300 words in length, typed, and formatted to fit on one page. Entries may be submitted electronically or by mail. The deadline for submitting entries is Oct. 16, 2009.

* http://www.earthsciweek.org/contests/essay/index.html

International Year of Planet Earth & Earth Science Week 2009 Photography Contest -- Open to All Ages

To celebrate the International Year of Planet Earth and Earth Science Week 2009, the American Geological Institute is sponsoring a major international photography contest. Photographs should focus on the topic “Exploring Earth Science Around the World.” The contest is open to anyone of any age from anywhere around the world. Entries must be submitted electronically. The deadline for submitting photos is Oct. 16, 2009.

* http://www.earthsciweek.org/contests/iypephotocontest/index.html

If you have any questions about any of these contests, please e-mail the Earth Science Week staff at info@earthsciweek.org.

This Day in History - Hurricane Katrina Makes Landfall

Do you remember what you were doing on August 29th, 2005? It's one of those days I remember well, like September 11, 2001 when the U.S. was attacked, or July 16, 1999 when JFK Jr and his wife and sister died in a plane crash. These moments seems to be frozen in time and act as a permanent marker so that we may never forget the victims of these tragedies.

In August 2005 when Katrina hit, it was sweltering hot outside. I had a newborn baby girl and a rambunctious three year old boy who was going through lots of changes. My husband had just returned from deployment in the middle east arriving only a week before our daughter was born. I was holed up in the house with the baby because of the heat (our ac could barely keep up and it was 84 degrees in our living room!). Hubs did his best to keep Aiden busy and let the baby sleep. I remember watching the horrors of Katrina on all the news channels for days. Stories of people trapped on roofs, children washed away from their families in floods, alligators swimming the streets and thousands trapped, helpless. I held my baby tight and counted my blessing over and over again. And prayed for all those who had passed on from this world during the raging storm, and for all those still needing help.

Since hurricane season is upon us (we live on the East Coast), now is a great time to discuss weather disasters and disaster preparedness with your family. A fun project for kids is to keep a hurricane tracker map and mark the coordinates of tropical storms and hurricanes as weather updates come in. Discuss how the coordinates relate to nearby cities and towns, how the strength of the storm changes over time, how predictions in direction are made and what signs signal a need to take cover or get out of harms way. Here are some resources to help you get started:

Weather Wiz Kids
National Weather Service
Hurricane Basics
Orlando Sentinel Hurricane Headquarters
Hurricane Guide Downloadable pdf
Tracking Chart

I have seen first hand the damage a smaller storm can do. During Isabel in 2003, I took my son and my dog and got out of dodge. We came home days later to find no power (for 7 more days), stores, restaurants, stores and gas stations closed, little food to be found and destruction. It was a surreal feeling and one I hope not to revisit.

Edu-links

Well there it is. Another new header for my blog. No, I'm not crazy about it, but at least there isn't a typo anymore. How tacky was that? A "home educator" with a mispelled word in her blog title?! Thank you to each of you who showed restraint and simply ignored by mistake. It really bothered me. Typos are a pet peeve of mine. So, now I have corrected it, but I got frustrated with Gimp and too tired by 1 AM to manage a better graphic. It needs a branch or something, and I really should add dad in there. For now though, it will have to do. And, I am still planning on making a new blog button...one of these days.

By the way, if you haven't heard, Barnes and Noble and Borders are changing their educator discount programs. Be sure to pick up your new cards and save some money on those back to school books (available to teachers and home educators, see store for details).

And here's another cool link. Ever wonder how stuff is made? I love that show! Check this out: How It's Made

Sky Watch: The Perseids Are Coming

From NASA: Earth is entering a stream of dusty debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle, the source of the annual Perseid meteor shower. Although the shower won't peak until August 11th and 12th, the show is already getting underway.

Earth passes through the densest part of the debris stream sometime on August 12th. Then, you could see dozens of meteors per hour.

For sky watchers in North America, the watch begins after nightfall on August 11th and continues until sunrise on the 12th.

On August 12th, the 55% gibbous moon will glare down from the constellation Aries just next door to the shower's radiant in Perseus. The Moon is beautiful, but be careful not to stare at it. Bright moonlight interferes with night vision and it will wipe out any faint Perseids in that part of the sky.

Check here and here for more info.

Online Educational Fun

Hi there,
We're busy little bees here, cleaning and planning and packing for one very long car ride, and our first ever real family vacation, woo hoo! We head out tomorrow and I'll have limited internet access for most of the week (ahhhh...books, nature, three wild children...what could be better?) I do have some fun posts planned so I hope you'll stop by and visit while I'm gone. I'll try my best to catch up on comments and replies when I return. For today, I'm reposting some of my favorite educational resources with a few new ones thrown in. I hope you enjoy exploring them. Have a great weekend!

Explore color and symmetry with this online kaleidoscope maker or by creating your own designer butterflies.

Here is a lesson plan for creating a family tree and even a coat of arms or family crest.

How about fun activities and resources for learning about Congress.

Or, learn about the effects of Global Warming and weather changes.

Economics, economics, the U.S. Treasury and making and managing money.

A poem a day for high schoolers, or mom ;) based on a 180 day school calendar. And poetry for young children.

Also visit electronic zoo (for little ones), dinodictionary and web gallery of art and Ology!

Plus, if you missed homeschool.com's top 100 educational sites, check it out here.

And if those don't strike your fancy, you are sure to find something at Exploratorium.