Ann Arbor, MI 48103
(734)994-2300
Jane's Class AdventuresWeek 1: A Worm's Eye ViewWeek 2: Hive to Honey JarWeek 3: Green Camp Rocks!Week 4: "Do Over"Week 5: City CrittersWeek 6: Bats, Butterflies & HummingbirdsWeek 7: Wild WaterwaysWeek 8: Creatures in the CreekThe Big Blue BallWeek 8: Creatures in the CreekGet your feet wet discovering the variety of creatures living in area waters, with lots of catch-and-release fun. Nets and buckets provided, plus learn to make your own low-tech fishing pole! Monday We will learn about the formation of the Great Lakes- starting a billion years ago with a central volcanic rift in the North American continent, and continuing through the last 5 million years of advancing and retreating ice ages. During the most recent ice age, roughly 20,000 years ago, the Great Lakes as we know them began to form and changed their direction of drainage from flowing west into the Mississippi, to flowing east toward the St. Lawrence sea way. from the TEACH Geography site of the GLINHow the lakes were formed About a billion years ago, a fracture in the earth running from what is now Oklahoma to Lake Superior generated volcanic activity that almost split North America. Over a period of 20 million years, lava intermittently flowed from the fracture. This geomorphic age created mountains covering the regions now known as northern Wisconsin and Minnesota, and the Laurentian mountains were formed in eastern Canada. Over time these mountains eroded, while occasional volcanic activity continued. Molten magma below the highlands of what is now Lake Superior spewed out to its sides, causing the highlands to sink and form a mammoth rock basin that would one day hold Lake Superior. Eventually the fracture stabilized and, over time, the rock tilted down from north to south. The region went from fire to ice with the arrival of the glaciers, which advanced and retreated several times over the last 5 million years. During the periods of glaciation, giant sheets of ice flowed across the land, leveling mountains and carving out massive valleys. Where they encountered more resistant bedrock in the north, only the overlying layers were removed. To the south, the softer sandstones and shales were more affected. As the glaciers melted and began receding, their leading edges left behind high ridges, some of which can be seen today in the cliffs of Door County, Wisconsin, and the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario. Huge lakes formed between these ridges from the retreating ice fronts, and continually changed over time as the ice sheet moved northward. Prehistoric glacial movements Early drainage from these lakes flowed southward through the present Illinois River Valley toward the Mississippi River, through the Trent River Valley between present lakes Huron and Erie and through the Lake Nippissing-Ottawa River Valley from Georgian Bay on Lake Huron downstream to the present Montreal, Quebec, area. Without the immense weight of the glaciers-thousands of feet thick in places- the land began to rebound. Even today, virtually all of the land in the Great Lakes basin continues to rise. Southern parts of the basin are rising slightly, less than 3 inches per century. The northeastern corner of the Lake Superior basin, however, is rebounding in excess of 21 inches per century. Since the retreat of the glaciers, water levels continued to undergo dramatic fluctuations, some in the magnitude of hundreds of feet. These extremes were caused by changing climates, crustal rebound and natural opening and closing of outlet channels. Within the last 1,000 years, evidence suggests that lake levels exceeded the range of levels recorded since 1865 by an additional five feet on lakes Michigan and Huron. As a consequence of these recent fluctuations, shoreline position and environments have dramatically changed. Dunes, baymouth barriers, embayments and river mouths have all been modified by the forces of water. Many dune formations-some hundreds of feet thick-were established during glacial periods. The tops of these dunes have been continuously sculpted by winds to form the majestic structures now visible. Today, rebounding of the earth's crust, erosion, and changes in climate continue to alter the shapes and sizes of the Great Lakes. As one of the youngest natural features on the North American continent, the lakes remain a dynamic, evolving system. We will also work with a Green Adventures camp buddy to learn more about the Great Lakes. Tuesday Today is Lake Erie food web day. We will study the flow of energy from the sun, through the primary producers in the lake, the phytoplankton- Algae and others, into the zooplankton and macroinvertebrates, from there to the forage fish and at the top of the food chain, the Piscivores, or fish eaters! To see a copy of the NOAA Lake Erie Food Web we worked with follow this link.
Wednesday We are going to see lake Erie today- on an all day field trip! We will visit the lake shore close to Monroe, Michigan, and then go to Lake Erie Metropark for a visit. Thursday A final day of water play is planned. If time permits some harvesting of herbs from our Lakewood Garden and perhaps another look at those interesting macroinvertebrates.
The Big Blue BallWeek 7: Wild WaterwaysOurs is a water planet, the evidence is all around us! We'll take a close look at local waterways with boating and other aquatic adventures.
Monday Water, water all around! We will learn about frogs today.
To make a hopping origami frog follow this link: Superhopper Or if you enjoy breadmaking, Frog bread. Frog Jokes for Kids Q: Why are frogs so happy? Q: What happens when two frogs collide? Q: How does a frog feel when he has a broken leg? Q: What happens when you mix a frog with a bathtub scrubby-mit? Q: Why did the frog read Sherlock Holmes? Q: What happened to the frog's car when his parking meter expired? Q: What's green green green green green? Q: What is a frog's favorite game? Q: What did the frog order at McDonald's? Q: Why did the frog say meow? Q: Why did the frog go to the hospital? Q: What is the thirstiest frog in the world? Q: How deep can a frog go? Q: What do stylish frogs wear? Q: What does a bankrupt frog say? Tuesday Today is fish day- our plans include a fish dissection, looking carefully at some Great Lakes fish species to identify major body parts and how they are used to classify fish (using a dichotomous key) and also diagramming the fish body. Background Information: The Great Lakes region is home to an impressive variety of fish, numbering more than 160 separate species. A species consists of individuals that share the same gene pool. These species belong to 28 major fish families. A family is a taxonomic group that includes similar species. from FLOW Unit 3: FISH | MICHU 08-403 | © Michigan Sea Grant, Regents of the University of Michigan | www.projectflow.us
Wednesday We will learn about Some Migratory Water Birds of the Great Lakes Area- As much as birds are masters of the sky, most of them also have equally powerful links to water — especially in our Great Lakes region, where the landscape is dominated by lakes, rivers, streams, marshes and wetlands. So it’s no wonder that the migratory birds that spend time in the Great Lakes region do so as much because of water as air. Check here for more info :http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/birds/
Thursday We hope to put it all together into a water habitat food web. We will make fish mobiles as well.
Animal MagnetismWeek 6: Bats, Butterflies & HummingbirdsSome of these amazing creatures can eat their weight in bugs,hover for an hour, and migrate thousands of miles. We'll build bat houses, explore hummingbirds' favorite flowers, and look for caterpillars so we can watch their transformation.Monday We will start with a discussion of pollination and pollinators. This week's focus animals are all important pollinators! When we took a survey- this is what we found: Which animal would you rather be- a bat, a butterfly or a hummingbird? *check back tomorrow, I will fill in all the names!
We went outside with some nets to look for butterflies. We saw a lot of grasshoppers flying around. We fed some to the chickens. After snack and story and recess time, we read about the life cycle of the butterfly. We learned a short handplay of the 4 parts of metamorphosis- egg, larva, pupa and adult(butterfly). Then we looked very carefully for eggs or small caterpillars on some fresh milkweed>
Tuesday We are planning to learn about hummingbirds today. We will watch a PBS special "Magic in the Air" about hummingbird flight. We painted Hummingbirds, using a salt trick to make the birds irridescent colors!
Wednesday We are planning a bat "fruit salad assembly line". Utilizing fruits from plants that are dependent on bats for pollination in the wild, and some extras for good taste, we will work together as a team on an assembly line. There will be 2 shifts for work, but the end product will be a delicious, edible fruit salad!
Thursday More batty learning and working on our own bat or butterfly or hummingbird wings! Animal MagnetismWeek 5: City CrittersSee who's around in some of our local natural areas and discover clues about what they're up to. We'll also work on some fun stewardship projects to help preserve animal habitats. Monday We will choose a "city critter" to do some research about. Using picture books and other sources, we will learn why our critter is a good survivor in a city habitat. Some possible animals we will choose from are:
We did some research this morning, and then we took the time to get to know the chickens we are raising at Green Adventures Camp. Although chickens are not wild city critters, at least in Ann Arbor, they can be backyard birds.
Tuesday Our plans include making scale model drawings of our city critters using what we have learned, a line drawing and a special enlarging tool. Squirrel 13-92 cm Skunk 40-94 cm Mouse 8-35 cm long Raccoon 46-66 cm + tail 23- 30 cm Rabbit 30-60 cm Pigeon 30-35 cm Possum 76 cm long (including tail) Mole 5-23 cm + 3-23 cm tail Groundhog up to 43 cm Frog 9-15 cm Red Fox 36-99 cm + 18-51 cm tail Chipmunk 10-18 cm + tail 8-13 cm Black Bear up to 1.8 m Crow 45-56 cm
Then we will work on creating a realistic, but probably not full sized, model of a shelter for our critter- such as a nest, a burrow, a wood pile, whatever might be in our city yard or woodlot.
WednesdayWe spent some time in the garden weeding. We discovered 2 holes where small animals are getting into the garden and eating our plants! The beans and peas and even some cucumber plants have chewed off ends. Inside we used air dry clay to make small model animals. We will learn a new word and review some old words. Nocturnal and Diurnal are labels some of us recognize already, but here is a new one: Crepuscular Crepuscular From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Crepuscular animals are those that are active primarily during twilight, that is during dawn and dusk.[1] The word is derived from the Latin word crepusculum, meaning "twilight."[1] Crepuscular is, thus, in contrast with diurnal and nocturnal behavior. Crepuscular animals may also be active on a bright moonlit night. Many animals that are casually described as nocturnal are in fact crepuscular.[2] Within the definition of crepuscular are the terms matutinal (or "matinal") and vespertine, denoting species active only in the dawn or only in the dusk, respectively. The patterns of activity are thought to be an antipredator adaptation. Many predators forage most intensely at night, whereas others are active at mid-day and see best in full sun. Thus, the crepuscular habit may reduce predation. Also, in hot areas, it may be a way of avoiding thermal stress while capitalizing on available light. A number of familiar mammal species are crepuscular, including cats, dogs,[3] rabbits, ferrets, guinea pigs, and rats. Other crepuscular mammals include prosimians, red pandas, deer, moose, chinchillas, the common mouse, skunks, wombats, quolls, spotted hyenas, bobcats, tenrecidae, capybaras, and the extinct Tasmanian tiger. Crepuscular birds include the Common Nighthawk, Chimney Swift, American Woodcock, and Spotted Crake. Some species have different habits in the absence of predators. For example, the Short-eared Owl is crepuscular on those of the Galápagos Islands that have buzzard species, but diurnal on those without. Many moths, beetles, flies, and other insects are crepuscular as well. ThursdayWe looked at study skins of Michigan animals including racoon, red fox, deer, beaver, muskrat. There were whole wings from owls or turkey vultures. There were many bones- mostly skulls of deer, rabbit, beaver. There was even a gar- a long, snout nosed fish. These all belong to Dave Szczygiel, who use them for his lessons with Kindergarten and First graders in Ann Arbor Schools.
EarthWeek 4: "Do Over"Reuse and recycling is the theme this week with a visit to the MRF, de-construction activities, and making fantastic new creations with "junk" materials. Always a camper favorite! This week we are working with Will's class every day, so check out his page for questions? to ask. Monday The Egg Drop Experiment! The Green Campers will attempt to create a device that can keep a raw chicken egg intact when dropped from a height. Students are asked to build a device made from a limited amount of materials to support an egg when dropped from various heights. This morning we will plan with a partner and begin to build our Egg Drop package.
Tuesday This morning we will finish our first experimental package and do the first drop off the gym roof. Some will have a "wet success", which means their egg may break, but they will learn how to modify their package to make it better. Some will have a "dry success", in which case they must figure out a way to improve their package by making it smaller or using less stuff, while still protecting the egg.
Wednesday Today will be the Egg Drop finals. We are looking for better, smaller packages that protect their egg without wasting packaging!
We will have egg drop soup for snack!
Later we will begin making art objects from recycled, reused items.
Thursday We will create Art works using the materials we recovered and scrapbox materials.
EarthWeek 3: Green Camp Rocks!Explore the amazing world of geology through rock collecting, sorting and polishing; learn about Michigan's glacial landscape with an incredible visit to a gravel pit. Monday In order to make a 3-D Model of the earth's insides we made our own modeling clay this morning, then shaped a half sphere with the core, outer core and mantle represented in approximate volumes as the actual earth. The piece of clay left over for the crust was so small we could not spread it on the surface, so tomorrow when it is dried, we will paint the crust on our model earth.
We will begin an experience called Cool Crystals. Since we cannot directly observe how magma cools to form crystals, we will explore how cooling affects the formation of crystals in a solution of Epsom Salts (magnesium sulfate). Then we will observe, compare and contrast samples of igneous rocks. Background Information from 2011 AIMS Education Foundation, Cool Crystals, EARTH BOOK Tuesday First we will check on our crystals to observe their growth.
Then we will focus on sedimentary rocks and how they form. After observing the 3 main types of sediment- pebbles(rocks), sand and soil, we will each make a model in a bottle to show how layers of sediments form. Background Information from 2011 AIMS Education Foundation, Settling on Sediments, EARTH BOOK Last thing today is painting our 3-D earth models.
Wednesday First we once again check on our crystals growing.
Today we are making Metamorphic Munchies- a sweet treat with a lesson attached. We will apply pressure, more pressure and finally heat and pressure to our munchies and watch how they change!
Background Information from 2011 AIMS Education Foundation, Metamorphic Munchies, EARTH BOOK
Thursday Today a visitor, Stan Woollams, and his wife Pris, are coming to show us some mineral samples and tell us about the MOHS scale for hardness of minerals. We are also going to make some fake fossils by making imprints of shells in clay, like a mold fossil, and then filling in the imprint with plaster and letting it harden to become a cast fossil. Background Information from 2011 AIMS Education Foundation, Major Mohs Mishap, EARTH BOOK
Igneous rocks are formed at very high tempera- tures. They come from magmas, which are molten mixtures of minerals. These magmas come from deep within the Earth. If they cool off below the surface, they form intrusive rocks, which may later be uncov- ered through the process of erosion. When magmas reach the surface and cool, they form extrusive rocks. Granite and basalt are examples of igneous rocks.
Growing GreenWeek 2: Hive to Honey JarGreen Adventures provides the suits and equipment, as campers become hands-on beekeepers tending our own hives. We'll learn to collect the honey and discover the many uses for bee products. Honey samples are always enjoyed! Monday- July 4th No Camp Tuesday Today we will start with bee anatomy. Most of the campers know that bees have 3 body parts, but they are surprised to find out that honey bees have 5 eyes! We learn the rule of 6 to remember the major parts of an adult bee: 6 legs 5 eyes 4 wings 3 body parts- head thorax and abdomen 2 antennae 1 stinger Then we made a paper model of a bee.
Wednesday Today we learned that bees have pollen sacs to carry home the pollen from the flowers that they visit. Pollen is the protein source in bees diet. But what the bees do for flowers and for all of us is spread this pollen from one flower to another to POLLINATE plants so that fruits, vegetables and nuts will grow.
We studied the parts of a flower to see what pollination is all about.
Then we played what the campers called an awesome game where some of the campers became flowers and others bees and the bees visited the flowers they liked and took some pollen away and left some behind.
Thursday Today we focused on what is going on inside the hive- storing nectar and pollen, and then the Queen bee laying eggs, eggs hatching into larva, nurse bees feeding the larve, larve changing into pupa through cocoon spinning and adult bees emerging from the capped cells.
Growing GreenWeek 1: A Worm's Eye ViewCampers get their hands dirty with planting and watering, weeding and harvesting at the Green Camp gardens. Creative cooking and great eating included!
Monday We started by examining the contents of an old worm recycling bin. We sorted out the finished compost and the worms.
We visited our garden at Lakewood and put the new compost on the growing plants to help fertilize them.
Tuesday
We observed some large earth worms. We found out that they do have feelings- when we touched them gently with a pencil or feather, they moved in response to our touch. We also measured them.
For today's snack we each made our own dirt and worms mixture using vanilla yogurt, chocolate graham crackers, smashed into dirt, and strawberry fruit leather worms. Wednesday We made simple and nutritious strawberry fruit leather this morning for tomorrow's snack. It is just strawberries and a little honey(from our own bees) blended together, poured out on a cookie sheet then dried in the oven. A great Camper Created Cuisine item! Where does our food come from? We traced everything we eat back to plants growing in the dirt. We made a wall chart showing that we eat dirt!
Thursday We cooked Rhubarb-Strawberry Crisp for our snack today. A Camper Created Cuisine item that you can find the recipe for at this link.
|
