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May 23, 2023
Spring Issue #9
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Weekly activities and lessons to keep your child thinking and progressing all year long. |
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“Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.”
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Good Evening,
I hope you are well and enjoying the long warm days. It is great to be back from the mountains. I had such a wonderful time at Outdoor Ed. with our students. I was so inspired by my hiking that I'm sharing some ideas which I hope will encourage hitting the trail.
If you're looking for an epic adventure read with big-picture, societal themes, this weeks book recommendation will be perfect for you. The Last Mapmaker is a fantasy brimming with adventure, surprises and betrayal. You will love the characters, the plot with all its twists, and the numerous life lessons and grand themes. There is also a fun activity dissecting flowers. This is a fun and educational exploration into plants and their structures. Check out the videos, and then go pick a few flowers (with permission). Enjoy the weekly writing prompts and challenging math problem as well.
If you know anybody who you think would benefit from the weekly learning activities in this flyer, please share it with your friends and encourage them to join The McManus Files mailing list by following the links on this page.
Peace,
Mr. McManus
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If you feel your child might benefit from an individual group or tutoring program to prepare them for the next phase of their education, please contact McManus Tutoring.
Programs are structured so that students learn independence, accountability, and self-possession. They will develop a repeatable structure that can be used to build success in the future.
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The Last Mapmaker
by Christina Soontornvat
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The Last Mapmaker was a joy to read. Both the world and the characters are written with such vibrance and depth. I loved that any character in the story could easily be the main character of another story that would be just as compelling as this one. I have enjoyed several of Christina Soontornvat’s middle grade books, and this one is definitely my favorite! This is one of those books that can be read on a surface or deeper level depending on the reader. I think most students will read this book as an epic adventure starring Sai, a scrappy and smart young lady determined to better her station in life, no matter the risks. However, there are some deeper themes to be found like colonization, environmental preservation, poverty, and the systemic control of marginalized populations. This book would make an excellent read aloud and would lead to some great discussions.
Enjoy!
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Summers and weekends are for the trails.
Need some ideas?
Here are 12 ideas to get
outside
Explore nearby
🔍Spend less time driving and enjoy hidden gems close to home.
Take a dip
💦Cool off in a waterfall on a hot summer day.
Stroll at sunrise
🌅Set the alarm clock early to enjoy the benefits of a morning view.
Hike like a local
🥾Travel to a new place and discover the community's favorites.
Adventure together
👥Hit the trails with family or friends and enjoy the views together.
Capture memories
📸Cherish your summer outside by taking a pic and sharing your adventures.
Challenge yourself
🔥See how far you’ve hiked this summer by recording your routes.
Snack at the summit
⛰️Pack up a picnic to snack on as a reward for making it to the top.
Leave no trace
🌱️Explore responsibly by following the 7 Principles of Leave No Trace.
Visit a national park
🏞️Make a trip to any national park and discover something unique.
Chase the stars
🌌Escape the city lights and see the illuminating stars in nature instead.
Make your own summer list
📝Save the trails you’ve been dreaming about by creating a list.
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Introduction
Springtime is when nature comes back to life. Trees are growing their leaves again and flowers are sprouting, displaying their beautiful colors and spreading their delightful smell. But have you ever looked at a flower in more detail? What parts do flowers consist of? Are all flowers alike? In this activity, you will find out by dissecting, or taking apart, a flower piece by piece. How many plant parts do you think you can identify?
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Tools and Materials
- Fresh flowering plants with large plant parts, such as roses, tulips, lilies, petunias, carnations, or irises (Three different flowering plants, 2 of each). Note: Make sure you select perfect flowers with male (stamen) and female (pistil) plant parts. If you have allergies to certain plants, make sure that you use an alternative.
- Glass or cup with water
- Paper plates (6)
- Tweezers
- Scissors
- Magnifying glass or hand lens (optional)
- Paper (optional)
- Colored pencils (optional)
- Tape (optional)
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Prep Work
- Label each of the paper plates with one plant part (Stem, Petal, Leaf, Pistil, and Stamen).
- Label one extra paper plate "Other".
- Draw lines onto each paper plate to divide it into three sections.
- Label each section on each plate with a name of one of the three flowering plants.
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Instructions
- Carefully look at each of the flowering plants. If you have a magnifying glass, you can use it to examine your plants and their flowers.
- Choose one of your flowering plants and start your plant dissection. Use your hands, scissors, or tweezers and carefully take apart your plant.
Can you already identify some of the plant parts?
- Once you have removed one part of the plant, try to identify it, and place it on the corresponding plate. Put it in the section that is labeled with the right plant name.
- If you cannot identify a specific plant part, place it on the "Other" plate.
- When you have finished taking the first plant apart, look at all its different parts.
How do different parts within one plant compare?
- Next, repeat the dissection with the remaining two flowering plants. Then compare the plant parts on each paper plate.
What do you notice about the same plant part from different flowering plants?
- Finally, take a look at all the plant parts that you placed on the "Other" plate. What do you think these plant parts are? How can you find out?
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Cleanup
Put any intact flowering plants into a vase with water. Discard all the dissected flower parts in your compost. Clean your work area and wash your hands with water and soap.
What Happened?
Just from looking at your flowering plants, you might have noticed that each looks quite different. Obvious differences, for example, are the size or color of a flower. However, when you dissected the plants, you should have been able to identify the same plant parts for each of your plants. Each of them should have had a stem, which might have had some green leaves on it; colorful flower petals; the female flower part (pistil) at the center of the flower; and the male plant parts (stamen) that produce the pollen. When you compare each plant part, you noticed that they all look very different. For example, a petal looks very different from the stem. This is because each plant part has a specific function, and its appearance is optimized to fulfill that function.
If you compare the same plant parts between different flowers, you might have observed that they look more similar. They might not have looked exactly the same, but you should have seen that they have the same functional features. For example, although flower petals can differ in size and color, they are all brightly colored or shaped in a special way to attract pollinators such as bees or other insects. The differences between different flowering plants allow us to identify different plant species. Luckily, each plant species evolved to look a little different—otherwise all flowers would look the same, and spring wouldn't be as colorful!
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Digging Deeper
Not all plants make flowers; those that do are called flowering plants. But do flowers only exist to make plants look pretty? Not quite! Although they also look pretty, flowers are made for reproduction, which means they help make more plants by growing seeds. If you look closely at a flower, you might see that it is made of many different parts, each with a specific purpose.
Some flowering plants have a stem, which is a long stalk that carries and supports the flower. Leaves are of great importance as they produce the food for the plant by photosynthesis, a process that makes plant food from light, carbon dioxide in the air, and water.
When you look at the flower of a flowering plant, the most obvious parts are probably the flower petals. They can vary in size and shape, but are usually brightly colored. Their purpose is to attract insects that help to pollinate the flower. You might be surprised to learn that some flowers—in the botanical world they are called perfect flowers—have male and female parts, and each plays an important role during pollination. The male parts, called stamens, look like long stalks with a little round shape at their tip. They consist of a slender filament and a ball-shaped anther, which contains the plant pollen. This bright yellow or orange dust is what insects such as bees or flies carry from one plant to another when they are looking for nectar inside a flower.
Pollination occurs if the pollen gets carried to the female parts of a new flower, called the pistil. The pistil is usually a long stalk located in the center of the flower, and is also made up of several parts. Most importantly, it contains the ovary at its bottom, which houses the female plant eggs called ovules. When pollen is dropped into the pistil of a new flower, the eggs, or ovules, inside the plant ovaries are fertilized. The fertilized ovules then grow into plant seeds and the ovary becomes the fruit. As you can see, a flower is much more than just a pretty sight: it is essential for a plant to create its offspring!
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Three Writing Prompts and an Essay Topic
These prompts and questions will help jump-start your daily writing. Just as it's important to read for at least 30 minutes each day, you should also write for 30 minutes a day. Don't worry about your organization or spelling, just write!
Which would be worse, being lost in space or lost at sea? Why?
"I would never ask anyone to ___________ because..."
"Meeting Bigfoot's parents was fun until..."
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May 23rd
Today is "Penny Day." Many people believe that if you find a penny face up, it might be lucky and you should pick it up. They also believe if you find a penny face down, you should leave it on the ground. What are your thoughts? Do you think there is such a thing as a "lucky penny?"
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PLAY
Battleship
Click this link to play the classic game Battleship.
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