The Amazing Bears

 

Posted by Paola
 I've some research on bears and I would like to share some information about them with you.

Bears are some of the best known animals in the world, and one of the places they can be found is in Yosemite National Park.

An interesting thing about bears is that their body temperature hardly ever changes. Even if the temperature around them changes!

Senses

Bears usually stand upon their hind legs to get a better view, to catch a sent, or to threaten other animals. Bears sense of smell play an important roll in life. They use it to find food, to identify  cubs, and to find mates. They also use it to help find any near by danger.

Species of Bear

There are many of species of bear. Some of them are the Grizzly, which is named for it's grizzled patches of white fur among it's brown coat, the American Black Bear, the Asian Black Bear, and the Sun Bear. 

The Asian Black Bear has a white patch on it's chest, that is where it got it's nickname, the Moon Bear.

Hibernating

Black Bears aren't always black, the can sometimes come in brownBears eat a lot in the fall so they could build body fat which will keep them warm in long winter months. The American Black Bear hibernates for seven months without food.

Stay tuned, I will post more about bears. Bye for now!

Animals of the Week

 

 Every week, Alex and I will each pick an animal to write about. This is the page where we will post all the links to our posts. Keep an eye out for our animal posts tomorrow!

Paola and Alex

Animal Posts

Amazing Bears

The Ferocious Great White Shark

A Cool Magic Show

Posted by Paola
On February 20, 2010, my family and I went to a magic show. Robin's friend, Ray was a magician at the show. Cool, right? Well there is something even cooler. My big brother Robin, was also performing at the show. I am going to tell you about my favorite tricks, and about Robin's performance.

Unfortunately, you were not allowed to bring a camera, but here is a picture of the whole crew. My brother is the one in the middle of the back row.

The first trick I am going to tell you about is really funny. Ray, the magician gets a magic trick every month. He got a package which was supposed to contain a yellow bandana, but instead, it contained a banana. He folded the banana up, and placed it in a small sheet. He held the sheet tight in a ball. When he unfolded the sheet, the banana was gone! He reached in his pocket, and pulled out a yellow bandana! It was amazing!

Another cool trick was called "Mission Impossible." Ray had a big box, and he proved to the audience it was empty. He took a balloon dog, and placed it in the box. He closed and locked the box. When he opened it, he pulled out a real dog! 

Now I am going to tell you about Robin's performance. The lights on the stage were turned off, and Robin pulled out a glowing red light. He showed it to the audience, and then swallowed it. Then, it appeared in his hand. He held the light in one hand, and he put it into his pocket with the other hand. But it seemed to be multiplying! When he pulled one into his pocket, one was still in his hand. He did some other stuff with the light and the trick ended.

This is a picture of Robin doing the lights trick.

The next trick Robin did was with a bottle and a cup. He had two hollow cylinders made of metal. He put one over the glass and the other over the bottle. But when he moved one cylinder over the bottle another bottle appeared. "The trick only works if I have one extra bottle," Robin said. When he removed the the metal cylinders, I realized the glass and the bottle had switched places! He did this several times, and he also found several more bottles. Each time he found an extra bottle he said, "But you have to have one extra bottle." And he also says that his magic only works because he has belief.
 

This is Robin doing the bottle trick.

 We had a great time at the show and I can't wait to see more magic.
To find out more about Robin's magic tricks or to book a show go to:

Colorado Dinosaur Museum

Posted by Alex



My family and I went to a dinosaur museum in Woodland Park, Colorado. We drove passed the museum on our long road trip, so we decided to check it out. There were many interesting fossils, and they came in a variety of shapes and sizes. Here are some photos of what we saw.

A map of the early Cretaceous period.



This is me standing by a dinosaur fossil

 Utahraptors hunt big herbivores, like the Iguanodon. They used the big claw on their feet to scratch open prey.

The Pteranodon was a large flying reptile that lived near the ocean. It ate fish and squid. It had a wing span of thirty five feet from tip to tip.

This is one of several dinosaur museums that I've been to around the world. Stay tuned for more posts about the other museums I visited.

My Favorite Horse Books

Posted by Paola
This is a post I originally wrote on my Horse blog:






Today I want to tell you a little bit about my favorite horse books.

I like to read a book series called "The Phantom Stallion." It is about a girl who fell off her wild colt, and the colt ran away. The girl's name is Sam. The colt grew up to be a leader of a herd of wild horses. At night, when people see the stallion, they think it is a phantom. It's white coat probably makes it look like one too, especially at night. Sam decides to let the horse stay in the wild. Every night, she goes out to the river, and her horse comes to her. He seems to be calmer with her at night.
















The "Black Stallion" is also one of my favorite book series. It is about a boy named Alec and a wild black horse that only he can get near. Its name is The Black, and he has many adventures in many places. In one book, he goes to the Everglades National Park. There is even a TV series about Alec and the Black. The name of the TV series is "The Adventures of the Black Stallion."

  















I am also reading a book called "A Glory of Unicorns." It is a book with many fairy tales about unicorns.

Stay tuned, I will make posts about each chapter in the book.

We were featured on the Homeschool Desk

        Posted by Paola and Alex



On February 24, Jodi wrote about our blog on The Homeschool Desk . You should check it out!  She loves our blog. Alex and I really appreciate the nice things she said. The Homeschool Desk is a great blog if you want home school tips.

Planting Seeds

On Sunday the twenty first, my family and I went to the hardware store to buy seeds and plants. We bought black tomato, bell peppers, beans, lettuce, and parsley seeds. Here are the grown plants we bought,  rosemary, basil, sage, bell peppers, and tomatoes. 

  

We also bought a miniature greenhouse. These are the steps to plant the seeds. First, we put soil in the little holes. Then, we pour lukewarm water into the soil. While the soil was still moist, used the blunt end of a pencil, and dug small holes in each section. After that, we put two of the same types of seeds in each hole. Then, we buried them. Lastly, we labeled each plant and put on the greenhouse lid. We will give them water a couple times a day.

  

  

  

 

 Since we had extra seeds, Mom let Alex and I take care of our own plants. I chose a black tomato, and Alex chose a bell pepper. First we poured soil into our pots. Then, we took the blunt end of a pencil and dug a few small holes in our pots. ( One in the center and a few around it.)  We followed the same drill as in the miniature greenhouse, and put two seeds in each hole. Then, we watered the plants. The last thing we did was put a small piece of plastic over are pots and fastened it with a rubber band.

  

  

 

We had an exciting day!

Posted by Paola and Alex