What Do You Know About Beavers?

 I've always been intrigued by the work ethic and engineering skills of beavers. They are such shy creatures and it is a rare gift to see one swimming, working, or waddling along the shore.  Visit the Growing With Science Blog this week; take some time to learn about beavers and their quiet, industrious lives.  The kids and I will be working on developing focused Wonder Questions this week.  Our goal is to use the Big Idea or Main Idea with supporting details when we craft our written responses to our own questions. Use the beaver resources below to help your child identify the big idea or main idea of a nonfiction selection and to select supporting details.  Your child can talk about main idea and supporting details with you; they can also use their gathered information to write a blog post at: The IMA Kids blog.

Enjoy a learning adventure at this wonderful site:

http://blog.growingwithscience.com/

Here's another great learning link:  http://depts.washington.edu/natmap/facts/beaver_k6.html

http://animal.discovery.com/mammals/beaver/

Did you know:  Costly Construction: With its dam-building activities, the American beaver causes roughly $100 million in property damages every year. 

This fact will not deter my appreciation of the second largest rodent in the world!

Finally:  a great video to share!

Visit the National Geographic Video Website

How are seedless grapes grown and can you grow grapes from seeds?

How often do you pass by the grapes in the grocery store?  How often do you buy grapes and enjoy them as a snack?  Have you ever wondered how such a tidy, seed-free snack is grown?  Here is a great science and nonfiction reading website that you can use for wonder questions and home learning.  Enjoy the  Growing With Scienceblog. You can use the sidebar to find topics of interest.  Happy Learning!

How are seedless grapes grown?

New Math Resource

New Math Resource

Here is a new math resource for home learning!  There is an activity for every kind of learner.  Enjoy!

http://www.ixl.com/

 

 

Animals: Dressing For Winter

Today my family and I spent the afternoon sledding.  We had a great time zooming down the hills, enjoying the sun, and making the most of our time outside.  When we got home, we peeled off many layers: boots, coats, hats, gloves, ski pants...you know the list! Then we enjoyed hot cocoa in front of our fireplace. 

We started talking about the animals that stay around and stay awake for winter; how do they manage through the colder days and nights of the winter season?  I remembered a recent post on eNature.  This winter article was a perfect read for a winter evening; take time to read about the ways animals cope with winter and remember to watch for wildlife in your yard and at the local parks during the coming months. Before you read this entry, ask yourself:  How do animals prepare for winter?

Big Universe!

Big Universe

 Chapman now has a school-wide membership to Big Universe, a digital book resource that the IMA kids piloted during November and December.  We are happy to announce that all Chapman kids and families will now have access to this resource through June 2012.  You will find a variety of fiction and nonfiction appropriate for all ages and interests.  With over 2,500 titles, our kids will always have a book for home reading and research.

IMA has new log-in information for home and school use.  If you are a member of Team Smith, you will use the following information:

Username: Team_Smith

password: smith

group name: chapman

If you are a member of Team Marlatt, you will use the following information:

Username: Team_Marlatt

password: marlatt

group name: chapman

Let us know if you have any questions about this resource.  Happy Reading!

A New Resource For Home Learning

Dear IMA Families:

Here is a link to a website packed with many learning opportunities for kids. Have fun exploring the learning activities and games.  There are different test prep activities too.  Let us know which activities that you find helpful. 

@ Waynesfield-Goshen 

Home Learning Resources

Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day

Here is the information from Ohio State's Engineering Program and the Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day . We will let you know when registration opens. It is probably a good idea to get on the WIE mailing list so you can register your daughters as soon as possible. This day-long experience is an amazing opportunity for our girls. Sorry guys! We are looking for a similar experience for you! If you know of any other science, technology,engineering, and mathematics opportunities for elementary students, please forward the information to us.

(I attended this event last year with Anna and several other IMA girls and families and cannot say enough positive comments about the day. I'm a Purdue graduate and have been to similar events in the past; OSU provided a fantastic experience for the girls and parents that attended the parent orientation sessions. Let me know if you have any questions.)

Here is the info and link:

Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day (IGED) is a day for girls who are interested in engineering and are in Grades 3-6 in the 2010-2011 school year. IGED is run annually with the help of college students from Ohio State's  Engineering program. This year's IGED will be Saturday, May 21st. To be added to next year's interest list, please e-mail: 

[ mailto:wieoutreach@osu.edu ]wieoutreach@osu.edu

Another link:  http://wie.osu.edu/content/wie-pre-college-programs 

Resouce links can be found here:  http://wie.osu.edu/content/related-links

Cool Sign

Made with My Cool Signs.Net