1. What is your favorite insect? Tell why.
2. Draw and label the parts of an insect. Remember the three body parts--head, thorax, and abdomen. Then add six legs, antennae, and wings.
3. Make a list of all the ways insects can help us.
4. Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Your trip to the tropical rain forest was a big success! You have discovered a new insect. Write a newspaper article to tell the world about your discovery. Remember to include the five Ws: Who? What? Where? When? and Why? Think of a catchy headline for your story.
5. Design a bookmark for your favorite insect book character.
6. Make a list of all the insects you can think of. Make a game, such as a word scramble list or word search. You may also use words pertaining to insects, such as body parts.
7. Be a reporter! Create a one-page newspaper called "The Grasshopper Gazette." Write news articles and stories about grasshoppers. Include pictures with your articles or stories. Use an encyclopedia or reference book to find out more about grasshoppers.
8. Write a riddle about any insect. You should have at least three clues written in complete sentences. Try to stump a friend!
9. How many words can you make using the letters in "praying mantis"?
10. Be a butterfly detective. Look up information about butterflies in a reference book. Cut out a big shape and include at least one picture in your report.

1. Why are butterflies called butterflies? What are some legends and theories about this?
2. Describe a butterfly's wings.
3. Why do you suppose many butterflies are spoken of as "winged flowers?"
4. Explain what caterpillars are.
5. How can you tell butterflies from moths?
6. What are the body parts of a butterfly or any other true insect called?
7. Write a short paragraph explaining how the butterfly uses its antennae.
8. 8. What are butterfly wings made of?
9. What are the purposes of the scents which the butterfly gives off?
10. List the four stages of life through which the butterfly and the moth go. Draw a sketch of each stage.
11. Explain what a compound eye is.
12. List some of the enemies of butterflies. How are butterflies and caterpillars equipped to escape their enemies?
13. What is molting? How many times does a caterpillar molt before it becomes an adult butterfly?
14. How long do some butterflies live?
15. About how many kinds or groups of butterflies are known by scientists?
16. Describe the butterfly's proboscis. How does the butterfly use it? Write two sentences about it.
17. Find out about camouflage, or protective coloration, of the butterfly and moth.
18. What can you find out about the "eyespots" on a butterfly's wings? Why are they there? How do the eyespots help the butterfly?
19. What do butterflies feed upon? What do caterpillars feed upon? Why do you suppose certain butterflies and caterpillars prefer to eat certain foods?
20. How do butterflies help people?
21. Define metamorphosis.
22. Find out about the migration of certain butterflies. Why do they do this?
23. How is a "brush-footed" butterfly different from other butterflies?
24. What United States butterfly is the largest?
25. If you wanted to have a butterfly haven in your yard, what are some of the plants you would grow?
26. Research in depth one or two of the following. Write a paper to share with your classmates.

1. Use a large magnifying glass to examine caterpillars when you find them. Do the same for any chrysalis you find.
2. Go to a museum where collections of butterflies are kept to see different kinds, body and wing markings, etc.
3. Enjoy looking at many pictures of butterflies in books, magazines, filmstrips, or wherever you find them. By studying their pictures you will be more apt to identify them when you see the real ones. You might also carefully observe the caterpillar pictures in order to match or associate them with the butterflies they will become.
4. Sketch a butterfly to show its body parts. Label each part.
5. Use butterflies as motifs to design wallpaper, a bedspread, a bathroom curtain, etc. Select the colors to blend with those of the butterflies.
6. Selma, Alabama, has been declared the butterfly capital of the state. This was achieved by the efforts of a group of garden clubs, beautification and tourism councils, and Girl and Boy Scouts. It was a conservation effort. In 1985 the Alabama Senate designated April 16 as the annual "Save the Butterfly Day" in Alabama. What do you suppose you might do to have your state and/or city declared a butterfly haven?
7. Make a set of flashcards using pictures of butterflies. Write the names of butterflies on the back of each card. Study the pictures, and then have a flashcard contest with a (friend or parent).
8. Sketch and color a desk-size butterfly on cardboard. Cut it into ten or twelve pieces to make a puzzle. See if your (friends or family) can put the puzzle together.
9. Make a short crossword puzzle with words you have learned during your study of butterflies.
10. As a (family), choose a favorite butterfly and form a (group) to make a butterfly flag for your (home) or (somewhere).
11. Select a late spring or early summer month and make a butterfly calendar for that month. Decorate the date squares with colorful butterflies. Make the calendar big enough to be seen easily from the back of the room.
12. Compile all of your accumulated pictures, clippings, sketches, notes, writings,etc. into a (family) booklet. Add drawings, stories, lists, puzzles, and poems."

1. Write a short summary to tell what you think is important to know about the giant panda. Include facts, opinions, and personal reactions.
2. Although pandas have distinct markings, the pandas can seem to disappear if they sense approaching danger. Explain how, despite their black and white fur, they can easily hide . Make a diorama to show how a giant panda's coloring serves as camouflage from enemies.
3. A panda uses all of its senses to protect itself. Write a sense poem from the panda's point of view. I see...I hear...I smell...I taste...I feel.
4. Where did the giant panda once live in China? Where would it be found today? Pinpoint your findings on a map.
5. How do the following physical features:                                                                                    a. help the panda to feed on bamboo?(front paws, jaws, and teeth)                                            b. adapt to the cold climate? (fur
6. Choose a member of the bear family to compare to the giant panda. Find out about its size, feeding habits, climbing and hunting abilities, claws, teeth, and jaws. On a Venn diagram, show how the two animals are alike and different.

1. If a panda kept a diary of everyday occurrences, what would he or she have to say about them?
2. How do you feel about the future of the panda? What would you do if you were a scientist studying the problem? As a zookeeper, how would you educate the public?
3. It is a fact that pandas drink large quantities of water. Two legends have been written to explain this phenomenon. In one, the panda sees his reflection in the water. Thinking it's another panda, he drinks quickly to keep the other panda from getting its share. In the other, he is bothered by the constant running of water as melting snow feeds streams. He tries to stop the flow by drinking it.                                                                                                                             a. Use an idea from above and write the legend in your own words.                                             b. Make up your own story to explain why the panda is so thirsty."

1. Use the information on the chart to write a report about one or more species of penguins.
2. On a map, locate the areas where penguins live. Indicate which species you would find in each area.
3. Compare the penguin with birds who are able to fly. Think how a penguin's wings, feather, bones, and body shape make it well adapted to swimming.
4. Compile a riddle book without giving away the answers too easily. Hints about physical features, location in the southern hemisphere or peculiar nesting habits would be appropriate.
5. Give a thumbnail sketch of one species of penguins. Tell where it lives, what it eats, and who its predators are. Draw a picture of the penguin. This may be put in a class book, displayed on the bulletin board, or used as a flashcard to review facts about the bird.
6. Make a chart showing the average height of the various species. How do they measure up to members of the class?
7. Classify the different species of penguin: largest to smallest; crested to not crested.
8. Compare king and emperor (largest), or emperor and adele (both live in Antarctica).
9. Assemble a glossary of terms. Begin with the following brooding, creche, down, krill, molt, rookery, and tobogganing. What other words could you add that are important to understand when studying penguins? Include them in your glossary.

1. To become more familiar with the names of the various penguin groups, plan a word search you can share with your friends.
2. Assemble a flip ook to capture a penguin walking on land or swimming in the sea.
3. Based on what you know about penguins, write a few journal entries from the point of view of the bird, predator, or scientist.

1. As you read, add to the recorded information and correct errors. Use the information on the chart to write about one species of zebra or to compare two or three types. Include an opening statement, specific information, and a personal observation.
2. Compile a book of stripe patterns to show how the zebra differs from one type to the next. The pattern differences are best seen when viewing the animal from behind.
3. How do the following help to protect the zebra from predators: eyes, ears, nos, feet, and legs? Using a series of verb phrases, describe how each protective feature enables the zebra to escape danger. (Eyes peer across the grassy plains searching the lengthening shadows....)
4. How do the zebra's height, ears, mane, and hooves compare with those of a horse? Make a chart to show the differences between the domesticated horse and the zebra.
5. The same terminaology is used to describe the horse and zebra. Define the following words: stallion, mare, colt, filly, and yearling. Use these definitions tobegin a dictionary of horse/zebra terms.

1.  For a puzzling experiance, write a story abou a zebra using words with as many z's as possible.
2. Write a story to explain why the zebra has stripes.
3. Create imaginary animals by combining outstanding features of two or more animals. What would a zebra-giraffe look like? How about a leopard-zebra? Briefly describe it, tell where it lives, what it eats, and who its predators are. Give your combination animal a name. Use papier-mache to construct models of these unusual animals.

1. Use a rubber stamp of the main character (panda, penguin, or zebra) instead of writing its name when writing a report or story. Other pictures may be added to the rebus writing.
2. Use factual information combined with imagination to create a story about the animal of your choice.
3. If animals could speak, what would they say? Decide on questions you would like to ask pandas, penguins, and/or zebras. How do you suppose they would respond? Write their answers for them and publish the interview.
4. Prepare a mural. Plan what you want to include, draw appropriate pictures, and record the information you wish to share. Write a study guide that can be used to extend the understanding and appreciation of the bird or animal you chose.

1. Think of a catchy phrase to help save the animals. Use your idea to decorate a bumper sticker.
2. Assemble calendars featuring pandas, zebras, and penguins. ... .
3. Make a scene inside a shoe box. Cut a hole at one end to allow viewing the scene. Remove the lid and cover with tissue paper or cut a slit in the lid to admit light.
4. Make a theme mobile. Select (at least) one of the three animals. Use pictures, drawings, interesting information, and imaginative writing.
5. On a piece of butcher paper, design a banner. Include a drawing or photo of the animal and prose or poetry to convey the message you wish to deliver. Attach the completed work to a coat hanger to display

1. If you have a zoo nearby, take pictures of the animals in a natural setting. In the case of the zebra and penguin, include photos of other animals that would be found in the same habitat. Make a poster to display the animal groups.
2. Pretend you are asked to prepare a recording to use at the zoo. What could you say in 45 seconds that would be informative and interesting? You would want to alert the visitor to look for certain markings and behaviors.
3. Write a job description for each of the following members of a zoo staff; director, curator, veterinarian, keeper, other specialists.
4. Suppose you were a member of a staff that was considering displaying penguins in your zoo. What concerns would be discussed? From what you have learned about penguins, how would you go about preparing a living space for these birds? What should be included in their diets? What substitutions might you have to make? Dramatize a meeting between the members of the staff as they consider the plan. (In place of penguins, consider the arrival of a small herd of zebra or the loan of a pair of pandas.)
5. Write a letter to your local zoo congratulating its efforts to provide natural environments or persuading them to update their exhibits.
6. What complaints might the birds/animals have? Write a letter on their behalf describing the problem and presenting a possible solution.

1. Arrange the pictures in the order needed to tell a story. Write an account of what is happening in the sequence of photos.
2. Describe what is happening in the picture. Write a caption or factual explanation. Slip into a photo album to display.
3. Instead of captions use speech balloons. Have the animals do the talking.
4. Use photographs as an inspiration for poetry. Experiment with different types to find a form that best expresses your thoughts and feelings.

1. Use the following open-ended questions to formulate topics for impromptu speeches, reports, or interviews.                                                                                                                              a. How do you feel about _______________________?                                                              b. From what you know of___________________, what do you think_________________?          c. If_________________, what would happen?                                                                          d. Instead of__________________, how would you_______________________?  
2. Today there are animals in the world who are having trouble surviving. Through your reading about the panda, zebra, or penguin, can you pinpoint the problems they are facing and begin to think about solutions? What can we do to better the situation? Make a list of problems faced by the animals. Brainstorm to arrive at ... solutions June 10, 1943 A Hungarian journalist named H. Biro patented The Ballpoint Pen.

1. Compile a book of the "Most Wanted" penguins or zebras. Include their scientific names, descriptions, (including any special features or habits), and their pictures.
2. Put together a book of lists. List ten things:                                                                              a. to remember about a panda, penguin, or zebra.                                                                    b. to see in a bamboo forest.                                                                                                  c. to look for in the Arctic Ocean.                                                                                          d. to avoid during a safari.                                                                                                      e. to notice at the zoo.                                                                                                          f. to do with a toy panda.

1. Apply white crayon heavily to a sheet of black sandpaper. Transfer the design or picture to a piece of black construction paper using a warm iron.
2. Make wrapping paper using rubber stamps and black ink on white paper.
3. Experiment making designs with black ink, paint, crayon, marker, etc. on different sizes of white paper. Use the art as book covers, place mats, or wrapping paper.
4. Make your own note paper using simplified designs of the panda, penguin, or zebra.
5. A silhouette is an outline of an object, filled in with black. Make a silhouette of one of the animals studied in the unit.
6. make refrigerator magnets using homemade craft clay. Roll out the clay, cut around a pattern, paint when dry, and fasten magnetic tape to the back.
7. Construct a loom using a foam tray with the center removed. Use a variety of simple weaving techniques to create a design with yarn.
8. 8. Weave with paper to come up with some unusual patterns. Cut the strips straight, wavy, zigzagged, or combine the three.
9. Make a mosaic using rice to create a representational picture of abstract design. Dye some of the rice black.
10. Use want ads as a background for a crayon or painted picture."

Day 1 of the Summer Session

Posted on July 15, 2014 at 3:00 AM

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Summer Introduction

Posted on July 13, 2014 at 1:17 AM

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Day 179

Posted on June 1, 2014 at 10:22 PM

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Day 177

Posted on May 28, 2014 at 11:32 PM

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Day 171

Posted on May 23, 2014 at 12:44 PM

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Day 163

Posted on May 20, 2014 at 10:11 AM

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Day 160

Posted on May 19, 2014 at 2:22 AM

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Good Morning! Grandma is a little oozy from a bout with fever and chills along with constant sleep yesterday afternoon and into the morning. Not sure if it was from cleaning a dusty basement or something Grandma got else wise. I do not anymore of it for sure.   Grandma is going to start with the Calendar History, then do some science experiments, and start on some more things about the pioneers with one story possible.   May 20, 1851 Emile Berliner, American inventor of the flat-disk phonograph record, was born. Book (1) says, "In honor of American inventor Emile Berliner, have a contest to tap the ingenuity of the "inventors" ... .Ask your ... Librarian to collect books on inventors and inventions. (Grandma believes the video she placed on her one blog tells a lot also. Good prospects include The World Almanac Book of Inventions by Valerie-Anne Giscard d'Estaing and Steve Caney's Invention Book. Have the kids review the books for insights into how inventors came up with their ideas and produced their products. Then challenge (the children) to design and name an invention that would solve an everyday problem. Award small prizes in several categories--for example, wackiest, most futuristic, most sensible. (etc.) In 1935 Carol Carrick, children's author, was born. In 1940 Sadaharu Oh, Japanese baseball player who hit more than 800 career home runs, was born. In 1781 Thomas Hutchins was appointed the First Geographer of the United States. In 1862 President Lincoln signed the Homestead Act, which offered free land in the West to any citizen who would settle it. In 1873 Levi Strauss patented pocket pants. In 1875 The International Bureau of Weights and Measures was established. Therefore, May 20th is Weights and Measures Day. Book (1) says, "On Weights and Measures Day, use a balance scale to weigh a notebook. Record the weight ... . Challenge (the children) to find a combination of classroom objects--pencils, erasers, thumbtacks, and so on--that they think will equal the weight of the notebook. ... Weigh the collections to find out." In 1892 George Sampson patented the Clothes Dryer. In 1927 Charles Lindbergh left New York on the First Solo Transatlantic Flight. Book (1) says, "It took Charles Lindbergh 33 1/2 hours to fly from Long Island, N.Y., to Paris, France. Have your (children) mark his route on a world map, then calculate the number of miles he flew. Next, have the kids find out how long it takes a commercial airliner to make a transatlantic flight today." In 1928 Pride of San Joaquin won the First Calaveras County Frog Jumping Contest. In 1932 Amelia Earhart began a solo flight across the Atlantic. In 1985 The FBI broke up the infamous Walker Spy Ring with the arrests of retired naval officer John Walker and his son Michael. John Walker's brother Arthur also was later arrested. On May 21st 1471 Albrecht Durer, German artist, was born. Book (1) says, "(Children) can celebrate the birthday of Albrecht Durer by doing their own animal observation sketches. To begin, show students examples of Durer's works, such as The Hare. Tell the children that Durer felt a true artist had only to observe nature carefully in order to capture it in art." Take a picture of a pet and observe it 20 minutes each day sketching pictures of it that can be displayed with the photo later. In 1688 Alexander Pope, British poet, was born. In 1878 Glen Curtiss, American inventor of the seaplane, was born. In 1881 Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross Society. In 1927 Charles Lindbergh landed at le Bourget Airport in Paris, thus completing the First Nonstop Solo Transatlantic Flight. In 1932 Amelia Earhart became the First Woman to complete a Solo Transatlantic Flight, from Newfoundland to Ireland. Book (1) says, "Tell your (children) that Amelia Earhart, achieved a number of aviation firsts in her lifetime. Before flying solo across the Atlantic, she had been the first female passenger on a transatlantic flight. She was also the first woman to fly from Honolulu to the U.S. mainland and the first woman to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross. Have your (children) each name another person--family member, friend, community member, celebrity, or sports star--who achieved an important first. Then have the kids design a medallion for that person. In 1972 Jane Dorst of Atherton, Calif., released a Helium Balloon with her name and address inside. It was found 200 days later in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. In 1974 The First Nuclear-powered Lighthouse began operating. In 1980 The Empire Strikes Back, the sequel to Star Wars, opened. Lastly, it is All-American Buckle-up Week. Book (1) says, "During All-American Buckle-Up Week, have your (children) create buckle-up slogans and write these on plain mailing labels." These can be stuck on various places for display, you decide where.     Grandma is now going to give you some experiments on Electricity, The last ones on Static electricity, I may have already given you but, you can have them again. These are all from Grandma's book(12). The first one is called Potato battery. Stick finger-length pieces of copper and zinc wire one at a time into a raw potato. If you hold an earphone on the wires, you will hear a distinct crackling. The noise is caused by an electric current. The potato and wires produce an electric current in the same way as a torch battery, but only a very weak one. The sap of the potato reacts with the metals in a chemical process and also produces electrical energy. We speak of a galvanic cell because the Italian doctor Galvani first observed this process in a similar experiment in 1789. Link to Alessandra Volta who invented the Battery.   The next experiment is called Coin current. Place several copper coins and pieces of sheet zinc of the same size alternately above one another, and between each metal pair insert a piece of blotting paper soaked in salt water. Electrical energy, which you can detect, is set free. Wind thin, covered copper wire about 50 times round a compass, and hold one of the bare ends on the last coin and one on the last zinc disk. The current causes a deflection of the compass needle. In a similar experiment the Italian physicist Volta obtained a current. The salt solution acts on the metal like the sap in the potato in the previous experiment.   Graphite conductor is the name of the next experiment. Connect a torch bulb with a battery by means of a pair of scissors and a pencil. The bulb lights up. From the long tongue of the battery, the negative pole, the current flows through the metal of the scissors to the lamp. It makes it glow, and flows through the graphite shaft to the positive pole of the battery. Therefore graphite is a good conductor; so much electricity flows even through a pencil "lead" on paper, that you can hear crackling in earphones.   The next experiment being called Mini-Microphone is as follows: Push two pencil leads through the short sides of a matchbox, just above the base. Scrape off some of the surface, and do the same with a shorter lead, which you lay across the top. Connect the microphone with a battery and earphone in the next room (You can take the earphone from a transistor radio.) Hold the box horizontal and speak into it. Your words can be heard clearly in the earphone. The current flows through the graphite "leads". When you speak into the box, the base vibrates, causing pressure between the "leads". When you speak into the box, the base vibrates, causing pressure between the "leads" to alter and making the current flow unevenly. The current variations cause vibrations in the earphone.   The next experiment called Mysterious circles is as follows: Punch a length of copper wire through a piece of cardboard laid horizontally and connect the ends of the wire to a battery. Scatter iron fillings on to the cardboard and tap it lightly with your finger. The iron filings form circles round the wire. If a direct current is passed through a wire or another conductor, a magnetic field is produced round it. The experiment would not work with an alternating current, in which the direction of the current changes in rapid sequence, because the magnetic field would also be changing continuously.   The next experiment is Electro-magnet. Wind one to two yards of thin insulated wire on to an iron bolt and connect the bare ends of the wire to a battery. The bolt will attract all sorts of metal objects. The current produces a field of force in the coil. The tiny magnet particles in the iron become arranged in an orderly manner, so that the iron has a magnetic north and south pole. If the bolt is made of soft iron, it loses its magnetism when the current is switched off, but if it is made of steel it retains it. The next experiment is called Electro-buzzer. Nail board B (a long 1" in width the length of a square piece 5" x 5"-A) and two rectangle wooden blocks around 1/2" to 3/4" on each side about 5" long each-C and D. D has a slit in it to hold another 1/4" wide both ways-E with a little room to sway both ways. C is nailed to the long thin board B on the closet to you right corner on the edge of A square board. D is given a little more than an inch on the board. D is placed at the far end of you on the left side given that area of a little more than an inch on the square board A. The smaller but longer almost 4" board is laid in the slot of D running from the further end of you then coming toward the end next to you. Attach a bolt into a bored hole of B on the opposite end of the square board a across from the board C. (a long screw screwed into the board could work as well).Wind covered copper wire G 100 times round the bolt and connect the ends to a battery with a paper clip and respectively to H a fretsaw blade Bore into a hole of board C. H should be bored in which the other end lays close to the screw or bolt F. Hammer a long nail K through the middle of the square board A and bend it so that its point rests in the middle of the saw blade H. Oil the point of the nail. Attach a piece of beading into the inside edge of Board E laying close to C. Use a drawing pin-M on the bottom of board E that can match up to another drawing pin-N on the square board A. At he other end of board E is a rubber band-P used as a spring. Join K to M and N to a battery with a paper clip and stripped wire. If you press the key down, you connect the electric circuit, bolt F becomes magnetic and attracts H. At this moment the circuit is broken at K and the bolt loses its magnetism. H jumps back and reconnects the current. This process is repeated so quickly that the saw blade vibrates and produces a loud buzz. If you wish to do morse signaling with two pieces of apparatus, you must use three leads as in the lower circuit diagram.   The last experiment in this section is called Light fan. Hold a light-coloured rod between your thumb and forefinger and move it quickly up and down in neon light. You do not see, as you might expect, a blurred, bright surface, but a fan with light and dark ribs. Neon tubes contain a gas, which flashes on and off 50 times a second because of short breaks in alternating current. The moving rod is thrown alternatively into light and darkness in rapid sequence, so that it seems to move by jerks in a semi-circle. Normally the eye is too slow to notice these breaks in illumination clearly. In an electric light bulb the metal filament goes on glowing during the short breaks in current.   The next 8 experiments are around Static Electricity. The first one is called Clinging balloons. Blow up some balloons, tie them up and rub them for a short time on a woolen pullover. If you put them on the ceiling, they will remain there for hours. The balloons become electrically charged when they are rubbed, that is, they remove minute, negatively charged particles, called electrons, from the pullover. Because electrically charged bodies attract those which are uncharged, the balloons cling to the ceiling until the charges gradually become equal. This generally takes hours in a dry atmosphere because the electrons only flow slowly into the ceiling, which is a poor conductor.   The next experiment is called Pepper and salt. Scatter some coarse salt onto the table and mix it with some ground pepper. How are you going to separate them again? Rub a plastic spoon with a woolen cloth and hold it over the mixture. The pepper jumps up to the spoon and remains sticking to it. The plastic spoon becomes electrically charged when it is rubbed and attracts the mixture. If you do not hold the spoon too low, the pepper rises first because it is lighter than the salt. To catch the salt grains, you must hold the spoon lower.   The next experiment is called Coiled adder. Cut a spiral-shaped coil from a piece of tissue paper about 4 inches square, lay it on a tin lid and bend its head up. Rub a fountain pen vigorously with a woolen cloth and hold it over the coil. It rises like a living snake and reaches upwards In this case the fountain pen has taken electrons from the woolen cloth and attracts the uncharged paper. On contact, the paper takes part of the electricity, but gives it up immediately to the lid, which is a good conductor. Since the paper is now uncharged again, it is again attracted, until the fountain pen has lost its charge.   The next experiment is called water bow. Once more rub a plastic spoon with a woolen cloth. Turn the water tap on gently and hold the spoon near the fine jet. At this point, the jet will be pulled towards the spoon in a bow. The electric charge attracts the uncharged water particles. However, if the water touches the spoon, the spell is broken. Water conducts electricity and draws the charge from the spoon. Tiny water particles suspended in the air also take up electricity. Therefore experiments with static electricity always work best on clear days and in centrally heated rooms.   The next experiment is called Hostile Balloons. Blow two balloons right up and join them with string. Rub both on a woolen pullover and let them hang downwards from the string. They are not attracted, as you might expect, but float away from each other. Both balloons have become negatively charged on rubbing because they have taken electrons from the pullover, which has now gained a positive charge. Negative and positive charges attract each other, so the balloons will stick to the pullover. Similar charges, however, repel one another, so the balloons try hard to get away from each other.   The next experiment is called Shooting puffed rice. Charge a plastic spoon with a woolen cloth and hold it over a dish containing puffed rice. The grains jump up and remain hanging on the spoon and cling to it for a time. Some of the electrons pass from the spoon into the puffed rice, until the grains and the spoon have the same charge. Since, however, like charges repel one another, we have this unusual drama.   The next experiment is called Simple Electroscope. Bore a hole through the lid of a jam jar and push a piece of copper wire bent into a hook through it. Hang a folded strip of aluminum foil over the back. If you hold a fountain pen, comb, or similar object which has been electrically charged by rubbing on the top of the wire, the ends of the strip spring apart. On contact with a charged object, electrical charges flow through the wire to the ends of the strip. Both now have the same charge and repel one another according to the strength of the charge.   The next is called Electrical ball game. Fix a piece of aluminum foil cut into the shape of a footballer on the edge of a phonograph record, rub the record vigorously with a woolen cloth and place it on a dry glass. Put a tin can about two inches in front of the figure. If you hold a small aluminum foil ball on a thread between them, it swings repeatedly from the figure to the can and back. The electric charge on the record flows into the aluminum-foil figure and attracts the ball. It becomes charged, but is immediately repelled because the charges become equal, and goes to the can, where it loses its electricity. This process is repeated for a time.   The next experiment is called Electric fleas. Rub a long playing record with a woolen cloth and place it on a glass. If you toss some small aluminum foil-balls on to the record, they will jump away from one another in a zig-zag motion. If you then move the balls together with your fingers, they will hop fiercely away again. The electricity produced on the record by rubbing is distributed in irregular fields. The balls take up the charge and are repelled, but are again attracted to fields with the opposite charge. They will also be repelled when they meet balls with the same charge.   The next experiment is called Puppet dance. Lay a pane of glass across two books, with a metal plate underneath. Cut out dolls an inch or so high from tissue paper. If you rub the glass with a woolen cloth, the dolls underneath begin a lively dance. They stand up, turn round in a circle, fall, and spring up again. The glass becomes electrically charged when it is rubbed with the wool, attracts the dolls, and also charges them. Since the two like charges repel each other, the dolls fall back on the plate, give up their charge to the metal and are again attracted to the glass.   Next is called High voltage. Place a flat baking tray on a dry glass, rub a blown-up balloon vigorously on a woolen pullover and place it on the tray. If you put your finger near the edge of the tray, a spark jumps across. A voltage equalization occurs between the metal and the finger. Although, the spark is discharged with several thousand volts, it is just as harmless as the sparks produced when you comb your hair. An American scientist discovered that a cat's fur must be stroked 9,200,000,000 times to produce a current sufficient to light a 75-watt bulb for a minute.   The next experiment is called Flash of lightning. Place a metal slice on a dry glass(it shows an old metal spatula with the handle broken off), and on it a piece of hard foam plastic which you have rubbed well on your pullover. If you hold your finger near the handle of the slice, a spark jumps across. When the negatively charged plastic is placed on the slice, the negative electric particles in the metal are repelled to the end of the handle, and the voltage between it and the finger becomes equalized. Plastic materials can become strongly charged. In warehouses, for example, metal stands for rolls of plastic are earthed because otherwise they often spark when they are touched by the personnel.   The last experiment under Static Electricity, is called Electric light. In many homes there is a voltage tester, generally in the form of a screwdriver. In its handle there is, amongst other things, a small neon tube which you can easily remove. Hold one metal end firmly and rub the other on a piece of hard foam plastic which may be used for insulation. The lamp begins to glow as it is rubbed to and fro, and you can see this particularly clear in the dark. Since the plastic is soft, its layers are rubbed against one another by the movement of the lamp and become strongly charged with electricity. The electrons collect on the surface, flow through the core of the tiny lamp, which begins to glow and into the body. The ancient Greeks had already discovered that amber attracted other substances when it was rubbed. They called the petrified resin 'electron'. The power which has caused such fundamental changes in the world since then therefore gets its name-electricity.       This next part is on the Pioneers. First link to Smokey Mountain Pioneers and then to the movement of the Oregon Trails, Sturh Museum, and Ozark Territory. Then a look at the Old Sod Houses of the Pioneers. In beginning of the story Little House on the Prairie, Grandma's book (185) wants us to understand that it "is a book based on one girl's memories of her family." Memories could be told long before Grandma's time, but most of the people living on the prairie have long died. Much of what we have is in museums, memories told to children born in the depression, and in books as this one.   The Story Summary says "One day toward the end of winter, Charles Ingalls (Pa) announces to his wife Caroline (Ma) that the big woods of Wisconsin are becoming too crowded. He has decided they will travel west to Indian country. So they sell their little log house, build a covered wagon, and move and settle out West. All that year, Ma, Pa, Laura, May, and Baby Carrie put their hearts and their hard work into their new home. Then suddenly word comes from the government that the land where they have built their home belongs to the Osage Indians. The settlers will have to move on. Sad to leave, but looking forward to new adventures, the Ingalls family packs their wagon once again for another journey.   In Meet the Author: Laura Ingalls Wilder Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957) was born in a "little house in the big woods" in Pepin, Wisconsin, on February 7 to Charles and Caroline Ingalls. In 1870 the Ingalls family journeyed west to homestead in Kansas. When the government informed them in 1871 that they had settled on land belonging to the Osage Indians, they moved on to Minnesota, where they lived on the "banks of Plum Creek." Finally in 1855, Laura married Almanzo Wilder, and 1886, their daughter Rose was born in De Smet, South Dakota. The Wilders eventually settled in a one-room log cabin in Mansfield, MIssouri, where they later built their own home-a ten-room farmhouse. Laura always considered herself a partner in her husband's business. She did not begin writing professionally until 1932 at age 65.   Information on the illustrator, Garth Williams, is as follows: Garth Williams was born in New York City on April 16, 1912, of English parents, both of whom were artists. Educated in England, Williams studied at the Westminster Art School and the Royal College of Art. Williams returned to the United States in 1941 to work as an artist for The New Yorker magazine. He was asked to illustrate E.B. White's Stuart Little in 1944, and he has been a children's book illustrator ever since. Before beginning the illustrations for the 1953 Harper edition of the "Little House" books, Williams visited Mr. and Mrs. Wilder in their home in Mansfield, Missouri, and then actually followed the route that the Ingalls family took in their covered wagon.   What Grandma had obtained from her family history has been mainly given to her by her mother. My father's last name was Karnes and their family moved from Wichita Kansas to Denver , CO after my grandfather was grown and married my Mother in Colorado Springs. He was very intelligent and became an accountant and eventually an office manager for a trucking company as I grew up. He grew up in Kansas and played the saxophone. His father wrote some and was a traveling salesman at some time. His mother had seven children. My mother's family has some history that is very valuable. Her relations carried a woman from Iowa carrying the last name of Henry VIII last wife. We still have more research to do in that area. Her mother's father was born on a ship coming into New Orleans who settled in Waverly, Nebraska training horses. He loaded up the horses and his big family and moved to Alliance, Nebraska. My mother's father was born of my mother's grandparents who had some other children They raised my mother after her mother died when my mother was 2 years old. The each played instruments for their churches and lived on the river till they moved in town with the girls, my mother and aunt. I remember my Aunt Myrtle, a very sweet and strong woman, large built and an amazing old fashioned home. For some reason I know I loved her. My mother's father and grandmother were hard on my mother, but she said her grandfather was very sweet. She said she and my aunt took care of their grandmother before she died. They remember fixing her hair and cooking. She remembers chopping wood and starting the morning fire to dress by. She said she had family that was born as twins and they were kept warm by the back of the stove as in an incubator. They survived till an old age. Twins seems to be in both sides because a cousin had a set even though one died. My brothers son just had a set also, they are very cute. I do not know much more than that, other than that my grandmother helped my grandfather when she could. However, her family would not take the girls in. I have seen a few museums in my lifetime but have no collections of my own but one bowl. I do know it was a hard life. I do know my aunt's ranch 12 miles out did not have telephone until later in the 50's and much of the ponds were ruined from practice by the army on the lands. They did raise quite a bit of cattle though.   This all Grandma can handle tonight. I will write more tomorrow and cover as much as possible. It is going to be a long week, so be prepared.

Day 153 and 154

Posted on April 24, 2014 at 11:57 AM

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