Food Chains, Food Webs, and Bioaccumulation

This week we have been studying food chains, webs, producers, consumers, herbivores, carnivores, omnivores.  We did a project as a work sample here:

After school on Monday, we went to our favorite beach where we observed the tide pools.  We witnessed the food chain in action in everything including the Pelicans diving like Kamakazis into the water to fetch fish while opportunistic seagulls fought to steal their catch. 

So CUTE!!!!!

'You are so Beautiful! You are smart like Tuna.'

We saw octopus, many species of sea stars, and sea slugs, and ruffled 'things' that were indescribable!  We saw real sea monkies!  It is so amazing what one can learn from the world around them!!!

We are struggling in mountains of paperwork assigned by out school and it is eclipsing our ability to get out and learn the lessons found through hands on, real time interaction with the sources.  Though I TRYYYYYYYY!!!



OK.... so, instead of going over the same material, I decided to expand it by having the kids do abioaccumulation activity.  Here is the link to the game:  TRACING TOXINS

HARVEST Time at HART

Rise and shine, let's get out early to see the grape harvest at Hart Winery!  We were invited to observe and photograph the grape harvest process at our favorite winery in Temecula.  I decide this would be a great opportunity to share with my boy.  So we woke up early and headed out at about 6a.m. just in time to see the sun rising in the East.  We were delighted to see the hot air balloons dotting the warming summer sky.

When we arrived, we were greeted by the owner, Mr. Hart and his son, who is The Vintner extraordinaire.  Later, an assistant arrived with his dedicated pair of Whipets.

The grapes had been picked the night before while the air was cool.  They were sitting in huge gondolas hooked to tractors, ready to be weighed and processed.

The gondolas were hoisted up with a scale- we took advantage of the MATH opportunity. The TARE WEIGHT is the gross weight of the vessel which is 426lbs as shown here printed on side.  This is to be subtracted from the total weight to determine actual weight of grapes.

 The weight here shows 4520 less 426 = 4094lbs or 2.05 tons.  (Discussed the tonage and .05/100 decimal)

Before the actual grape processing could occur, they washed everything down with OZONE water.  The OZONE process is an organic sanitizing technology and is created naturally as a molecule consisting of 3 oxygen atoms: O₃  created by passing electric charge into water.   I love the clean smell it leaves!

 Here we see the fermentation tank being flushed with OZONE water, getting ready to be filled with CO2 before pressed grapes are added.  This ensures there is no O2 exposure.

                         

Next, it was time to dump the grapes into the de-stemmer. Once grapes are separated, they are sucked through hoses into the press.

 

The press has a bladder that expands and presses the grapes with pressure.  They added dry ice to the tank to cool the grapes as they were not only already warming up with the heat of the day but also, decomposition was creating heat.  Baron loved the dry ice process.  

Meanwhile, back inside the cool barn, heady with the heavenly aroma of fermenting grapes... we took a few pictures and learned about a machine or two.

 And of course, we walked the vineyard and picked grapes.  Even Zoey ate her fill.  What a great day, living and learning. 

ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS: Mesopotamia, Fertile Cresent, and Gilgamesh

Today we continued our history studies by reviewing last year's SOTW Book 1 and revisiting Mesopotamia.  We worked on maps with focus on the Fertile Crescent which in Greek means, "Between the Rivers".  The area was the seat of the earliest civilizations having rivers and good soil for farming and it became a strategic location for trade.

K12 Interactive CRADEL OF CIVILIZATION game.

The British Museum has a great website with more info and links: Mesopotamia 

We began reading, 'Gilgamesh', an epic poem consisting of 12 clay tablets which were discovered on an archeological dig in 1853 by Hormuzd Rassam.  It was translated and published in 1870 and is one of the oldest pieces of world literature dating back to 2500BC.





http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=jAMRTGv82Zo#t=9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=jAMRTGv82Zo#t=9

California History Museum

First Day of School

Our table.  Math, including a child's book on money to relate real-world money numbers and functions to math (common core-lol), fiction books, California History, and historical world literature dating back 3000 years, 'Gilgamesh'.

Ahhh, a new school year kicks off today (our official calendar has us starting on Wednesday but I have us getting started today which puts us ahead and gives us a couple of flexibility days-the kids don't know ;). 
Actually, I spent last week warming the kids up for the rigor ahead by having them read, 'Will Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' at an accelerated pace and doing plenty of math review.  Additionally, we visited the the San Diego History museum because Baron is studying California History this year.

This morning was interesting as we started discussion on fermented foods and how important they are to health.  We talked about what 'anaerobic' means and how we will create that environment for the many microorganisms using a CO2 airlock on our jars when we ferment kimchee this week.  We will talk more about the microbiology of this process in more depth.

It has been interesting having the kids reading the same book at nearly the same pace.  Not only are they competitive, but I hear them talking together about the book which shows interest and comprehension. 

Baron Wins Blue Ribbon at County Fair 2013

Baron wins blue ribbon at the county fair this year for his writing abilities.  He submitted a story that was pretty darn good and he won!  Congratulations, Baron!  We are so proud of you!

Acting School C.A.S.T

I could not be more proud of my kids!  Today was the first day of their acting camp and they auditioned for The Little Mermaid (play titles-italicized or underlined - MLA).  They practiced their songs all weekend and NAILED it!!!! Niah stood out from the rest with her energy and animation that punctuated the feeling of her song, "Holy Ground" (songs- quotation marks, albums- italicize or underline) by Taylor Swift.  She was one of the most exciting performances of the day.  She truly has the heart of an artist.
Baron walked up with great confidence and did his best too.  His energy was so exuberant and he was so handsome too!

They both exceeded my expectations.  I can't wait to see what characters they are cast.

Artwork: Disney's, The Little Mermaid