Our summer camp class been studying the theme “Under the Sea” and “Water World” for the past couple of weeks.  We each brought a fish bowl to Camp and were given a goldfish of our very own!  We filled our fishbowls with water.  We picked one fish out of the bag and put them into our own fish bowl we brought from home.  We fed our fish goldfish flakes.  We fed him every other day for one week.  We also cleaned out the bowls and gave our fish fresh water.  After one week, we took the fish home to the families that wanted a pet.  The rest of the fish went into the Camp Aquarium.  This was so much fun to watch our fish grow.  It taught us a great deal of responsibility!

Today, we studied dry ice.

The students could only touch the dry ice with rubber gloves on.  It is so cold that if you touch it with your bare skin, it could burn you!  We were very careful when handling the dry ice.

We started out by sticking a block of dry ice into a plastic tub.  Immediately, it started sublimating, or turning from a solid to a gas.  We poured water on top of the dry ice to make a lot of fog appear.  Next, we poured soap in with the water to create foam and bubbles!

Each student had a turn to put on the rubber gloves and hold the dry ice.  It started fogging a lot!  The students were thrilled at watching the sublimation and they commented on all the things of which it reminded them: ghosts, movies, fog and steam.

All of us had a blast.

Our students found that balloons are not just for displaying – they can teach important math concepts. During our after school enrichment program, Ms. Mandy had students use balloons to identify colors, count objects, and even create patterns.

This was not a “sit down and learn” lesson. Children were actively engaged as they were asked to stand up, form lines, and count together. As you will see from the pictures, students were allowed to take full advantage of the beautiful day by doing their lessons outdoors. Ms. Mandy has also done several other lessons with balloons already in her summer camp class.

So, what can you do with a balloon?  Wait and see – I’m sure we’ll have more updates to follow!

A student holds an owl pellet during their dissection activity.

During the school age student’s Eco-Friend strand, students were posed with the question, “What is an Owl Pellet?” Throughout the Wild Animals unit, students explored characteristics of owls including the following facts they shared prior to our dissection: “Owls sleep during the day and are awake at night because they are nocturnal” and “Owls have big eyes that see very well at night so they can catch food when it is dark outside” and “Owls like to eat mice and rodents.”

Remnants from the dissected pellets.

This previous knowledge spurred on a thoughtful discussion about why owls cannot digest an entire animal causing them to cough up remains of animals leaving us with owl pellets to dissect!

Students dissect their owl pellets.

Students were encouraged to observe drawings and diagrams to identify what may be found in an owl pellet and what items to look out for in the dissection.

Next, prior to the dissection, students were asked to make predictions of what they might find in their owl pellets. Most students wanted to find fur and bones in their owl pellet and some wanted to find animals skulls!

The school age class is so brave to take on such an activity and had a wonderful experience! Students were encouraged to gently dissect their owl pellet to prevent breakage of animal bones and to look very carefully for even the smallest bones! Each student found: fur, bones, teeth, jaws and at least parts of an animal skull! Some students discovered an entire mouse skull!

Students were also encouraged to run water over their findings to remove any excess fur from the bones for better observation.

Students were encouraged to describe and look for detail in their findings. The description conversation that followed included, “The bones were so tiny,” “the fur smells bad” and “the mouse teeth are so long!” Finally, students placed their findings in plastic bags for further observation and discussion.

If you’re considering summer enrollment for your child, we’re encouraging parents to sign up soon for The Grove School. That ensures your child’s participation in our amazing Summer Program, which introduces children to five of the world’s ecological biomes through activities, books and hands-on lessons.

We’ll use math, literacy, science, writing, drama and art experiences to investigate these fascinating parts of our planet. And there will be lots of ways for parents to encourage ongoing learning about the biomes at home and in the community.

The program runs from June through Friday August,  2012 at both our Cary, NC and Plano, TX schools. There’s no extra fee for the program. It’s a part of The Grove School’s regular school-day curriculum.

Here are the topics we’ll cover. Click for more info on what we’ll learn in each unit.

Golden Sands and Desert Lands
Bees, Trees and Me
Where the Green Grass Grows
Under the Sea
Arctic Adventures
Outside My Window

Of course, we are always taking enrollments (when space is available) and you can enroll for fall now as well.

Have your children SEE THE WORLD with us.

Here is some of the details about the camp:

• * Camps will run from 9 am – 5 pm, Monday-Friday.
• * 12 oneeweek sessions from June 6-August 26
• * Students K through 2^nd grade are eligible.
• * Each camp will feature a fun filled week of activities as students learn more about the world they live in.
• * Sign up for one week, one month or all 12 weeks.
• * The twelve weeks are grouped into 6 two-week sessions related to the biomes:  water, arctic, desert, grasslands, safari and planet Earth.

The weeks are shown below.

June 6-10   Under the Sea
June 13-17  Water World
June 20-24  Polar Express
June 27-July 1  Keepin’ it Cool
July 5-8  Seein’ the Sahara
July 11-15  Get Your Kicks on Route 66
July 18-22 Scientific Explorations
July 25-29  Safari Adventures
Aug 1-5  Weather Watchers
Aug 8-12  A Camping We Will Go
Aug 15-19  Nature All Around Us
Aug 22-26  Exploring Our Universe

I am more excited than ever about this summer.  I can’t wait.  Sign up soon as space is limited!!

Give me a call if you have any questions: 972-618-3523.

No, this is not a blog entry about DESSERT FUN, it is about our students’ study of the desert biome.  As part of our summer program, EcoAdventures, students have spent the past two weeks studying about the desert.  Below are some photos of their work.  Enjoy!

But it has everything to do with our EcoAdventures summer program. On Friday, we celebrated the end of our students’ two-week study of the arctic biome.

The students participated in a snowy Rock Penguin rock hop along with sliding down a “rock.”  They also enjoyed a sled dog race with a delicious frozen treat at the end of the race along with snow globe making and other fun activities.

The photos show a life-size outline of an emperor penguin and also a polar bear cave the students made from recycled materials.  The video below is some raw footage from Ms. Alli’s class in Cary.

This was a fun use of technology to help the students learn more about their arctic adventure.  It was also a nice way for them to make connections with other students somewhere else in the world.

As we are beginning the process of using skype during our instructional day, we are also learning about teaching the children about webcam etiquette.  For instance, several of the children naturally wanted to be right in front of the camera, thus blocking the view for others.  (I don’t know where they get that!)

We will be skyping more with our friends in TX and hope to find other friends as well.

Nonetheless, it was a fun (and wet) activity on a warm Friday afternoon! Enjoy the photos and the video as a way to share the experience with our students.

More summer fun is on the way in next week’s Under the Sea adventures.