Eagle Street Rooftop Garden

I went on an amazing tour today of a farm, yes a farm! on the rooftop of a Brooklyn warehouse. It is amazing. They grow all sorts of things here, like peppers, herbs, flowers, eggplant. You name it! And it's a viable business. They sell their produce! Not only is the farm organic and wonderful, but it has a beautiful view of the East River and Manhattan. Everything looked so lush and delicious. The folks at the garden say that preying mantises have even found the garden, as well as spiders, insects and birds. They also have chicken and sell the chicken eggs. And there's rabbits as well. A real garden, in Brooklyn, 6,000 square feet way up on top of a roof. It's open to the public too, so you can go check it out!

IT'S TIME FOR SCHOOL!

Although I had a wonderful summer--I traveled to Australia and enjoyed its very different flora and fauna--I am excited to be starting a new year with all of you! Most of you have brought in your notebook and supplies and a hearty thanks goes out to your parents for donating the paper towels, pencils, sponges, etc. It is so greatly appreciated.

Fourth-graders can look forward to their first unit exploring food chains and ecosystems, while fifth-graders will become scientific engineers as they build a protective container for a raw egg. Stayed tuned for more information on The Great PS 230 Egg Drop!

This year I have one third grade class, Ms. Williams, and one second grade class, Ms. Birchfield, as well. Third graders will soon get started on a Measurement Unit, in which we will investigate the metric system used by scientists. Second graders will explore sand, silt and clay and how they are related to rocks, pebbles and even boulders.

Some of you may have seen the photo of me on the science room door in which I am holding a koala bear. Check out this one of a python checking me out! Wow!

There's a Grackle in my Garden

This is the Grackle in my Garden

I don't usually see Grackles in my garden, but today a flock of six or seven were busy checking out my bird feeder. Grackles love to travel in large flocks (that's a "crowd" in bird world). Grackles are a type of blackbird. They have long tails, glossy, iridescent bodies and spooky yellow eyes. (By the way, I love their spooky eyes.) I noticed them turning over dead leaves and other debris looking for food. Grackles are also noisy. As soon as I slowly opened the door to the garden, they scattered into the trees and started chattering, most likely telling each other to keep their distance from the human intruder.

Exploring the Properties of Water - Fourth Grade

Water is pretty amazing. It not only comes in three forms: solid (ice), liquid (water), and gas (water vapor), but it covers most of our Earth--97 percent to be precise!

Water is also extremely important to ALL living things. In some organisms, up to 90% of their body weight comes from water. Up to 60% of the human body is water; the brain is composed of 70% water, while the lungs are nearly 90% water.

Insects called water striders can skate on water because of a unique property called SURFACE TENSION. Surface tension is caused by water molecules sticking together at the surface, creating a kind of "water skin."

And while most liquids contract (get smaller) when they get colder, water is different. Water contracts until it reaches 4 degrees Celsius and then it expands until it is solid. Solid water is less dense than liquid water because of this. If water was like other liquids, then there would be no such thing as an ice berg, the ice in your drink would sink to the bottom of the glass, and ponds would freeze from the bottom up!

Water is constantly being recycled through a process called "The Water Cycle."  Now sing this little ditty to the tune of "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain."

Water goes around in a cycle, yes it does!

Water goes around in a cycle, yet it does!

It goes up as EVAPORATION

Forms clouds as CONDENSATION

Then comes down as PRECIPITATION

Yes it does!

Urban Nature Club Goes Birding in Prospect Park

Today the Urban Nature Club grabbed their binoculars and headed to Prospect Park to watch birds at the "secret" bird feeders, generously filled by Brooklyn Bird Club President Peter Dorosh. What a great day! We saw chickadees, downy woodpeckers, white-breasted nuthatches, cardinals, juncos, white-throated sparrows and even a red-winged blackbird. We also spotted many empty birds' nests in the now leafless trees. (Oh yes, winter is a great time to go bird nest hunting!)

SCIENCE IS ALWAYS CHANGING!

Big news. Scientists found a tooth in Israel that may have belonged to an ancestor of modern humans, scientifically known as Homo sapiens. The accepted scientific theory is that Homo sapiens originated in Africa 200,000 years ago and migrated out of the continent. Scientists say that if this tooth is definitively linked to modern human's ancestors, it would mean that modern man in fact originated in what is now Israel 400,000 years ago, which would change the whole picture of evolution. Further research is needed to see if this pans out. Anyone out there want to be a archaeologist or paleontologist?

SNOW DAY!

Prospect Park

I hope all my PS 230 students are getting outside to enjoy the snow. Ms. Seitz sure is! Decorate your street with a snowman, have a friendly snowball fight or go sledding in Prospect Park. Remember to dress in layers and wear warm, water-proof boots. Now, go have some fun!

I'm sure many of you have gone to the Pavilion Theatre. Well this is what it looked like on snow day. Notice they had to take down the letters from the marquee because it was so windy.

Prospect Park sledding hill by the Picnic House

Ms. Seitz all bundled up in front of her snowy house

SCIENCE QUESTION - HOW DOES SNOW FORM?

Snow begins in the atmosphere as water condenses into a tiny droplet. As more and more water vapor condenses onto its surface, the droplet grows. Cold air then freezes this water into an ice crystal.

Each ice crystal has a unique shape that depends on the surrounding air's temperature and water vapor content. If it is below freezing and there is a lot of water vapor in the air, the crystal grows six evenly spaced branches. More and more water vapor collects on these branches and freezes, making the ice crystal increasingly heavy. Eventually, the ice crystal falls from the sky, leaving the cloud of precipitation that it helped to form. As it falls, the crystal continues to grow by picking up more water vapor.


As it descends, the ice crystal can come into contact with warmer air that makes it melt somewhat. This melting acts like a glue, causing crystals to bond together into larger flakes, forming what many people think of as the "classic" fluffy snowflake. If the crystals melt too much and then refreeze as they get closer to Earth's surface, the precipitation falls as sleet instead of snow.

Once on the ground, snow will remain if temperatures are cold enough to keep it from melting. Glaciers that form on mountains, for example, are made up of snow that accumulates on the ground and eventually turns to ice.