Thornburgh 5 Daily Log 10-19-06

Oct. 19, 2006

This morning we could hear the rain falling on the metal roof. We crawled out of bed and got ready for another busy day. We had a yummy breakfast of fruit, eggs, bacon toast granola and cereal. We then headed off with our learning groups. In the morning one group learned about plants. We learned about the different types of trees and plants that live in the forest. We acted out the functions of the parts of a tree. The heartwood supports the tree, the xylem soaks in water and nutrients, the cambium helps the parts to get bigger, the phloem takes the sugars made by photosynthesis from the leaves down to the rest of the plant and the bark protects the plant. We did a neat activity called “Each One Teach One”. We each learned about one plant on the trail and then we shared that knowledge with everyone else. We did this really cool sampling activity where we counted the different varieties of plants living in one square meter of the forest floor. We wanted to find out if there was more biodiversity in an open area without canopy cover or in and area with a thick canopy. We made predictions, took several samples, averaged our results and then graphed our results. After a lunch of fruit and peanut butter sandwiches, we headed out again. In the afternoon, one group did the UP Close and Personal lesson. They were learning about the really small things living in the forest. We talked about abiotic things like rocks, soil, and light. We learned an acronym to remember some of the abiotic factors in the forest. LAWS… Light, Air, Water, and Soil. We did a soil sit where we looked at a small area of soil and observed all the living (biotic) and non-living(abiotic) things living in the soil. It was amazing to see how many things were in the soil. We looked at different kinds of moss. We learned that moss is cool because it doesn't have roots. It absorbs water through the very thin celled leaves. We went on a lichen hike where we learned that lichen are a symbiotic relationship between algae and fungi. We learned about and identified many different kinds of lichen. Then it was off to the lab to look at our finds under the microscopes. We saw some really cool things. After some fun free time we had yummy burritos for dinner. Oh yes! We had a surprise visitor! Mrs. Wollan came for a visit. We were all happy to see her and share what we had learned. After dinner we sang a really silly song and then we got into groups and did skits about constellations stories. Even the chaperones and Mrs. Thornburgh did a skit. We are all a little sad to think that Mountain School is ending in the morning.