Thinking about time

I'm so excited!  At this time of year, I start to feel the effect of the shorter days and like the trees, I turn inward. I begin to reflect on the last year and dream for the coming year.  Last week, my daughter and I found an amazing calendar at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.  It is called the ECOlogical Calendar by Chris Hardman; the subtitle is 'A New Way to Experience Time.'

 I am ready for a new way to experience time, especially this time of year.  Instead of looking at a year in the traditional human sense, with months, days, and hours, this calendar looks at a year from the perspective of seasons-winter, spring, summer, fall-and the star position, sun position, moon position, ocean tides, and...you guessed it....phenological events.

You probably already know that I geek out about this stuff.  So, I bought the calendar and was reading it this morning as I start to plan for 2012.  I knew I made a good purchase when I got to the fourth page that starts out "It's All Connected."  I will quote my new friend Hardman at length here to broaden our definition of phenology...it's good:

"Over the past several decades there has been a growing awareness of the interrelatedness of all things....This awareness has strongly influenced the study of ecology-the science of how living things interact with one another and their environment. Such interactions are affected by seasonally triggered events in nature.
Phenology, the study of timing of natural events, is an important component of ecology. Phenology was originally conceived to assist in successful planting of food crops and management of domesticated animals; phenological findings provided the information for framers' almanacs. More recently, phenology has expanded to include natural cycles on a broader scale, making the discipline an indispensable source of information for the ECOlogical Calendar."

So when we think about this new way to experience time, it is through nature's events based on the seasons, not the clock on my cell phone.  I have a busy life and I find myself needing to know the exact minute of the day, what meeting I need to be in, where I need to go, and what I need to do.  Instead, what if I thought about my week in comparison to where Jupiter is in the sky, which geese are migrating, and what the kangaroo rats are gathering?  It's not as practical for my daily life, but it does remind me of what is happening in the world that I am connected to.

By the way:  this week, Jupiter can be seen in the evening sky, the snow geese are migrating in large groups (100-1,000 birds) from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico (1,700 miles before resting!!!!), and the kangaroo rats are creating storage areas in the soil near their dens making sure that their winter food does not spoil in the wet/damp soil.

As you probably know, I had all of you in mind when I bought this calendar.  I will be using Hardman's new perspective of time to add to our discussions on this blog.

Dr. Keena

Hidden Treasures

Does this look like an ordinary tree???

Look harder....

We found an engravement under the tree above. The engraving said,"This tree is dedicated to Michael Hopkins Bertha Heid Elementary November 1, 1996."

Who do you think Michael Hopkins is?

Trivia of the week:
What percentage of energy do Americans waste?
Bonus Question:
What percentage of the world's population do Americans make up?

Signs of Wildlife

We think these are insect eggs on a fallen leaf.

A grasshopper hopped across Patricio's notebook.

We saw mysterious tracks in the snow leading to a hole in the ground under an evergreen tree!

swinging and journaling

On November 3, 2011 Ms.Werner's class decided to experiment to see if we could swing and jurnal at the same time, which we achieved.We observed trees with no leaves, trees with some leaves, and pine trees with needles.
The most exciting thing that happened was that Junior slipped and fell in the snow! (=.

We had a blast!!

Weird, True and Freaky: Achieve Academy

When we out to the schoolyard today, Caleb saw the creepiest tree because it looked old and like it had a lot of hands. Another weird tree that Ty saw had only one leaf on it. The leaf was on the very top, and the rest of the branches were bare. Ty infers that it was too cold, and the rest of the leaves fell off. He thinks that one leaf was healthy. Elizabeth saw a tree with holes in the bark that looked like eyes. Caleb thinks a woodpecker pecked the holes.

Lexus observed it was really wet outside yesterday. Patricio observed the field was covered with snow, and the playground didn’t have any snow on it. He infers that the kids on the playground made the snow melt faster. Elizabeth observes that yesterday, the snow sounded crunchy when you walked on it, but today, it was softer. She saw that there were footprints and dog tracks in the snow, and the snow sparkled because the sunlight reflected off it.  

The snow is sparkly, white, brown, dirty, and yellow. Dalia inferred that people step on the snow, mud got on it to make it dirty, and a dog might have peed on the yellow parts. Ty saw that the snow was black on the side of the road, and he inferred that the cars made the snow black.

We saw two of the weirdest leaves stuck together that had three little things popping out of it. We infer that a spider laid eggs on the leaf or that the leaf was burned by the sun.

We found a tree wolf spider when we got back to the classroom, and when you shine a flashlight on them in the dark, their eyes glow like cat’s eyes. The creature had a creepy reddish-tan body the size of a quarter with a brown head. The spider is not poisonous, but we became nervous because it was crawling fast at us. Mr. G found out that the spider eats pill bugs (rolly pollies).

Drippy Days!

Today on Friday, November 4, 2011, our class went to the front yard of our school and we started nature journaling. We observed the snow melting and it created a lot of water. There was less shade. Nick and Francisco made handprints in the snow and a lot of water started seeping into the impressions they left in the snow.

There was less shade because now most of the leaves have fallen off the trees. We also noticed that it was wetter underneath the trees. Most of the snow gathered on the leaves and is now melting underneath it.

We also noticed that the building, especially the area around the door, is appearing older. There was a lot more dents and cracks on the door than it did a year ago. It also doesn't open as wide as it used to.

There weren't very many natural noises. We didn't hear as many birds (but we did see a two birds pass by). But, we did hear an airplane, the wind, cars, and Maribelle screaming after a bug landed on her. There was also a phone ringing in someone's house.

The snow was very damp and hard or crunchy. We inferred that this happened because some of the snow melted, but it froze again last night making it hard and crunchy. Today, because it was a lot warmer, a lot of it melted as well.

The Naked Trees

The snow makes us feel like we're in the mountains because the cold air feels fresh. The trees were naked and covered with white snow, but some were still full of colorful leaves. The great smells and sights, the leaves falling and changing colors, and so many beautiful things to see changed all in one day. The weather changed from warm to cold very quickly, and then it warmed up. The snow melted fast in our hands. A week ago, we saw birds, squirrels, and butterflies. Now we see birds flying south. Seeing the seasons change is a great experience. The snow is like a white, fluffy blanket, but when Gio’s brother throws a snowball it fells like a slap in the face. The snow reminds us of Santa and gives us memories, and it make us feel like it’s almost Christmas.