I Wonder!

We missed Teacher Genne in Pyramid yesterday!  Hope she's 100% soon.

Yesterday was a full day in class!  We reviewed looking for equations, learning new things by looking up words we (think we) already know in the Webster's 1828 Dictionary, and generally starting to really study and think deeply about verses in our Core books.  Everyone committed to doing that this week, in their own core book studies.

Then we wondered.  We discussed the power of curiosity, and looking at things in a way we haven't before... even the mundane... like cats drinking.  Roman Stocker, a scientist at MIT was watching his cat drink milk one day and wondered if he did it differently than the dog, as it seemed.  His curiosity led him to mention it to friends and fellow scientists, then on to a serious study of how cats, large and small, lap up milk, a collaborative scientific paper being published, and breakthroughs in biomechanics.  All because he paid attention to something most of us consider mundane, and wondered!  What they learned is that cats don't actually scoop up the liquid, they quickly break the surface tension with their tongues and use inertia to pull it back up before closing their lips around it.  So we all became cats, sort of.  We tried it out, dipping our hands in water and catching it with the other hand.  Some of us were better at it than others, and Kaleigh decided to try it the cat's way, with her tongue.  A straw will probably serve her better.  But the take away is to be more curious!

Noah had some great questions as he helped lead our book discussion on String, Straightedge and Shadow.  And even though we don't have a class full of math-lovers, we had a very thoughtful discussion.  I really liked talking about the people or events we wished we could have been there to meet/see.

We also learned all about the Pot Belly Stove from Kaleigh. 

Our next book is The Phantom Tollbooth.  A reminder that even if you've read it before, you need to re-read it with the characteristics of a scientist in mind.  That discussion will be held in 3 weeks.  But don't wait until then to get started on Coming of Age in the Milky Way.  It's a great read, but not a small or quick one.  So get a jump start on that!

I also handed back all the science fair proposals.  Most need some more detail, specifically about HOW you're going to run your study and learn what it is you're trying to discover.  You can start the experiments now, but please bring your fleshed-out proposals back next week.

Emma, your 2nd presentation is next week.

And everyone, don't forget your logbooks!  And pull out (and use!) those bookmarks for Phantom Tollbooth and Coming of Age in the Milky Way.