The Reinvention of Edison Thomas
About the Book: Eddy Thomas can read a college physics book, but he can’t read the emotions on the faces of his classmates at Drayton Middle School. He can spend hours tinkering with an invention, but he can’t stand more than a few minutes in a noisy crowd, like the crowd at the science fair, which […]
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Exploration and Observation: Make a Sundial
Lots of attention has been paid to the Mayan calendar lately, but the Mayans actually had many scientific achievements, including astronomy, agriculture, and this week’s activity, sundials. Even Max Murphy could handle this one! This guest post was written by one of my very favorite people, Laura Cotts. Laura has taught math, physics, and astronomy courses and […]
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Desert Animal Olympics
In this week’s book, One Day in the Desert by Jean Craighead George, we met tons of cool desert animals: roadrunner, peccaries, tarantulas, headstand beetles, desert tortoises, honey pot ants, elf owls, foxes, and even a mountain lion. These animals have all made adaptations so they’re fit to live in such a dry climate. But they’re amazing […]
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One Day in the Desert
About the Book: As day breaks in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, a wounded mountain lion limps toward a Papago Indian hut. The lion fears people, but today he is desperately hungry. And he has caught the scent of Birdwing and her mother. Then a loud thunderclap warns Birdwing, the mountain lion, and all the creatures […]
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Bird Behavior Scavenger Hunt
In this week’s book, Moonbird by Phillip Hoose, we read the true story of a bird that’s flown an amazing distance in its life. This week’s science activity is a guest post by biologist (and good friend) Kate Grandison, who knows a whole lot about birds. Take it away, Kate! Look what that bird’s doing! Birds not only […]
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Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95
About the Book:B95 can feel it: a stirring in his bones and feathers. It’s time. Today is the day he will once again cast himself into the air, spiral upward into the clouds, and bank into the wind.He wears a black band on his lower right leg and an orange flag on his upper left, […]
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Modern-Day Vermeer
In this week’s book, Chasing Vermeer, Petra and Calder saved a famous painting by paying attention to details and never giving up. They also learned that there are imitation Vermeer paintings that people used to think were the real thing! For this week’s art activity, we’re not going to make an imitation Vermeer, we’re going to […]
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Chasing Vermeer
About the Book: A puzzling art theft is solved by two sixth-grade sleuths in a first-rate first novel by Blue Balliett, illustrated by Series of Unfortunate Events artist Brett Helquist. Cut from similar cloth to The Da Vinci Code while harkening back to E. L. Konigsburg and Agatha Christie, Balliett’s book follows young Petra Andalee and Calder Pillay […]
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Drawing Like Audubon: Learning to See
Today’s guest post is from artist, author, and all-around lovely person Kate Birch. Visit her blog here and look for some of her own original artwork! Kate took a page out of this week’s book, Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt, and gives us this great activity so we can learn to draw from Audubon’s work just like […]