Pawpaw Holler Home

Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.
Psalms 147:8

Bloodroot  (Sanguinaria canadensis), so named because of the red/orange juicy roots, is one of the earliest wildflowers to come up in our area.

It is a very fragile spring flower that grows to a height of 10 inches and opens in the sun and closes at night.

Bloodroot blooms from March to May and can be found in rich woodlands and along streams from Canada to Florida to Texas.

After flowering, Bloodroot produces a long, pointy seedpod that opens in late summer.

The red juice from the roots was used by Native Americans as a dye for baskets, clothes, war paint and as an insect repellant.

We haven’t tried it as a bug repellant but my children do use it for war paint!

Denese

Science

Three Science Project Mini E-books -from Homeschool Freebie of the Day; make an “Ocean in a Bottle”, a “Cartesian Diver Toy” and a “Tornado Simulator”.
If you haven’t done so already, sign up for their newsletter and receive advance notice of all freebies for the week plus an extra freebie for subscribers only.

Free Online Science Seminars -sign up at  Homeschool Science Academy to get dates and times for free, live, 45 minute online seminars.

• “Anatomy and Physiology of the Pancreas”
• “SAT and ACT – What You Should Know”
• “Top 10 Academic Mistakes Homeschoolers Make – and How to Avoid Them”
• “There’s Life in the Blood”
• “So, You Want to be a Doctor – What it Takes Now and What to Expect”
• “How to do Well on Timed Tests”
• “But What About Socialization?”
• “What You (students) Can Learn From My TA’s.. the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”
• “What I’ve Learned from Human Cadavers.. about Life, Death, God, and Anatomy”
• “Working Toward Academic Excellence – A Practical and Biblical Guide”
• “Teaching the Sciences – 6th – 12th Grade”
• “Sports Scholarships for Homeschooled Students – How to Get Them”
• “Creation Clues – The Urge (to go) and Other Rarely Thought of Human Body Characteristics”

Space Exploration: The Moon

Launching to the Moon and Beyond Fun Pages -labeled drawings of the Ares rockets that will take astronauts to orbit and return them to the moon, a word search puzzle, maze, connect-the-dot puzzle and a cut-out Ares I rocket. From NASA for grades K-4.

On the Moon Educator Guide -from NASA for grades 3-12. This guide brings hands-on engineering and the adventure of space exploration to life for students and they will be challenged to design and build:

• An air-powered rocket.
• A shock-absorbing system that will protect two marshmallow “astronauts.”
• A rubber band-powered rover.
• A cardboard crane for maximum load-lifting ability.
• A paper cup modified so that it can carry a marble down a zip line and drop the marble onto a target.
• A solar hot water heater to cause the greatest rise in temperature.

Nature Study

Free Sample Pages of “Outdoor Secrets” -three story excerpt from a classic book of nature stories, “Outdoor Secrets” by Margaret P. Boyle. From Simply Charlotte Mason.

The Vikings

The Viking Empire Mini-Activity Study – includes links, printables and recipes. From Hands On Teaching Tips, available for the month of March.

Patrick Henry

Patrick Henry Lesson -printable “Give Me Liberty or Death” speech*and 12-page study guide, from Knowledge House.
*March 23, the anniversary of Patrick Henry’s famous speech.

Denese

What Are Crystals?

Crystals are ordered structures of molecules or atoms.

What are crystals anyway?

Crystals: Nature Putting Itself in Order

What types of crystals are there?

Crystals Experiments

Grow Your Own Crystals -free e-book from Homeschool Freebie of the Day, available today only.

Crystal Growing! – a slew of experiments here, from Wayne Schmidt.

Experiments in Growing Crystals -from Rockhounding Arkansas, a neat rocks and minerals website.

Science Projects for Kids: Crystals and Minerals -from How Stuff Works.

The Baby Diaper Secret: Polymer Crystals -from Steve Spangler Science.

Create Crystal Ornaments -from Education.com.

Crystal Painting -grades 4-6 , from About.com

Recipes for Growing Crystals -from Chemistry and New Zealand, great site.

Lessons on Crystals

Sugar Crystal Science Lesson -elementary grades, from Susan Hyde.

Observing Crystals -for grades 2-5, from Teacher Vision.

Crystals: What Are They and What Holds Them Together -for grades 5-8, from Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute.

Crystals -for grades 5-9, from Illinois Institute of Technology SMILE Program

What Materials Make the Best Crystals? -intermediate level science, exerpt from The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Science Fair Projects.

Light and Crystals -middle level science, from Teachers.net.

Images of Crystals

Microscopic Science Pictures: Crystals

Lab-made Curvy Crystals

Cave of Crystals

Crystal Filled Cave in California

Photos from Crystal Mountain

Sunlight and Ice Crystals

Big Ice Crystal

Also See:

Science Page: Snow

Denese

Good morning everyone! It’s a beautiful sunny day in the holler,just a little cold, hope it’s nice where you’re at.

Warm weather spells, wildflowers coming up, budding trees, baby animals soon, planting season is starting…I’ve got spring fever!

Spring Fever Links

Wonders: A Nature Table Gathering -a wonderful idea for displaying your nature collection. Thank you Renae for passing this along.

No-Till Potato Method -it’s time to plant potatoes. This works if you can get enough straw.

Discover Life in America: Hands on Activities and Lessons for Natural Science -nature lessons and activities for exploring biodiversity in nature from The Great Smoky Mountains National Park All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory.

Exploring Nature Educational Resource -natural science content and materials for educators, students, and parents. Free and paid content.

Celebrating Wildflowers: A Catalog of Images -wildflower coloring book, 300 line drawings.

Great Smoky Mountains national Park 59th Annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage -April 22-26, 2009

Forest Wander -”Free Nature Picture Photography of waterfalls, creeks, forests, trees, flowers,wildlife, mountains and other beautiful wonders of God’s creation.”

Colors of Seasons: Spring -beautiful photos of Spring flowers.

Denese

The Gilbert Book of Light Experiments for Boys -originally published in 1909; from Homeschool Freebie of the Day, available today only.

The Exploratorium Science Snacks: Snacks about Light -44 different activities and experiments, grades K-5

The Science of Light Teacher’s Lab -from Learner.org; hands-on activities for teachers and students, grades K-5

Light Experiments -from HunkinsExperiments.com; 6 different experiments including how to make an onion glow and how to change the color of a goldfish

Wonders of Our World Light Unit -from Ohio State University; 11 hands-on activities in 2 parts with  suggested reading  and supply lists, grades K-5

Eye on the Sky Lesson Plan: What Makes Shadows -grades 1-3

Resources for Science Learning Activity: The Color of Light -grades 4-6

Discovery Education Lesson Plan Library: Sight and Light -grades 6-8

Science Netlinks Making Light of Science -3 part lesson, grades 6-8

Optics: Light, Color and Their Uses -NASA Educators Guide; activities in math and science, grades K-12

ThinkQuest.org Discovering Light -learn more about light in physics, technology, nature and culture

Optical Society of America: Exploring the Science of Light -all about optics including; history timeline, activities, experiments, optical illusions and much more

Optical Research Associates: Optics for Kids -learn about light, lenses, lasers and careers in optics; inludes online activities, downloads, more resource links

Molecular Expressions: Science, Optics and You -timeline in optics, pioneers in optics, museum of microscopy, teacher resources, student activities

Atmospheric Optics -beautiful photography and explanations of rainbows, water droplets, ice halos and more

How Light Bulbs Work

How Light Sticks Work

How does glow-in-the-dark stuff work?

Denese