Free Science e-Newsletter, October 2006
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What's Inside
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From The Editor
I love autumn. There's a nip in the morning air, nights grow colder, and the trees bring out their bold colors. This month, your Science newsletter is taking on leaves in a deciduous ... er, decisive manner. Each of the projects below can stand alone, or you could choose to do all three together. All of them focus on leaves, their function, and their beauty.
Get out and enjoy the last warm days and explore the beauty around your neighborhood and surrounding countryside! Enjoy the wonder of God's creation and make memories that will warm your heart this winter.
Steve Walden
Senior Editor, Free Science e-Newsletter
 | Steve Walden lives in Colorado and, together with his wife, homeschools their three children, ages 10, 7, and 3. He is a freelance writer and editor with articles appearing in The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, Focus On Your Child: Discovery Years, and Familymanweb.com. When he's not blogging at Walden's Wits on www.HomeschoolBlogger.com, he's searching for new opportunities to write about homeschooling, parenting, and connecting with God. His dream is to operate a retreat center in Colorado that promotes the concept of rediscovering God as our first love and the source of our strength. |
Autumn Colors By Steve Walden
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One of the greatest wonders of the four seasons is the autumn colors. Depending on where you live, the changing colors of the leaves on the trees could start near Labor Day or more toward Thanksgiving.
Here are a few questions to get your young minds going:
• How do trees know when to change color?
• Why do they change color?
• Why do some trees lose their leaves and some stay green all year?
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These questions have many jumping-off points to new discoveries. What determines a leaf's color? What makes them green in the first place, and where does the green go? The possibilities of questions are endless. Science Made Simple has a small study on leaves for both your grade school ages as well as your younger learners, along with a couple of projects you can try. The questions don't just stop at grade school, either. Chemistry is involved in a big way. An article from About.com details the different molecular combinations at work. There are other factors at work, such as weather and altitude. Accuweather.com has an FAQ on leaves and weather. Let your quest for knowledge about leaves and colors guide you!
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Leaf Detectives - An activity for younger homeschoolers
By Steve Walden
Leaves come in all shapes, sizes, and colors in fall. Each leaf is like a fingerprint, indicating the identity of the tree that dropped it. Time to break out the magnifying glass and hunt down the clues!
You will need:
• A notepad
• 5 to 10 sandwich bags
• Tape and a marker for labeling the bags
• A magnifying glass
• A book or online resource for tree identification (Your local library should have
at least one book on dendrology, the study of identifying trees.)
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If you want to get into it, you can even improvise a Sherlock Holmes "deer hunter" cap by taking two baseball caps and putting one on backwards and the other straight. Going all out means getting a cape and pipe, but it's not required for your leaf sleuthing.
Next, head out with the kids and explore areas of your neighborhood as leaves begin changing color. Search high and low for good clues and collect them in your evidence bags. Be sure to note the location of each tree on your pad and number the bag with a 1 for the first tree, and so on. Note also anything about the tree's characteristics, such as whether the leaves are staggered or opposite each other on the branch. After you have at least three to five bags with leaf samples, it's time to head back to the "leaf lab" at home to find out the true identity of the trees.
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Compare the leaves and your notes with what you find in the book or resource. Is it a sugar maple or a red maple, a willow or a locust? Label the bags with the names for the ones you have correct. It may take a trip back to the scene of one or two trees to find out the tree's true identity. Once you have the right tree, congratulations! You've solved the identity of the mystery trees!
Here are some resources for your leaf lab:
• University of Wisconsin LEAF
• Virginia Tech Dendrology
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Sealing the Deal - Preserving your collection
By Steve Walden
This may be done in conjunction with either of the two projects above or on its own. The goal is to find leaves that are pretty or interesting and preserve them.
You will need:
• Leaves! All shapes, all colors.
• Wax paper
• Heavy books
• Contact paper
• Glue and construction paper (optional)
• Hole punch and string (optional)
- Begin by placing the leaves flat between two pieces of wax paper.
- Next, place them between two heavy books. (Encyclopedias are the best.) Press them by letting them sit there for a few days to a week.
- Collect the leaves. You can glue them onto construction paper for a firm backing or leave them alone for a solo performance.
- Cut the contact paper in squares to give a half inch to an inch of coverage beyond each edge of the leaf or its paper backing, 2 squares of equal size for each leaf.
- (Optional) If you have "leaf sleuthed" the tree identity using the activity above, you may want to make a label for that leaf.
- Peel one square of contact paper. Then carefully place the leaf, its paper backing, and/or its label on the sticky side of the contact paper. Peel the other square for that leaf and carefully lay it over the leaf and press it flat, avoiding wrinkles or bubbles if possible.
- (Optional) If you want to hang your collection up for a fall decoration, punch a hole in one or two of the corners and loop string through each hole. Hang it up proudly for all to see!
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Attention teens! College students! Christian leaders! Pastors!
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National Conference on Christian Apologetics, November 10-11, hear experts such as Ravi Zacharias, Norman Geisler, Josh McDowell, Lee Strobel, Erwin Lutzer, and more! Teens need apologetics, too! The conference features "Dare2DigDeeper," special apologetics instructional workshops just for
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The Schoolhouse Store Spotlight
Most of us have participated in the traditional September Back-to-School shopping spree, purchasing supplies and goodies for our children. With the school year back in full swing and organization and scheduling in the forefront of our minds, this is the perfect time for Mom to receive some helpful supplies" as well. Our BusyWoman Planner/Purse/Tote Set is a great way to get organized and look good at the same time!
This matching purse and tote set comes with a Busy Woman Basics Daily Planner with planning pages to start you on your way to an organized schedule, this daily planner is sure to get you on track. Your choice of blue, black, burgundy or hunter green. Check it out HERE. |
From Steve Walden and the rest of The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine team, thank you for subscribing to the FREE Science e-Newsletter! As Senior Editor, I welcome your feedback and comments. Please e-mail me at FreeScience@TheHomeschoolMagazine.com. Don't forget to check out our website and magazine. Have a great autumn!
Disclaimer and Warning:
Activities, projects and experiments presented or contained in this newsletter ("Activities") are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. Some Activities may involve health risks or other hazards, including a risk of serious injury. Responsible adults should investigate and evaluate all potential health risks and other hazards prior to engaging in Activities alone or with minor children. Please exercise caution and take appropriate safety measures to avoid or lessen the risk of injury to people or property. Activities are not appropriate for children and teens of all ages. Children and teenagers should attempt Activities only under direct, appropriate parental supervision. The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC accepts no responsibility or liability, express or implied, for injury, loss, or damage of any kind resulting from the use or misuse of Activities or other information contained in this newsletter.
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