Teen night

   We don't have any pictures of the last teen gathering, so here's some pics of the one before last. Enjoy!

Privacy

Hello
I would like to remind you of one thing:
This blog is the online face of our co-op, and some of the comments and posts here may misrepresent our organization.
Say a parent thinking of homeschooling comes to our site. What do they see?
--
An Exploding Monkey said...
bla bla bla bla!

i said...
Turtle

etc.
--
this could possibly discourage them from joining our group.

Some of you seem to have a misconception of the blog.
I will include a quote from "an exploding monkey"

"You can use this page of the blog as a sort of private chat space if you want." (speaking to a suspicious stranger called Jaxyn who was asking us our names interests and genders.)

You see, this blog is PUBLIC. Anyone can look at it.
It might be a good idea to
1) find a new place for goofy comments/chatting and make this into a serious website. For example, we could move our goofy comments to here.
2) Continue being goofy but only allow real Gorge Home Learners co-op members to visit this blog. We could all still access it but it would block strangers.

One other issue with the blog is that there is no anonymity, and some of the kids might not know about internet privacy. If they choose to disregard those privacy guidelines that is alright. However, they do not currently refrain from mentioning other users' full names. This issue would be solved by limiting the blog's audience.

--

Please leave your opinion in this post's comments thread. Thank you.

Where to Post comments

HELLOTE! PLEASE POST COMMENTS HERE!


AMBUSH!

TEEN night

First teen gathering launched last night!

We pretty much just played loud music and danced or sat in a corner, we ate pizza and drank wildly colored vitamin water with jelly people.  Mom and Lynn made fruit kabobs.

There were seven teens loose in the Underwood Gym with a lava light...

NEWS FROM A CRETINLIKETHING



Oregon testing has been finished. CONGRATS TO THE NEW 7TH AND 9TH GRADERS!

Flower Circle

For this last Artinnature class, we used all the lessons the past weeks taught us to create a group work, a Flower Circle.  From Top to bottom: We prepared flowers--provided by Lynn, Sylvia, Tammy's Floral, Safeway, and Roseauers; Some of us prepared the design by sifting flour over a series of interwoven circles; And then we arranged flowers over the design to create this web of color.  Thanks everyone!

Artinnature III: Rangoli Patterns

Students worked with Rangoli to create and explore pattern.  First, they worked with chalk and paper inside and then they executed their works in groups, outside on the tennis court.

Artinnature II: Line, Shape, Form, Space, and Texture

This day, we moved from lines to dimension.  Top to bottom: line, shape, form, space, and texture.

Andy Goldsworthy

Here are some Andy Goldsworthy books that the Hood River and White Salmon library systems have. The White Salmon library doesn't have any at it but it has some in its systems that you can put holds on. The Hood River library carries all the book I've listed.

White Slamon Library:

Enclosure
Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy working with time (Videorecording.)
Time
Arch
Wood
Stone
Andy Goldsworthy:a collaboration with nature


Hood River Library:

Enclosure
Rivers and Tides: Andy Gorldsworthy working with time(Videorecording)
Stone
Andy Goldsworthy:a collaboration with nature

Environmental Art Project

Here's a few pictures of our environmental art we made on tuesday.

This art is created using found materials, and there was a wealth of great materials wherever we looked.  

These works are representations of LINE. We were fortunate to have a freshly mowed field that provided much lovely green cut grass!  On our next class we will focus on DIMENSION.

Top to bottom:  Maggie, Graham, Sylviawith Alden, Blake and Chase, Ben

Joinery class, Spring, 08!

Tobias Ammon instructs older students about joining edges.

Spotted Frog Questions Answered!

My apologies for the slow response. See my answers intercalated below in capitals so you can

distinguish the lot.  Thank you for the tough questions. Let me know if you have any further questions.

Marc Hayes

How many Oregon biologists are studying them?

I CANNOT GIVE YOU A REALLY PRECISE ANSWER ON THIS BECAUSE THERE ARE AT

LEAST FOUR RESEARCH GROUPS (FRESC AT USGS IN, USFS FORESTRY SCIENCES

LAB, OSU ZOOLOGY DEPT ALL OF WHICH ARE IN CORVALLIS; and MICHAEL PARKER

AT SOUTHERN OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY IN ASHLAND) INVOLVED PLUS QUITE A

NUMBER OF BIOLOGISTS WITH SEVERAL STATE AND FEDERAL AGENCIES, BUT MOST

PROMINENTLY, THE DESCHUTES AND ROGUE-WINEMA NATIONAL FORESTS, THE BUREAU

OF LAND MANAGEMENT, AND OTHER COUNTY AND LOCAL AGENCIES.  THE RESEARCH

GROUPS DO BASIC OR MANAGEMENT-LINKED RESEARCH, WHEREAS THE OTHERS DO

MONITORING AND ARE WATCHDOGS FOR CONDITIONS THAT MAY BE UNFAVORABLE TO

OREGON SPOTTED FROGS.

How do they taste?

BITTER; LIKE MANY AMPHIBIANS, THEY HAVE GLANDS IN THEIR SKIN CALLED

GRANULAR GLANDS, WHICH PRODUCE DIFFERENCE COMPOUNDS THAT ARE DETERRENTS

TO SELECTED PREDATORS.

Are they poisonous?

SOME OF THE COMPOUNDS THAT HAVE BITTER TASTES ARE POISONS TO SOME

PREDATORS THAT VARY IN THEIR TOXICITY OR POTENCY. WE KNOW VERY LITTLE

ABOUT THE TOXINS ASSOCIATED WITH OREGON SPOTTED FROGS OR WHICH OF THEIR

PREDATORS THEIR ARE EFFECTIVE AGAINST.  BOTTOM LINE IS SOME OF THE

COMPOUNDS THAT OREGON SPOTTED FROGS PRODUCE ARE PROBABLY POISONOUS, BUT

BEING POISONOUS DEPENDS ON WHAT ANIMALS THEY ARE POISONOUS TO AND THAT

IS SOMETHING WE DO NOT KNOW AT THIS TIME. BY THE WAY, MANY POISONOUS

COMPOUNDS ARE BITTER TO SERVE AS A WARNING TO A POTENTIAL PREDATORS THAT

THE ANIMAL IS NOT GOOD TO EAT.

Why are frogs important?

FROGS ARE IMPORTANT BECAUSE THEY (AND THEIR LIFE STAGES) ARE KEY LINKS

IN FOOD WEBS IN MANY DIFFERENT HABITATS AND ECOSYSTEMS. FOR EXAMPLE,

ADULT AND JUVENILE FROGS (AFTER METAMORPHOSIS) ARE IMPORTANT PREDATORS

ON MANY AQUATIC AND TERRESTRIAL INSECTS. ADDITIONALLY, SOME PREDATORS

EACH MOSTLY FROGS OR SOME OF THEIR LIFE STAGES, SO WITHOUT FROGS (OR

THEIR LIFE STAGES), THE ANIMALS THAT DEPEND ON THEM ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY

FOR FOOD MIGHT NOT SURVIVE. FOR EXAMPLE, 95% OF THE DIET OF COMMON

GARTER SNAKES ARE AMPHIBIANS, ESPECIALLY FROGS.  ALSO, FROG AND TOAD

TAPOLES ARE GRAZERS IN STILLWATER OR POND TYPE AQUATIC HABITATS, BY

GRAZING ON ALGAE AND BIOFILMS OF BACTERIA, FROG AND TOAD TADPOLES KEEP

THESE PORTIONS OF PONDS SYSTEMS FROM TAKING OVER THOSE HABITATS TO

EXCESS AND THEIR WASTE MATERIALS ARE IMPORTANT IN NUTRIENT CYCLING,

PROVIDING NUTRIENTS FOR CERTAIN PLANTS AND OTHER ORGANISMS.  LASTLY,

FROGS ARE IMPORTANT BECAUSE THEIR ENRICH THE DIVERSITY OF ENVIRONMENTS

IN WHICH WE (HUMANS) LIVE; WITHOUT FROGS, THE ENVIRONMENTS IN WHICH WE

LIVE WOULD BE LESS DIVERSE.

Which animals, other than bullfrogs, eat Spotted Frogs?

MINK, RIVER OTTERS, GREATER SANDHILL CRANES ARE KNOWN PREDATORS OF

ADULTS. FROG EGGS HAVE FEW PREDATORS OF IMPORTANCE, BUT THIS HAS NOT BE

WELL STUDIED, BUT AT THE TIME EGGS ARE LAID, FEW PREDATORS MAY BE AROUND

TO PREY ON EGGS. LEECHES ARE ONE OF THE FEW DOCUMENTED PREDATORS OF

EGGS, BUT THEY ARE ALMOST NEVER ABUNDANT AT THE TIME EGGS ARE LAID, AND

ONE OR TWO LEECHES CAN ONLY EAT A FEW EGGS, SO THEY ARE NOT VIEWED AS

VERY IMPORTANT. THE TADPOLES HAVE MANY PREDATORS, INCLUDING COMMON

GARTER SNAKES, ADULT AND LARVAL DIVING BEETLES (LARVAL DIVING BEETLES,

ALSO KNOWN AS WATER TIGERS ARE IMPORTANT PREDATORS OF YOUNG (SMALL)

OREGON SPOTTED FROG TADPOLES), WATER SCORPIONS, SEVERAL WADING BIRDS

(LIKE GREAT BLUE AND LITTLE GREEN HERONS), AND PROBABLY A NUMBER OF

OTHERS.  WE ONLY KNOW ABOUT SOME OF THE PREDATORS OF FROGS; MANY ARE

UNDOCUMENTED OR WE SIMPLY ARE GUESSING THAT SOME SPECIES ARE PREDATORS

OF FROGS.

Do rough skin newts eat them?

ROUGH-SKIN NEWTS ARE RELATIVELY SLOW-MOVING, BUT THEY ARE WELL KNOWN

EGG PREDATORS OR PREDATORS OF TINY, JUST HATCHED TADPOLES OF OTHER FROG

SPECIES.  NEWTS COULD PREY ON OREGON SPOTTED FROG EGGS AND THEIR JUST

HATCHED TADPOLES IF THEY WERE ACTIVE AT THE TIME THAT OREGON SPOTTED

FROGS LAY EGGS, BUT NEWTS ARE ALMOST NEVER ACTIVE WHEN OREGON SPOTTED

FROG LAY EGGS, SO THEY DO NOT HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PREY ON THEM....AT

LEAST NO ONE HAS EVER SEEN IT YET.

What did frogs look like a million years ago?

MOST OF THE FROGS AND FROG GROUPS THAT WE KNOW ABOUT TODAY EXISTED A

MILLION YEARS AGO. YOU HAVE TO GO FURTHER BACK IN TIME THAN A MILLION

YEARS TO UNDERSTAND HOW FROGS EVOLVED. THE FROG BODY PLAN WITH ENLARGED

(HOPPING OR LEAPING) BACK LEGS PROBABLY EVOLVED FROM SOME AN ANCESTOR

THAT LOOKED MORE SALAMANDER-LIKE DURING THE MESOZOIC (AGE OF THE

DINOSAURS). THAT ANCESTOR WHICH LOOKED MORE LIKE A SALAMANDER AND HAD

FRONT AND BACK LEGS OF APPROXIMATELY THE SAME SIZE AND MANY VERTEBRAE IN

ITS BACKBONE, SLOWLY CHANGED OVER TIME SO THAT ITS BACK LEGS BECAME

LARGER THAN ITS FRONT LEGS AND THE NUMBER OF VERTEBRAE IN ITS BACKBONE

SLOWLY DECREASED UNTIL YOU HAD THE BODY PLAN OF THE MODERN FROGS WE SEE

TODAY WITH ENLARGED BACK LEGS AND A SMALL NUMBER OF VERTEBRAE IN THE

BACKBONE (I.E., LESS THAN 10). 

Do caecilians live in groups or on their own?

THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF MOST CAECILIANS IS UNKNOWN. SOME OF THE AQUATIC

CAECILIANS HAVE BEEN FOUND IN SMALL GROUPS, BUT MOST CAECILIANS ARE

TERRESTRIAL BURROWERS, WHERE SINGLE INDIVIDUALS ARE USUALLY ENCOUNTERED

BY ACCIDENT WHILE DIGGING. SO, IN TRUTH, I CANNOT ANSWER THAT QUESTION

VERY WELL BECAUSE WE KNOW SO LITTLE.

Are caecilians edible?

I ASSUME THAT YOU MEAN EDIBLE TO PEOPLE. THERE IS VERY LITTLE MEAT ON A

CAECILIAN, BUT A FEW SPECIES ARE OCCASIONALLY EATEN BY SELECTED TRIBES

IN SOUTH AMERICA. HOWEVER, IT DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE AN IMPORTANT PART OF

THEIR DIET.

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR GOOD QUESTIONS!!!!!!!!

Homeschoolers at the Bite!

Gretchen Newcomb organized this art installation for Nora's Fish House in Hood River. The event where the art was displayed first was Columbia Gorge Art In Education's 2008 Bite of the Gorge. Big thanks to Olivia and Finney Newcomb and Erika and Blake Winner for producing these great paper fish with Gretchen!

Food web competition

Thanks Jesse, Maggie and Soleil for drawing the food chain and energy transfer of an owl and its prey (and its food!). Soleil's drawing was a bit more developed, so she won the "food chain/candy necklace".

What about these TEETH?

Many might be noticing the color of the rodent incisor teeth (front teeth) as sort of "dirty orange".  Are these rodents DELIBERATELY disobeying their rodent parents by not brushing?

(please comment)

Another thing about teeth in rodents, most of you know the word "rodent" means "to gnaw" and "tooth" (latin: rodare and dentis), but did you realize the teeth grow throughout the rodent's life?  Those must be strong bones!

Please go to your email and read the rodent guide I am emailing to you--it will help you identify your bones!

YOU, enjoying your favorite ENERGY:

Here are Soleil and Pavel (or Pavel and Soleil??!) enjoying what seems to be the grand prize for this competition, Fruity Tootie Ice Cream Sundaes! Be nice to them and they may share their prize with the class...

Machines that convert radiant energy!

Behold Maggie's Bad Mood-o-matic, Ben's Panda Gro&Poo  and Soleil's Soothing Algae Bath machines! Please get me YOUR notebooks so I can add your machine to this collection.

Assignment due March 7

Please post your comments to the following questions:

"Is it fair (ethical) that humans use other animals as test subjects?"  

"Are there good reasons to do animal testing?" 

"Can you list at least one case study (example) where your opinion supports your belief?"

Mealworm investigation

Tenebrio molitor is the latin name for yellow mealworms, our test subject for this week.  We all agreed to create a maze at home to better understand where this animal goes.
It uses chemical energy DIRECTLY for food--it acts as a decomposer by eating dead things and it acts as a consumer of plant matter so we might call it omnivorous.
This organism is composed of animal cells that have a nucleus.

Field Trip for Tuesday, Feb. 26

Wonderful field trip! Though we never asked them,

PLEASE POST YOUR QUESTIONS IN COMMENTS HERE!

"Climate Change, Disease, Exotics and Humans: The Unique Case of the Oregon Spotted Frog"
Tuesday, Feb. 26, Oregon Zoo, Portland
Dr. Marc P. Hayes, Research Scientist, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

In his lecture, “Climate Change, Disease, Exotics and Humans: The Unique Case of the Oregon Spotted Frog,” Hayes describes the Oregon spotted frog as one of the Pacific Northwest's most remarkable amphibians. For a variety of reasons, this beautiful frog is now found in less than 20 percent of its historic range. Hayes tells the important story of the Oregon spotted frog, and how its precipitous decline may lead us to make better environmental choices in the future.

Websites that might be useful:
http://www.californiaherps.com/frogs/pages/r.pretiosa.html
http://www.herpetologynorthwest.org/nwherps/toads-and-frogs/oregon-spotted-frog.html
http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/diversty/soc/status/spotfrog/sfrgxsum.htm
http://www.nwf.org/frogwatchUSA/content_decline-11-04.cfm

Cell contest

Left to right going from top to bottom are Maggie; Pavel; Marten; Elizabeth; Ben; and Zoe's cells.

























Here are Jesse, Soleil and Graham's cells (top to bottom)

EXCELLENT EFFORT ALL!

YEAST ALIVE!

Holy moly, did your yeast plate look like this?? You should see them now--under a scope!

Energy exercise for February 19:

All living things need energy. When Mark Dane helped us explore how solar cells and batteries can power lights and motors, we saw that energy is converted to other forms of energy (like radiant/light or mechanical/motion), and that some sources can provide for a long time (as long as it is sunny!). Which was more powerful? Hard to say--think we need more experimentation!

Our lists:
Where does energy come from?
Sun, stars, nuclear reaction--produce thermal/heat and radiation/light energy by nuclear fusion of hydrogen and helium
Nutrients--food is potential energy produced by converting sunlight to chemical energy
wood--as it burns, providing thermal/heat and radiation/light and chemical energy from oxidation
fire, lightning--provide thermal/heat energy and radiation/light
batteries--store potential chemical energy, when used, its electricity
earth's core, the moon, magnetism, electricity--produce mechanical energy

How many forms are there?
Potential energy is stored energy
Kinetic energy is the energy of moving things
Radiant/light, chemical, electrical, thermal/heat, mechanical--describe conversions by some mechanism

Can it be lost?
We said no (8 to 2) it is converted to other forms

We found many conversions during our experimentation with the leds and small motors. The batteries provide electricity for conversion to both light (leds) and mechanical (motors), and the solar cells changed radiation to electricity which did the same things. We also noted that thermal/heat energy often went along with these conversions. You said that energy from a solar cell is more powerful than energy from a battery, what if the sun is not shining for a long period?

WEEKLY CONTEST--watch this space regularly!

Though both Fire and the crystal solution seem to have characteristics of both Living and Non-Living you said neither have cells, therefore they must be considered to be Non-Living.

For March 18: BEST Science Journal (judging will extend to Mar. 24)

First-prize journal will list all the activities we have done this class since it started in February, NEATLY, along with multiple drawings, graphs and write-ups of experiments. The winner will be able to kick back during the last class and have us all serve them snacks while the rest of us toil away...

For March 11: Draw the food web of a small rodent, converting into energy for an owl.  Where does the rodent get its energy?  Where does the rodent's food get its energy? (label all conversions involved)

For March 4: Draw yourself, enjoying your favorite form of energy (label all conversions involved)!

For Feb. 26: Draw a machine that can convert radiant energy to chemical energy.

For Feb. 19: Draw a LIVING CELL from an animal or a plant. A yeast cell would be an excellent subject!

Finally concluding the Living versus Non-Living debate:

This is a rotovirus, above.
Our definition of Living was agreed on by the class, and in general, a definition applies ALL things it describes. For instance, would a chocolate chip cookie be a chocolate chip cookie if it had everything BUT chocolate chip?

You, as a Living thing can: die (respond to environment); reproduce; grow (and develop); change (grow and develop over time); eat (obtain and use energy); defend yourself (respond to environment); and are made of cells (are organized). ALL of these things apply to you.

For the purposes of learning about the nature of our world, it is helpful to define things and use our definitions to understand other things. This CONCEPT of Living things you have constructed can be tested over time and revised when you find it does not work.

Lets assume it does work. You have looked at it and modified it and all seem to agree on it.

From the lists you have made, Fire and the crystal solution do exhibit MOST of the characteristics of Living things, but both lack cells.

ASSIGNMENT 2: We will continue adding to this list!
Q: What are cells?
Microscopic organisms that work and group together to form larger, living cells
The building blocks of life.

Primal forms of life that make up all living things.

Cells
Cells are microscopic things that make up living and dead organisms.

Q: How can one look for cells?
Use an Electron Microscope
With some kind of instrument for magnification. Cell sizes vary.
Use a microscope.

By using a microscope.

Q: List all the characteristics of cells that you can.
All creatures have them, creatures can have just one or they can have trillions, typical size is 10 microns, typical mass is 1 nanogram, cells have internal organs called organelles
1. They reproduce by splitting themselves.
2. They can be specialized into an almost infinite number of tasks to make the whole organism work.
3. Cells can exist as one celled organisms and still do all they need to to function.
4. Cells can use energy.
5. Cells excrete waste after burning energy.
6. Cells can recognize other cells outside of it by using its cell membrane.
7. Cell membrane is a selective barrier.

Usually they are so small that you cannot see them.

Cells are ether eukaryotic or prokaryotic.

They can reproduce
They can grow
They can die
chromosomes (contain cell blueprints)
They have a nucleus
Have a cell wall
Some have a cell membrane
Cytoplasm
Plant cells have chloroplast
Mitochondrion (releases energy)
Vacuoles

FOR JANUARY 29

Hello science group
Last week we looked at these possibilities for life:



This is the solution I showed you last week and the candle flame we observed. Are they living?

Your Living List:
Living things can die
Living things reproduce
Living things grow
Living things change
Living things eat
Living things defend themselves
Living things have cells and organs
Living things have souls?

Your Not-Living List:
Non-Living things do not reproduce
Non-Living things do not die
Non-Living things do not move, unless caused to
Non-Living things do not grow
Non-Living things do not have cells

ASSIGNMENT:
1. Please explain (write in your journal AND if you like, post an email) why or why not they behave in one of the ways below by stating your answer like this:

“The solution is Living (or Non-Living) because________”.
“The flame is Living (or Non-Living) because________”.

2. HOW CAN YOU TEST YOUR ANSWER? Can you test for all the things on our lists? Do we need to adjust our definitions (lists)?

3. Make sure the above 2 lists are written in your journals as well as the assignment today please, and check the blog again by the weekend for more.