I’ve been in our classroom cleaning, sorting through books and trying to get things ready for a new school year.  I remembered meeting Greg Trine last fall and how fun it was to create stories with him.  I checked out  the Melvin Beederman site and that got me thinking…

What if everyone in your family had a super power?

Which family member would have which super power and how would it work?

What would your super power be?

I’d love to know what you dream up.  What could your story be?

…you just found a treasure map!  What will you do next?  Will you look for the treasure on your own?  Will you find someone to help you on your adventure?  What supplies with you need?

And then, once you’ve found the treasure, now what?

Have fun creating and imagining – your life is full of treasures already!  What will you do in this story?

What if…

… a ship loaded with animals got blown off course in a storm.  Off the coast of Argentina the ship was swamped and the animals had to swim to safety.  After what seemed like forever, a giraffe and a lemur found themselves together on the shore of Antartica.  Write the story of how their friendship formed  and how some penguins helped them survive until their rescue came.

We’d love to read your story.  If you have a chance, leave it in a comment below.

At the beginning of the school year we read The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau.  Do you remember how he taught himself to paint?  Do you remember how he kept entering contests and being told how terrible his work was?  But finally he painted The Sleeping Gypsy and everything changed.

Mordicai Gerstein used that painting to create a whole new story called The Sleeping Gypsy.  Using that idea, I thought it might be fun to tell the stories behind other famous works of art.

Here are a few.  If you’re inspired, leave your story in a comment. Have fun!

For the past three days I’ve been exploring water, woods and fields at a science institute for teachers.  We made hygrometers.  We created ph test solutions.  We examined all different kinds of environments, and we made a woodland terrarium.  The teacher who lead us in this activity shared three different types of terrariums: freshwater, wetlands and woodlands.  The freshwater terrarium was full of copepods and algae.  We could see them without a microscope,  That terrarium had been thriving for nearly 15 years!  The wetland terrarium was full of moss and small plants.  It had been thriving for 8 years!  And finally, the woodland terrarium had been thriving for nearly 2 years.  It was full of wintergreen plants, ferns, moss and all the microorganisms that are in soil.

I couldn’t believe how long these “habitats-in-a-jar” had been thriving!

I made a woodland habitat.  I wonder how long it will survive.  I can’t wait to see.  I thought you might like to make one too.

Here’s what you need:

• 1 clear liter bottle cut into two pieces – 2/3’s at the bottom, 1/3 at the top (Ask for help starting the cut.  Once a hole is made, you can cut the bottle with scissors.  Draw a line if you want it to be straight.)
• coarse gravel – fish tank gravel or collected from your yard
• soil from the forest where you’re collecting the plants
• moss and small plants
• clear utility tape

Here’s what to do:

• Cut the bottle
• Put 1 inch course gravel in the bottom (you need to let the roots breathe)
• Put 2 inches of soil on top of the gravel
• Put a few plants – not too many because your terrarium isn’t very big – in/on the soil.
• Cover the soil and plant roots with small pieces of moss.  The plant stems will stick between the different mosses.
• Spray the whole thing generously with water.  If the sides of your bottle got dirty, “spritz” the dirt away.
• Place the top piece back on your bottle and tape the two pieces together.  Make sure the bottle is completely sealed.  You don’t want any air to  get in.

That’s it.  I noticed that my terrarium began to get foggy in a few minutes.  That’s because the plants were breathing.  Now I’ll wait to see what happens.

PS – I wish mine wasn’t cut in half, but higher up.  I think you’d be able to see the plants better.  That’s why I put one third/two thirds in the direction.

I also learned from my teacher, Mr. Zink, that you could put just one part of a fern leaf in the terrarium.  It will grow roots and become a plant.  You might want to give that a try too.

I’ll bring my terrarium to school at the end to the summer.  I wonder how it will change! Stop by to see it.

Let me know about your terrarium adventures in a comment below.

It’s Friday and I have something fun you might like to do.  A few days ago I came across this project.  Debbie Ripath Ohi, author/illustrator of I’m Bored, a book we loved and laughed with, created a Look Again:  Found Objects Doodles project. She explains to project  and shows lots of examples here on her blog.  This is how she opens the challenge:

DEBBIE’S 2016 SUMMER “LOOK AGAIN” CHALLENGE FOR YOUNG WRITERS AND ARTISTS

I invite young writers and artists aged 6-12 to enter my second annual Summer “Look Again” Challenge! I’ll choose a selection to display in a special gallery later this year. One entry per child. Deadline: August 15th, 2016.

You can read all the rules here:  2016 Summer LOOK AGAIN Challenge for Young Writers and Artists.

I can’t participate in the project (too old:)), but I did have fun creating.  Here are a couple of my doodles.  I used a rubber band to make the body of my hamster and feathers I collected in our yard for the dragonfly.  What things do you see when you look again?  Have fun creating!  I hope you’ll share them in a comment if you do!  Happy Creating!

Mrs. Eaves

 

A few years ago I discovered this craft book and craft.  Click on craft for directions.

I was trying to come up with a Friday post to share with you, and I thought of this.  I can imagine so many of you having fun making these for pencil pals.  I wish I had thought of it while we were in school when we did our animal studies.  I wonder how a flamingo would have looked, or a caribou, a jaguar or a koala. Have fun making one or two!

When you’ve made your own pipe cleaner pal, please post your creation with your comment.

I hope your summer has begun perfectly.  I am missing you a ton.  Enjoy every day!

Mrs. Eaves