Monarch Butterflies at risk..

This week we have been learning all about cause and effect in our literature. However, today Ms. Race received an email with an article stating that Monarch Butterflies are dying out and dying quickly! So we wanted to know what caused this to happen?! Why is this happening, why are the Monarchs disappearing when they are one of the most beautiful butteries found in Arkansas and many other states. Well here is what we discovered....

Cause: Americans have created a new poison that kills out weeds. Well here is the problem, we want the weeds gone from our roadsides, fields, and farms. So we have started using a new poison that eliminates these weeds. Sounds good right?! Wait, here is the problem, when we kill out the weeds we are killing out Milkweed. Milkweed is the number one thing butterflies eat and how they survive! We discovered Monarchs get a special poison from the Milkweed that helps them fight off their predators.

Effect: The Monarch Butterflies are dying out in massive numbers! We need to see what we can do to help them!

Here are a few ideas:

Jocelyn- "Why don't we just replant the milkweed in a different location?"
Libby- "Why don't they make a weed remover that kills all other weeds but leaves the Milkweed?"
Landon- "Why don't they put a barrier around the milkweed?"
Presten- "Why don't they cut a large area of grass and plant milkweed specifically in that area?"
Jakob- "Why don't they find a new location where there are no crops?"

Bees...

This week we are learning all about bees. Bees are actually pretty cool insects. We learned there are 3 types of bees in each hive. 1. Queen Bee- only one queen bee in each colony. 2. Workers- all the female bees 3. Drones- all the male bees.

Here are some cool facts:
1. During the winter, the drones are expelled from the hive and left to survive on their own.
2. The queen bee lays about 2,000 eggs A DAY!!! She can lay up to 2 million eggs in her lifetime. She lives about 4-5 years.
3. About 80,000 bees live in a colony.
4. If the queen bee dies, the workers pick one female bee and feed her a special food called "royal jelly."

We now have a few questions for you...

1. How many species of bees are there?

2. How do you tell two different kinds of bees apart?

3. How do they make their hives?

4. Why do some bees borough?

5. Does the honey keep the hive together?

6. How many colonies of Bumble Bees are left?

7. How big or small is a bee?

8. Are wasp, hornets, yellow jackets, and bees related?

Japanese Culture

This week we are reading a story called How My Parents Learned to Eat. This story is all about an American sailor who married a young Japanese girl. Now here are a few things we have noticed:

1. They seem to always sit on the floor.
2. They sleep on the floor.
3. They eat with chopsticks all the time!
4. They also eat sukiyaki and tofu.
5. They drink their soup instead of eating it.
6. They wear kimonos.

Now these are a few things we just discovered through our reading and the pictures. Here is our question for you.....WHY? Why do they always sit on the floor? Why do they sleep on the floor? Why do they drink their soup instead of eating it? We are just very curious as to WHY!!!!??? We hope that you have some cool culture facts to share with us all about the Japanese culture!

 

Sukiyaki

Tofu

California Drought

We have recently discovered that California is in some big trouble! They are currently experiencing one of the worse droughts they have seen in over a hundred years. Lakes, reservoirs, and rivers are all dried up! Farmers are suffering from lack of water, produce, and income! So here are some of our discoveries...

Problems:
*crops die
* fewer vegetables and fruits
* higher prices
* little to NO water
* long time without water
* wildfires
* Seems to look a lot like the desert

Ideas to help: *Take vacations to California and carry water along for others!
* Run a pipe to transport water
*store water in containers and bottles for transportation
* Use airplanes to drop water
* plant large gardens here in Arkansas to donate vegetables
* Transport water to the lakes
* Use freezer trucks to transport excess snow and ice to California 

Creatures....

We have been taking time to create our very own polar species using Google! Here are a few...

We had to come up with diet, predators, habitat, and specific characteristics. 

We are back...

It has been a little while since we have been on our blog. We are so sorry but we have been very very busy! As you know, we worked so hard last time we blogged learning all about penguins! Well you would be completely amazed at what all we really did discover! (Don't worry pictures will hopefully be coming soon!) Now it is a new week and a new idea...so here we go!

This Sunday is Dr. Seuss' birthday! One of the greatest children's author ever...well in Ms. Race's opinion. In honor of a Dr. Seuss we would like to know.....

1. What is your favorite Dr. Seuss book? What is your favorite part in that story?

2. When did Dr. Seuss begin his writing?

3. Do you like any of the Dr. Seuss' movies?

4. Can you give me a detail from your favorite Dr. Seuss book?

5. Have you ever tried.......green eggs and ham????

Penguins...

This week we are diving into the cold waters to find a very interesting animal! We are learning all about penguins this week. Penguins are actually pretty cool animals. Here are a few facts...

1. The daddy penguin carries the egg on his feet to keep it warm! 

2. Some penguins live in the South Polar region. 

3. An enemy of the penguin....is a sea lion! 

4. Penguins are cold-blooded animals. 

5. One penguin always keeps guard to assure it safe to enjoy lunch! 

Now it is your turn to tell us what you know! 

1. How fast can a penguin swim?

2. Why do they live in cold places? Where all do they live?

3. Do they have trouble with land animals or only sea animals?

4. What kind of food do they eat? Just fish?

5. How many species of penguins exist today?

Happy penguins! Please be sure to send us some cool websites!