Science

Questions for Animal Studies

1. Does it have a backbone?
2. Does it have fur?
3. Does it have wings?
4. What does it's skin feel like?
5. How many feet does it have?
6. What do its feet look like?
7. How many legs does it have?
8. What do the legs look like?
9. What does its body look like?
10. What does it eat?
11. Where does it live?
12. How big is it?
13. What do the babies look like?
14. Is it domesticated or wild?
15. Is it endangered?

From Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer

Earthworm
Folk names for the earthworm include "dew worm", "rainworm", "night crawler" and "angleworm" (due to its use as fishing bait). The worm lays eggs that incubate for 60 to 90 days. They hatch and attain full size in about one year. Earthworms have the facility to replace or replicate lost segments, but this ability varies between species and depends on the extent of the damage. Earthworms are seen on the surface after large rain storms flood the soil because, despite needing a moist environment to allow the diffusion of gases across their skin membrane, where the soil becomes saturated they begin to drown. To protect themselves they escape to the surface but if the ground is un-naturally hard they may become stranded and die from exposure. This is why they are seen in places like driveways after a storm. Earthworms travel underground by the means of waves of muscular contractions which alternately shorten and lengthen the body. The whole burrowing process is aided by the secretion of lubricating mucus. Worms can make gurgling noises underground when disturbed as a result of the worm moving through its lubricated tunnels. They also work as biological "pistons' forcing air through the tunnels as they move. Thus earthworm activity aerates and mixes the soil, and is constructive to mineralization and nutrient uptake by vegetation. Certain species of earthworm come to the surface and graze on the higher concentrations of organic matter present there, mixing it with the mineral soil. Because a high level of organic matter mixing is associated with soil fertility. In fact as long ago as 1881 Charles Darwin wrote: It may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world, as have these lowly organized creatures. By its burrowing actions, the earthworm is of great value in keeping the soil structure open, creating a multitude of channels which allow the processes of both aeration and drainage to occur. By sliding in their tunnels, earthworms "act as an innumerable army of pistons pumping air in and out of the soils on a 24 hour cycle (more rapidly at night)". Thus the earthworm not only creates passages for air and water to traverse, but is itself a vital component in the living biosystem that is healthy soil. Earthworms form the base of many food chains. They are preyed upon by many species of birds, e.g. starlings, thrushes, gulls, crows, and both European Robins and American Robins. Some snakes feed on them and mammals such as bears, foxes, hedgehogs and moles eat many earthworms as well. Earthworms are also eaten by many invertebrates such as ground beetles and other beetles, snails, slugs. Earthworms have many internal parasites including Protozoa, Platyhelminthes, Nematodes. They are found in many parts of earthworms' bodies. The application of chemical fertilizers, sprays and dusts can have a disastrous effect on earthworm populations. Various species of worms are used in vermiculture, the practice of feeding organic waste to earthworms to decompose (digest) it, a form of composting by the use of worms. Earthworms are sold all over the world. The earthworm market is sizable. In 1980, 370 million worms were exported from Canada, with a Canadian export value of $13 million and an American retail value of $54 million. Earthworms are also sometimes sold as food for human consumption especially in New Zealand.

Gorillas
Gorillas move around by knuckle-walking. Almost all gorillas share the same blood type (B)[8] and, like humans, have individual finger prints. The DNA of gorillas is 97%–98% identical to that of a human. They are the next closest living relatives to humans after the chimpanzee species. Gorillas live in tropical or subtropical forests of Congo, Africa. Although their range covers a small percentage of Africa, gorillas cover a wide range of elevations (from the ocean to the mountains). Adult males are as tall as daddy but can weigh twice as much. Silverbacks are the leaders. They lead a troop of up to 30 gorillas. Silverbacks make all the decisions, mediating conflicts, determining the movements of the group, leading the others to feeding sites and taking responsibility for the safety and well-being of the troop. Younger males called blackbacks may serve as backup protection. When they are 11years old the males leave the troop and go with a group of other males. Baby gorillas stay with their moms for 4 years. Silverbacks take care of orphans. If challenged, a silverback will scream, beat his chest, break branches, bare his teeth, then charge forward. If the group is taken over by a different Silverback he might kill the babies of the dead silverback. Gorillas are herbivores, eating fruits, leaves, and shoots and sometimes eat small insects also. Gorilla spend most of the day eating. Lowland gorillas (those that live at the same level as the ocean) eat fruit. Mountain gorillas (those that live high on the mountain) eat herbs, stems and roots. The mommy has the baby 8½ months in her uterus. She takes care of the baby for 4 years before she has another baby. Gorillas live up to 50 years. Gorilla are endangered. Threats to gorilla survival include habitat destruction and the bushmeat trade.

1. Has backbone
2. Has fur
3. No wings
4. Skin has fur
5. Has 2 feet
6. Feet looks like our feet
7. Has 2 legs
8. Legs look like cylindars
9. Body look like human body
10. Eats fruits, herbs, stems, roots, shoots, insects
11. Lives in Congo, Africa
12. Big as a person
13. Baby looks like an adult
14. Not domesticated
15. Is endangered

Octopus
Octopus live in the ocean especially coral reefs. There are around 300 octopus species. Octopuses have eight arms (not tentacles), usually bearing suction cups. A beak, similar in shape to a parrot's beak, is the only hard part of their body. This helps them to squeeze through narrow slits between underwater rocks, which is very helpful when they are fleeing from other predatory fish. Octopuses live six months to five years. Reproduction is a cause of death: males can only live for a few months after mating, and females die shortly after their eggs hatch.Octopuses have three hearts. Octopuses are highly intelligent, more than any other order of invertebrates. Their short lifespans limit the amount they can learn. Most octopuses eject a thick blackish ink in a large cloud to aid in escaping from predators. The main colouring agent of the ink is melanin, which is the same chemical that gives humans their hair and skin colour. This ink cloud dulls smell, which is particularly useful for evading predators that are dependent on smell for hunting, such as sharks. When under attack, some octopuses can detach their own limbs, in a similar manner to the way lizards detach their tails. The female lays about 200,000 eggs . The female hangs these eggs in strings from the ceiling of her lair. The female cares for the eggs, guarding them against predators, and gently blowing currents of water over them so that they get enough oxygen. The female does not eat during the one-month period spent taking care of the eggs. At around the time the eggs hatch, the mother dies and the young larval octopuses spend a period of time drifting in clouds of plankton, where they feed on copepods, larval crabs and larval starfish until they are ready to sink down to the bottom of the ocean, where the cycle repeats itself. This is a dangerous time for the larval octopuses; as they become part of the plankton cloud they are vulnerable to many plankton eaters. Octopuses have keen eyesight. They do not have color vision. Octopuses also have an excellent sense of touch. An octopus's suction cups are equipped with chemoreceptors so that the octopus can taste what it is touching. The arms contain tension sensors so that the octopus knows whether its arms are stretched out. However, the octopus has a very poor proprioceptive sense. The tension receptors are not sufficient for the octopus brain to determine the position of the octopus's body or arms. The octopus does not possess stereognosis; that is, it does not form a mental image of the overall shape of the object it is handling. The neurological autonomy of the arms means that the octopus has great difficulty learning about the detailed effects of its motions. There is no neurological path for the brain to receive feedback about just how its command was executed by the arms; the only way it knows just what motions were made is by observing the arms visually. Octopuses swim headfirst, with arms trailing behind. Octopuses move about by crawling or swimming. Their main means of slow travel is crawling, with some swimming. Their only means of fast travel is called jet propulsion. The octopus moves in synchronization with the cadence of underwater waves, thus giving the illusion of not moving and, more importantly, not resembling an octopus at all. Octopuses need such defensive strategies since their soft tissue and lack of bone structure make them extremely vulnerable to predators. The North Pacific Giant Octopus is the largest octopus. Adults weigh 33 lb, with an arm span of 14 ft. The Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped the sea and its animals; octopuses were often depicted in their art. The Hawaiʻian creation myth relates that the present cosmos is only the last of a series, having arisen in stages from the wreck of the previous universe. The octopus is the lone survivor of the previous, alien universe.

Slug
Slug is a common non-scientific word which is most often applied to any gastropod mollusk whatsoever that has a very reduced shell, a small internal shell, or no shell at all. A slug-like body is an adaptation which has occurred many times in various groups of snails.The common name "slug" is most often applied to land species, but the word has also been applied to many marine species. The largest group of sea slugs are the nudibranchs, but there are in addition many other groups of sea slug such as the sea butterflies, sea angels, and sea hares. Like snails, most slugs have two pairs of 'feelers' or tentacles on their head; the upper pair being light sensors, while the lower pair provides the sense of smell. Both pairs are retractable and can be regrown if lost. On top of the slug, behind the head, is the saddle-shaped mantle. The mantle also has a hole for respiration. The slug moves by rhythmic muscular action of its foot. Some species hibernate underground during the winter in temperate climates, but in other species, the adults die in the autumn. Slugs' bodies are made up mostly of water. They must generate protective mucus to survive. In drought conditions they hide under fallen logs, rocks, plants, and planters in order to help retain body moisture. Slugs produce two types of mucus: one which is thin and watery, and another which is thick and sticky. The thin mucus is spread out from the centre of the foot to the edges. The thick mucus spreads out from front to back. Mucus is very important to slugs because it helps them move around, and contains fibres which prevent the slug from sliding down vertical surfaces. Mucus also provides protection against predators and helps retain moisture. Slugs lay 30 eggs are laid into a hole in the ground or under the cover of objects such as fallen logs. Many species of slugs play an important role in ecology by eating dead leaves, fungus, and decaying vegetable material. Some slugs are predators. Most slugs will also eat carrion including dead of their own kind. Frogs, toads, snakes, hedgehogs, Salamanders, eastern box turtles, birds and beetles are natural slug predators. Slugs, when attacked, can contract their body, making themselves harder and more compact and thus more difficult for many animals to grasp. The unpleasant taste of the mucus is also a deterrent. A small number of species of slugs feed on fruits and vegetables prior to harvest, making holes in the crop that makes it more vulnerable to rot and disease, and making individual items unsuitable to sell. Slugs are a serious pest to agriculture. Pesticides are used in large-scale agriculture. In a few cases, humans have contracted parasite-induced meningitis from eating raw slugs.

Squid
Squid are cephalopods, distinguished by having a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, a mantle, and arms. The skin of the squid is covered in chromatophores, which enable the squid to change color to suit its surroundings. The underside of the squid is also found to be lighter than the topside, in order to provide camouflage from both prey and predator. Under the body are openings to the mantle cavity, which contains the gills. At the front lies the siphon, which the squid uses for locomotion via precise jet propulsion. This is done by sucking water and quickly expelling it out. The direction of the siphon can be changed in order to suit the direction of travel. Squid have three hearts. The head end of the squid bears 8 arms and 2 tentacles, each containing many suckers along the edge. These tentacles do not grow back if severed. The eyes, found on either side of the head, contain a hard lens. The lens is focused by moving, much like the lens of a camera or telescope, rather than changing shape like a human eye. The majority of squid are no more than 60 cm long, although the giant squid may reach 13 m in length making it the largest invertebrate. It also possesses the largest eyes in the animal kingdom. The giant squid is featured in Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, in which one attacks Captain Nemo's ship, the Nautilus.

Bryan's Animal ABC Book

A
B
C
D
E Earthworm
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

World History Overview

History & Geography

World history is the story of people, of the human experience. It is a story of how people, ideas, and things spread across the earth creating our past and our present. History is divided in four eras: prehistory, ancient times, middle ages, and modern times.

Primary and Secondary Sources
We learn about the past from historians. Historians get their information from art works, government records, diaries, letters, speeches, and newspaper articles. Historians also study history books, textbooks, and encyclopedias. After historians examine their sources, they write histories based on their understanding of the truth. But, what they write are influenced by their own opinions or by lack of information. Historians do not know everything about a past event, so they must rely on the evidence left behind. If new evidence is found, interpretations of history can change.
Geographers divide most of the land surface of the earth into seven large landmasses called continents. The continents are Europe, Asia, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, North America, and South America. Antarctica is the only continent not settled by humans. The Ural Mountains of Russia are considered the dividing line between Europe and Asia. Europe and Asia form a single large landmass called Eurasia. The continents, however, cover less than a third of the earth’s surface. Earth is mostly a water planet, and 97% of that water is found in the earth’s four oceans, the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian and the Arctic. Because ocean water is salty, it cannot be used for drinking, farming, or manufacturing. Far less than 1% of the earth’s water is fresh water, water that is not salty and can be used to grow crops.
Plate Tectonics
According to the theory of plate tectonics, the earth’s surface is composed of about a dozen plates of solid material that slowly move as they float on a bed of magma, or molten rock. In other words, the surface of the earth resembles a cracked eggshell, and the pieces of the shell are moving. These plates include boththe ocean floor and the continents. The continents are simply high areas on the plates above sea level, so both the continents and the sea floor move with their plates. Earthquakes and volcanoes often occur at boundaries between plates as the plates push together, spread apart, or slide against one another. Plate tectonics continues to shape the earth’s surface, as does erosion caused by wind and water. Scientists believe all of the present continents might have been together in a single large landmass long ago before they broke apart and drifted to their present locations on the earth. This super continent of the past is called Pangaea.
Stone Age
History has been divided into three eras based on the kinds of tools, or technology, that people used during these periods: the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age. By far the longest stretch of human history took place before and during the Stone Age, a period called prehistoric times, when people did not yet know how to read or write. The earliest discoveries of human art are also from the Stone Age. Paleolithic is a scientific term applied to the early Stone Age when humans made their living mostly by hunting, scavenging, or gathering wild food such as nuts and berries. Neolithic means the late Stone Age when agriculture began, and copper tools were developed. (Neo means new; lithic means stone. Both terms come from Greek, another ancient language that contributed to the modern language we use today.)

Agriculture
Before the Neolithic period, most humans made their living by hunting and gathering, which meant that humans were constantly on the move following wild game herds. This began to change about 12,000 years ago when people in the Middle East discovered they could plant and harvest a wheat plant they found growing wild. At about the same time, people began to domesticate wild animals, raising them for food and as a source of power that could pull wagons and plows. (Agriculture means farming and raising livestock.) People no longer had to follow the wandering animal herds; they could settle in one place, grow crops, and eventually build towns and cities. With permanent homes, people could collect more possessions, which encouraged the invention of new technologies such as pottery making and looms for weaving. Because agriculture could support more people per square mile than hunting and gathering, human population jumped from about two million people during the early Stone Age to about 60 million during the late Stone Age. Farmers learned to grow more food than they needed for their own use, resulting in a surplus. Agricultural surpluses made it possible to accumulate wealth, and they led to job specialization because not everyone had to raise food to make a living. Some people could specialize in non-agricultural work -- like making pottery, or becoming priests or government officials -- and be supported by others from the agricultural surplus. Agriculture became the main source of wealth in most societies until the industrial age.

Jericho
Agriculture and irrigation began in an area of the Middle East called the Fertile Crescent. Villages grew near farmlands, and the world’s first known city developed at Jericho in Palestine around 8,000 BC. Walls were built around Jericho to protect its agricultural surplus from nomadic raiders. Agriculture later developed independently in China and Central America. Hunting and gathering declined as agriculture became the way most humans made their living.
Civilization
Agriculture made civilization possible because it permitted humans to settle permanently in one place, build cities, and develop complex societies. Large groups of people living together encouraged job specialization, the development of government, and written language, all of which are important features of civilization. Writing probably began as a way to record business dealings, especially the exchange of agricultural products. Cities and writing are considered the primary indicators of civilization. When people started to write, prehistoric times ended, and historic times began.
The Middle East
The Middle East is a region that includes southwest Asia and northeast Africa, extending from Libya in the west to Afghanistan in the east. It was also the birthplace of three major world religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Today the Middle East is important as the major oil-producing region of the world.
Mesopotamia
Located in the modern country of Iraq, Mesopotamia is known as the “cradle of civilization” because it is here that civilization first began around 3500 BC, a date considered the beginning of ancient times. Mesopotamia lies between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; the name Mesopotamia means “between the waters” in Greek. Here farmers learned to build irrigation systems that turned the dry valley into a prosperous center of agriculture supporting many people. As settlements in southern Mesopotamia grew into busy cities, this area called Sumer became the world’s first civilization. The Sumerians built walled cities and developed the earliest-known writing called cuneiform, in which scribes (record-keepers) carved symbols onto wet clay tablets that were later dried. The Sumerians are credited with writing the world’s oldest story, the Epic of Gilgamesh, about the life of a Sumerian king. The Sumerian number system was based on 12, which explains why we have 60-minute hours, 24-hour days, 12-month years, and 360-degree circles.
Religion
Early religions usually worshiped several gods, a practice called polytheism. Religion was extremely important in Sumer where originally priests were the most powerful people in society. Later, warrior kings would take control. Priests supervised the worship of seven great gods: earth, sky, sun, moon, salt water, fresh water, and storm. Sumerians believed their gods lived in statues housed in temples including large pyramid-like structures called ziggurats.
Egypt
Not long after the world’s first civilization arose between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Mesopotamia, civilization spread west to the Nile River valley of Egypt. Egyptians probably learned about irrigation, the plow, writing, and other technologies from Mesopotamia. Egypt is said to be a “gift of the Nile” because the river provided irrigation water, fertile soils due to annual floods (it floods every year because the snow melts on the mountain top and the ground becomes like a sponge that is full of water and is unable to aborb anymore. The water flows downhill and collects together in a river. In the spring too much water gets in the river and it overflows its banks and floods), and easy transportation by boat. Boats on the Nile were pulled north by the Nile’s current (so if you wanted north then you would not set sail and just let the currents push you downstream), and they sailed south with the prevailing winds (so if you wanted to go upstream you would set sail and let the winds push you upstream.) Egyptians considered the river sacred; it separated the “land of the living” on the east bank (where the sun rises) from the “land of the dead” on the west bank (where the sun sets). Egypt’s two main geographic features are the Nile and the Sahara Desert. Ancient Egypt was a long, narrow oasis along the river in the desert. It has been said, “geography is destiny,” and perhaps this was true in Egypt where the Nile was the lifeblood of the country, and the desert provided natural barriers to enemies (that means that raiders who wanted to steal Egypt's wealth could not cross the desert because they got thirsty so they died or went back home) permitting ancient Egyptian civilization to last for 3,000 years, the longest in history (3100 BC to 30 BC, which is very long because America is only 200 years old from the time that General Washington won United States Independence from England). Ancient Egyptians had a polytheistic religion; their important gods included Ra, god of the sun and creator of life, and Osiris, god of rebirth. The struggle between Osiris and his evil brother Set represented the eternal struggle between good and evil. Many works of art, literature, and architecture survive from ancient Egypt including huge tombs of the pharaohs, the Sphinx, and the great pyramids near Cairo, Egypt’s modern day capital city (our capital city is Washington DC where our rulers go to make decisions.) The ancient Egyptians also developed a 365-day solar calendar that is the basis for the calendar we use today.

Bryan's Ancient Times ABC Book

A Ancient Times, Atlantic Ocean, Artic Ocean, Agriculture
B Bronze Age,
C Cairo, Continents, Christianity, Cuneiform
D Desert
E Epic of Gilgamesh, Euphratis River, Egypt
F Fight, Farmers, Fertile Crescent, Flood
G Geography, Greek
H Historians
I Indian Ocean, Irrigation, Islam
J Judaism, Jericho
K Kill
L
M Middle Ages, Modern Times, Middle East, Monotheism
N Neolithic, Nile
O Oasis, Osiris
P Prehistory, Plate Tectonics, Paleolithic, Pacific Ocean, Pyramid, Pharohs, Polytheism, Preists
Q Queen Cleopatra
R Ra
S Stone Age, Sumer, Sahara, Sphinx, Set, Sumerian Number System, 7 Sumarian Gods
T Tigris River, 365 Day Solar Calendar
U
V
W Writing, Warior Kings
X
Y
Z Zigurrats

Movie Review

Movie Review Questions:

1. How would you rate this movie on a scale of 1-10?
2. What was the movie's message?
3. What would you do to help any of the characters?
4. Could you identify with any of the characters?
5. Was there anything in the program you did not agree with?
6. Did you feel this show portrayed life as it really is?
7. Was this program worth your time?
8. What in the program uplifted you or motivated you to be a better person?

From A Mother's Manual for Summer Survival by Kathy Peel and Joy Mahaffey

Jumanji-May 25
1. How would you rate this movie on a scale of 1-10?
"Ten hundred"
2. What was the movie's message?
"If you finish the game then everything will go away...except the jungle man did not go away.
The hunter went away though. The jungle man stayed".
3. What would you do to help any of the characters?
"The jungle man who fights with lions."
4. Could you identify with any of the characters?
"The guy who was fighting the lion...I would dress him because he was wearing jungle clothes. He would freeze."
5. Was there anything in the program you did not agree with?
"They put the guy in jail and he didn't do anything."
6. Did you feel this show portrayed life as it really is?
"No way."
7. Was this program worth your time?
"Oh yeah!"
8. What in the program uplifted you or motivated you to be a better person?

Balance Sheet

Balance $10.50

Expenses:

5/08 Water Park Pass $80 (6% of $80=$4.80)
5/08 Cub Scout Uniform $50 (6% of $50=$3.00)

Balance $3.70

($4) for 2 swords from Big Lots

Balance ($0.30)

June 8, 2008

10 cents - taking care of Breeanna
5 cents - putting dishes in kitchen
10 cents - brushing teeth
5 cents - putting laundry in laundry room
5 cents - homeschooling
5 cents - getting hair washed
5 cents - putting toys away
0 cents - bonus books read
5 cents - yard work
5 cents - taking trash out
5 cents - taking groceries to the house
0 cents - putting clothes in laundry basket
5 cents - being prepared

total weekly pay $0.65
Bryan is responsible for paying 6% because he is 6 years old.

Balance $0.35

Sources of Income:
Taking care of Breeanna 10 cents/week
Running 5K 25 cents
Getting picture taken at portrait studio 25 cents
Taking trash out 5 cents/week
Taking clothes to utitlity room 5 cents/week
Finding something that mom has misplaced 25 cents
Birthday $1 for each year of age
Doing what mom and dad asks the first time asked 5 cents
Taking things out to compost bin 5 cents

Summer 2008

Puppet Mania at the Greene Swimming Lessons at Lohrey and Dabney Pools Riverblast at Riverscape CUB SCOUTS Mammal Study at Possum Creek MP Softball MARTIAL ARTS Carillon Park Alpine Heritage Festival

River Blast

Today you had quite a day! First you went with daddy to swim practice at the Lohrey Center. Then you went to Puppet Mania at theGreene. The show was very funny. Daddy took you to Mammal Study at Possum Creek. You made a mold of a wolf print. On the nature walk daddy said you didn't find a single animal, only it's tracks. Daddy took you to Riverblast at Riverscape before coming home. You did the climbing wall and the jumping thing over there. Finally when you got home mom made some Dirty Rice which you scarved up in a wink. Then daddy took you to the park where you refined you newly aquired self taught skill at bicycle riding and went around the walking track 6 times and you only fell once. What a day!

Best Cook

I got a huge compliment from you this morning. You told me that I was the best cook in the world, even better than Wendy's and Mc Donald's apple pie. I guess I should cook egg and sausage sandwiches more often.

Art Table

Mommy got your art table set up in the office right beside mommy's computer. You absolutely loved it! You immediately set to work and produced a beautiful picture of dad riding in four wheeler weilding a sword and you in round machine with four legs and a light on top. You drew mommy in a hang glider. And of course there are two bad guys also. You are just great at telling a story with your pictures.

ORRRC 5K

George Rogers Clark Park 5K
You got a container of Tinkertoys for Big Brother Day and without instructions just by looking at the picture, you constructed an entire ferris wheel. Later we ran the George Rogers Clark Park 5K together. This is our third year doing that race. It rained but not as much on the trail. The smell of the air was crisp and trees towered over us. Purple wildflowers were blooming along the path. Your time for the 5K was 50 minutes. Mommy's time was 1 hour and 10 minutes. We each earned a third place trophy. Mommy is so proud of you everyday for the gentle and sweet way that you take care of Breeanna, for your amazing art work, for your meticulous constuctions, and for your amazing accomplishments.