Well, here we go again!

Well, here we go again. Another school year begins on Tuesday. Lots of years since 1973, but I'm still having fun!

Kettle Moraine Ice Age Center

I met parents and students last night for our open house. It  was great to see the enthusiasm from 8th graders when told about our field trip to study glacial deposits next Friday.

More to come on this next week!

Parnell Tower

Photos from Wikimedia Commons

Make Tissue Paper Hot Air Balloons in your Maker Space!

Thanks to Scholaris Gifted Academy for featuring us in their newsletter! Here is an excerpt on our tissue paper hot air balloons. We love this hands on project that requires so few (and inexpensive) materials. It's a perfect project for a Maker Space in your classroom.

Launching our tissue paper hot air balloons at Scholaris Gifted Academy!
That's me next to the torch that heats the air.

"During The Science of Gases students experimented with gases using, among other items, chemicals, liquid nitrogen, ping pong balls, and balloons. It was wonderful to see students discover the excitement of learning through hands on activities. In Imagine, Construct, and FLY!students designed, built, and flew hot air balloons using tissue paper and propane gas. They also constructed and launched bottle rockets and air pressure rockets. Distance was measured so that our scientists could go back to the work room and make any necessary changes to their rocket to increase speed and distance. It was amazing to see the students engage in these projects with overwhelming enthusiasm and creativity."

Survivor-Students



Breakfast on our fire that we started with flint and steel.

My fifth grade students studied books on survival during January and February. We read Hatchet, Brian's Winter, Call It Courage, and Frozen Stiff. Based on our research of survival skills and knowledge gleaned from the books we planned a "Survival Night" out on the prairie.

Last weekend we built our shelter, cooked over a campfire, and gathered firewood. The temp was about 38 during the day and dropped to 20 at night.

We took away some valuable lessons! We were warm enough when our fire was going but did not have enough wood to last the entire night. We also should have set up our shelter on snow, not concrete.

Looks like we have some work to do before starring on Survivorman!

The kids had a great time and said they would do it again. I'd call that a success!

We built our shelter next to the fire to capture heat.