Trip to APR

My family went to the American Prairie Reserve (APR), for their annual open house over Memorial Day weekend. APR is located in northeast Montana, between Lewistown and Malta. I participated in activities including stargazing, plant collecting, and a swift fox presentation. My favorite activities were removing fence and visiting the Buffalo Jump.

The volunteer activity for the weekend was to remove fence from APR's Dry Fork Unit. We took out the fence to allow bison to get through. The fence was a 4-strand barbed wire with mix of metal and wooden posts. The jobs were clipping wire clips, pulling posts, transporting materials, and rolling wire. I mostly transported materials. The most exciting part was building a bridge across the creek.

On Saturday we took a driving tour to White Rock, looking for baby bison. Our vehicle got stuck in a mud hole, and a truck pulled us out. We decided to turn around and go to Buffalo Jump instead of White Rock. Before they had horses, Native Americans would direct bison off the cliff. Hundreds of bison could be harvested at a time this way.

Crosscut Biathlon Race

The race was held at Crosscut Mountain Sports Center, located in the Bridger Mountains near Bridger Bowl Ski Area.  I practice at Crosscut twice a week. Race day conditions were cold (19 ⁰F) and snow was icy.  I used blue wax which worked well for the conditions. The second shoot was gusty and third shoot was straight wind. Our coach gave us adjustments for the wind.

My race category was IBU (International Biathlon Union) U14 Elite. Anyone under 14 years old can enter this category. The race type was Individual with four one km ski laps and three shooting rounds. The penalty for each  missed target was 30 seconds. Racers started every 30 seconds. There were three competitors in my category.

Targets can be set to standing or prone.  Usually the right half of the range is set to prone and the left half is set to standing.  Standing targets are about the size of a CD and prone targets are about the size of golf ball.  Racers shoot standing or prone (on their stomach) depending on their category.  The novice category shoots prone on standing targets.  My race category shot three rounds of prone shooting at prone targets, with five shots per shooting round.

I hit a total of 8 targets.  My competitor hit one less target than I did, but skied faster.  We both shot well considering the wind.  For the last ski lap, I knew I would win if my competitor didn't pass me. My competitor was just turning the corner͒͑ when I crossed the finish line and I won by 9.5 seconds!  This was my first time to win a winter biathlon race.

Battle Bots

My Battle Robot

I am taking a robotics class. Our last assignment of the semester was to build and program battle bots to compete in class. Two robots at time compete on a 1 by 5 foot board. Last robot on the board wins.

My strategy was to make my robot as heavy as possible. I put as many Lego pieces as possible on my robot. My robot weighed about 2 pounds. I programmed my robot to drive at full power infinitely until the touch sensor gets pushed.

My classmates had a lot of different robot designs. One robot had a arm that would come around and whack the other robot off the board. Another robot spun in circles to knock the other robot off the board. 

The robot that nearly beat me had a 4 wheel drive system with a worm gear.  the worm gear locks the wheels when the motor is stopped.  My opponent reprogrammed his robot to take advantage of my robot's weakness.  My opponent's plan was for his robot to stop when it hit my robot, waiting for my robot's wheels to fall off, and then his robot would push mine off the board.  In the battle, the worm gear of my opponent's robot popped off and fell into the steering transfer case.  This allowed my robot to push his robot off the board. 

I won the competition! The prize was a 140 piece Lego Technic motorcycle and 100% on the next paper.

Deserts

Ian and Eric emptying the sand out of their shoes on a nature trail in Joshua Tree National Park.

This month we spent a week in the Mojave Desert.  We learned about the effects of mountain rain shadows and the extreme desert climate.  We learned how specific animals and plants are adapted to survive in this environment.

The boys observed jackrabbits, roadrunners, and quail and learned to identify Joshua trees, jumping chollas, and creosote bushes.  We hiked the Hi-View Nature Loop Trail in the Black Rock Canyon in Joshua Tree National Park.  On our hike we saw signs of a past forest fire, small animal holes in the ground and in plants, and fabulous views.

We visited the Hi-Desert Nature Museum in Yucca Valley, CA.  Museum exhibits included desert wildlife dioramas, live desert creatures, gem and mineral collections, and Native American artifacts.

Books:  Cactus Cafe: A Story of the Sonoran Desert by Zoehfeld;  Dig Wait Listen: A Desert Toad's Tale by Sayre;  The Tortoise and the Jackrabbit/ La Tortuga y la Liebre by Lowell;  A Walk in the Desert by Arnold;  Wonders of the Desert World by Rinard;  Death Valley: A Day in the Desert by Levinson;  Storm on the Desert by Lesser;  A Living Desert by Spencer

Videos:  The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! Miles and Miles of Reptiles by PBS;  Joshua Tree National Park by Scrub Oak Production

Oceans

Seaweed and Dolphin by Ian (crayons and watercolor)

Under the Ocean by Eric (crayons and watercolor)

On our trip to California included visiting the Pacific Ocean.  We listened to, smelled, felt, tasted, and watched the ocean waves.  We observed the tides rise and fall, and watched the sun set over the horizon.

Ocean topics included

• about 70% of the earth is covered by ocean water
• names and locations of the earth's oceans (Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic)
• salt water versus fresh water
• coastline, waves, and tides
• ocean floor landscape (mountain peaks and trenches)
• diversity of ocean life and underwater food chains

We created an ocean creature game based on the classic Battleship game, except that players search the ocean for animals (e.g. great white sharks, penguins) instead of shooting at ships.

Books:  Water Sings Blue: Ocean Poems by Coombs;  Down Down Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea by Jenkins;  What Sea Creature Is This?  by Allen;  Who Eats What? Food Chains and Food Webs by Lauber;  Oceans: Underwater Worlds by Salas;  Cat-Fish by Newton;  Exploring the Deep, Dark Sea by Gibbons;  What Lives in a Shell?  by Zoehfeld;  Mister Seahorse by Carle;  Coral Reefs by Gibbons;  Ocean Sunlight: How Tiny Plants Feed the Seas by Bang and Chisholm

Reference Books:  Scholastic Atlas of Oceans 

Videos:  The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! Ocean Commotion by PBS;  Kratt Bros. Be the Creature: Manatees, Coastal Creatures, and Sharks by National Geographic

Other Materials:   Melissa & Doug Ocean Wonders floor puzzle

How I Became a Pirate

Ian completed a How I Became a Pirate maze and word find.

This week we attended the musical How I Became a Pirate, performed by the Omaha Theater Company.  The musical is based on the picture book How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long and illustrated by David Shannon.  Before the performance, we read the book and discussed appropriate theater etiquette.  Ian was curious about how the storm in the book would be done on stage.  After the performance, we compared the musical to the book.

Eric had fun with the "Pantomiming: Pirate Booty" activity in the How I Became a Pirate Study Guide.  Eric wore a bandanna and pantomimed digging up a treasure chest, pulling something out of the chest, and using the treasure.  Ian and I guessed what Eric was pantomiming.

We also attended the Penn State Thespians performance of The Lorax, based on the book by Dr. Seuss.  After the show, the cast talked to the kids and signed programs.  The boys are very familiar with the book The Lorax, and this was another opportunity to see how a story can be performed on stage.

Lego Math

These Lego base 10 blocks represent the number 2,236.

This month we used Legos to practice pattern recognition/extension and to make base 10 blocks for learning place value (ones, tens, hundreds, and thousands).  Ian is also using the base 10 blocks to practice addition and subtraction. 

This month Ian tried out the Khan Academy.  He watched the videos and completed the practice problems on representing numbers and number lines.  Ian liked the videos but seems to prefer doing practice problems on Starfall, which uses cartoons and games.  On Starfall, Ian is practicing addition/subtraction, word problems, and using calendars.