Bags and Bags of Garlic Mustard oh MY!!!

On Wednesday, May 7th our class joined three ATC staff and volunteer members to pull Garlic Mustard.  We had learned all about Garlic Mustard, how it is an invasive plant that actually has a chemical it discharges into the soil that hurts native plants.   We started by carrying the tools we needed down to the path.  Then we learned how to safely identify garlic mustard, how to pull it so that we got the whole plant.  It was EVERYWHERE!!!!

We spent 3 hours pulling the plant.  At the beginning we had put decided on a goal of 50 pounds.  We were planning on registered our amount with the National Garlic Mustard Removal challenge. 

Boy were we shocked to learn the next day that after our bags were weighed we had pulled a total of 287 pounds of Garlic Mustard.  WOW.... what a successful day. 

We also learned how to remove Multi- Flora Rose, which is also an invasive.  We used this really cool shrub puller to remove it by its root.  We would then hang it upside down over another plant so that it will die then it can safely decompose in the woods without spreading. 

That night Mrs. Garcia made us pesto with Garlic mustard and we all tried it.  It was pretty good. 
During the day we learned about how long it takes for certain things to decompose in the woods.  Did you know it can take up to 3 years for a banana peal to decompose??  That is why if you carry it in you should always carry it out. 

A game to match how long it takes for an item to decompose.

Moon Phases

Yesterday we did a great project to show the phases of the moon. 

We took apart oreo cookies and made all the phases.  Then we copied the cookies and drew them on a plate.  Next we labeled them and then best of all we got to eat them... YUMMY science...

Magnetism

Last week our class learned about Magnetisem. First we had done an experiment where we tested the magnetic force.

. What you do is you take a magnet and put a piece of paper over it.  Then you gently drop iron filings over the magnet and see where they are attracted to.  It was so cool that you could actually see the shape of the magnets through the paper.  We also learned that it goes around the edges and not on top.  In the circle picture you can even see the whole in the middle of the magnet. 
by Maddie

The Great State Challenge

Well the Great State Challenge has begun.  The children all wrote letters to various people around the country.  We received addresses from parents, staff members and friends from all over.  After we sent them all out we waited and today our first packages arrived.  The kids are so exicted to see what came.  I have made arrangements to put up a display in the front display case across from the office.  Next time you are in check it out as it grows.  It will be going up next Monday. 
This is so exciting!!!!!

Mouse Update

Well Surprise, surprise......  We think our white mouse is pregnant!!!!  That is right my two female mice seem to be not two females and now we are having babies.  The KIDS ARE ECSTATIC!!!   Me not so much!  So now we are doing research on what Mama Mouse needs for her babies and how to care for them once they are born. 
Talk about Teachable moments!!!!  We are now like anxious dads waiting the arrival of our new class pets.  The discussion about adoption has already begun, but one thing is for sure.  As soon as they are born our little boy mouse is moving into a new tank otherwise she will be pregnant before the babies are weaned. 

Any parent who wants to adopt some really cute little mice, I can sex them for you when they are about 20-25 days old.  I promise to do a better job then Petco did.  I have done some serious research this AM on how to sex them and there is no denying that they are one of each sex.  Wish I had known that a month ago. 

SURPRISE!!!!

Homemade Wreathes

Our class made wreathes out of things we found in the woods, like pine cones, acorns, seed pods and other things found in nature. We  glued them on a peice of cardboard and it was tons of fun.  Next we are going to put a red bow on it to take home. 
By Keenan

Kids teach kids

Last Monday Mrs.Garcia's class  tought a lesson to Ms. Jenn's and Miss Galuecia's second grade classes on how seeds travel . We  explained how water and wind move plant seeds from one place to another and how plants can explode out seeds when you touch them or when they are exposed to certain temperatures.

"It was cool to teach other kids and get them to look forward to learning about nature." said Madiline Fife, one of the pair of girls who started the lesson off.                                                                                   

                     

                    We also told them how some plants are  "superpoopers" .They are plants that rely on animals to eat their seeds, digest them, and then poop them out, therefore depositing  them in different places. Then some demonstrating kids showed some different examples of plants that travel in different ways.  After that, we helped the second graders make charts and lists grouping together plants, seeds ,and the ways seeds travel.
Finnaly, we read booklets we made to the second graders on the ways seeds travel.  I  think I can speak for all of Mrs. Garcia's class when I say that teaching the second graders was really fun!
Written by Phoebe

Tree Update

Our tree is now up and on display at the Berkshire Museum.  It is on the second floor to the right of the stairs as you go up the stairs.  It is in the group in the center of the second room.  The title of our tree is "Hike Safe" on the AT for yourself and the environment.

The children created over 150 ornaments that show the principles of hiking safe including mini water bottles and compasses.  The Appalachian trail winds around the tree from Springer Mt at the bottom to Mt. Khatahdin at the top.  Also on the tree is one copy of each post card that the children created.  They are all invasive species that can be found along the AT in the North east.  The focus was to teach not to track seeds while you hike.

The post cards will be going through a second printing and will eventually be displayed on the kiosk we will be building to place at an AT entrance point and the remaining cards will be spread throughout our community.  They will also be on display in our school.

The Festival of Trees will be up until Jan. 2nd.  Please take the time to take your family up to Pittsfield to see the show.  There are wonderfully creative trees to see as well as the normal museum exhibits.  Look for a notice next week to come home including a free pass for your child and a hint of how to get a museum pass for your whole family by using your library card.
Thank you for all of your support on this incredible project...

Making a Tree

Today we made oraments for a tree that we are going to put in the Berkshire Musuem.Yesterday we made ornaments for the tree and Mrs. Neet's class made signs for the AT.

I made a first aid kit with Trevor and then two 5th graders put them in plastic ornament holders.   Phoebe and Charlotte made some jackets to represent to bring clothes while you are hiking and to keep warm.  Justin and Mikel made little mapa of the AT and put them in the plastic ornaments.  Keenan and Justin took off tags to the little commpasses to hang on the tree.  Fifth grade girls put H2O on one side of the little bottles  and on the other side they wrote AT.  We made a rock out of a bowl and we put aluminum foil over the bowl to make it look like a rock.  Then we will put a  sign for Springer Mountain on the rock. The starting point of the AT is Springer mountain in Georgia.  Fifth graders made a sign that says Mt Khatadin, which is where the trail ends in Maine.

All of the ornaments are designed after the things you need to bring with you to be safe while hiking.  We are also putting our invasive species postcards on the tree.  They are being printed at Quick Print in Great Barrington.

Come see our tree at the Festival of Trees starting Nove. 24th and running through January 2, 2014.
Happy Holidays Everyone!!
by Keenan

Appalachian Trail Adventures

This month our class is working on essay.   Each student got to pick out a picture form the Appalachian trail calendar and write a story about it.

They could pick either a winter or a summer scene.  Justin and Charlotte did a winter scene and Phoebe and I did a summer scene.   Oh,  I almost forgot Mikel is so far writing a great story and it's in a summer scene.  Each story had to be at least five paragraphs.  It is really fun!!!   I wrote about a world inside a moutain.   The students all wrote about different things even thought they all are from the same trail,   the Appalachian Trail.   I hope we do another story!!!

By Maddie

literature studies

Journal entry by Keenan

For the next five weeks we are going to be studying literature.  We will do these studies instead of Journeys.  We have two groups.  One is studying Abel`s Island and the other is studying Ralph S. Mouse.

Journal entry by Maddie

We have these journals and every time we read we have to answer a question.   Then color a picture of something that has to do with the question.  It is pretty cool and we are having fun doing reading this way. 
By Trevor

Journal entry by Charlotte

Hexagons, Trapezoids and Triangles Oh My

Yesterday we created line plots graphs with real polygons.  The students were given random amounts of pattern blocks.  With a partner the students created graphs on their desks.

After we made graphs on our desks, we were able to answer many different questions about range, mode and comparisons.  This activity brought to life how important graphs are as a visual resource to understanding data.

Jug End Hikers

         Yesterday, October 22, we went hiking at Jug End.

We hiked with Christine Ward who maintains that section of the trail.  Mantain means to take care of something.  Our hike was mostly in the woods and across some wide, open, meadows, and a  lot of  walking across wooden bog bridges, which I liked.  My favorite bog bridges went across the meadow.  They were really long, twisty, narrow, wobbly, and hard to walk on.

About 90 percent of the hike was in the woods. The hike was truly amazing and Mrs.Ward taught us a lot. We were able to do a lot of hands on stuff, like going off trail to collect three different types of leaves and then share them with the class.

We also came across a tree with really big heart shaped leaves and we were each able to pick a leaf off the tree without hurting it. It's amazing how fat the trunk of a 200 or 300 year old tree can be. I really enjoyed the hike, and I want to hike that section of the Appalachian Trail again.  Written by Kathryn

Invasive Species Post cards

In class we have been doing research on an invasive species
that we got to pickto learn about. Our class and Miss Neat's class are doing a tree for the Bershire Museum's Festival of Trees. We drew a picture of our invasive and when we are done we got to do some resarch on the computer. 

Drawn by Logan

Drawn by Keenan

Some of the questions were hard but most of them were easy.We are going to be making two  invasives  if we want to. One is going to be a southern species and the other is going to be a northern.I can't wait to get started on my southern plant.Once all of our  research and drawling is done we will send them to a printer and they will make them look like a post card you would see in a store.

Drawn by Maddie

I hope you will get to see the tree while it's on display !!


  






written by,
Mikel   

Meet our Pets

A great big THANK YOU to all of our parents.  We now have two little mice in our room and another fish. 

I bought us two female mice that are just sweet as can be.  One is black and one is white.  We are in the process of thinking of names for them.  They are already hand trained and enjoy being pet.  Right now I am the only one holding them, but soon your children will be able to hold them also.

They will enjoy little treats here and there of carrots, apples and other fruits and veggies.  Although mice are opportunists, I want to keep them on healthy snacks besides their normal food.  They also enjoy hiding in and chewing up paper towel rolls and toilet paper rolls.  So don't be surprised when your children start asking for them.

The first time they can go visiting will be for the Thanksgiving vacation.  If anyone is interested in having them visit I will need a note staying you want to host them.  Your child will be responsible for taking care of them and writing in their journal, which will come home with them.

Thank you again, the kids are so happy!!!

Bittersweet Removal

Last Friday the students in our class worked on a service project on our UME campus.  Before we went

Lesson before we outside

outside we learned about how to identify the various vines that can be found on our campus so that we could differentiate between poison ivy and bittersweet.  We learned that bittersweet is a vine that has alternate patterned leaves and can hang loosely from a tree or twine very tightly to almost suffocate the tree.  Poison ivy has three leaves and grows in the opposite pattern of leaves and hugs the tree very tightly with tiny hairs holding on to the tree.  We also learned about native grape vine and Virginia Creeper which can both be found in our woods locally.

After the children learned how to identify the vines we went outside with our tools and got to work.  In less than an hour we successfully removed two huge buckets of bittersweet including one section that included berries.  The children learned that the berries are the most important thing to remove since that is were the all important seeds  are that spread the bittersweet.  We also learned how to remove it.  You have to cut it at the ground and also above your head and then keep checking on it in the future to make sure it does not grow back together.

We even had to unwind the bittersweet from around a few trees.  It was so tight on one tree that it is 

impeding the growth of the tree and actually cutting into the bark as the tree is growing.  The students were very excited about this project and asked if we could continue to work on this one
section that has a lot of bittersweet in it.  I think we will continue with this service project since it gives them good volunteer experience as well as empowering them to do good things for their school community. 

4th Grade Goes Native!

Project Native Gardens

On 9/30/13 Mrs.Garcia's 4th grade class went to Project Native Gardens.This piture is at the end of the trip on the way to the butterfly house.Before that we were in the field walking around and collecting seeds.  My favorite part of the trip was walking along and looking at the beautiful flowers.  I saw so many flowers there, more then really anywhere!  I got stinging nettle while collecting seeds and so did some other people.  In the end it was great!
Written by Charlottte

 The children collected seeds in the seed field and we will be drying them over the next month.  Then we will store them until the spring when we make seed balls out of sand, soil and compost.  When we do the garlic mustard removal in April we will scatter the native seed balls so that native flowers grow again where the invasives had taken over.

 We started our afternoon in a circle learning about Project Native and the great work they are doing there.  Their goal is to grow native plants from seeds to have the community  plant in their home gardens. 

A bag of Joe Pye Weed seeds

.