SLOTHS!!
We almost missed sloth week! Who doesn’t love these relatives of the armadillo and anteater? These slow, arboreal and adorable mammals are one of our favorites! They live in the rainforests of South America hanging out in the trees! They are sooooooo slothy that algae grows in their fur! We secretly have a theory that at night, they don capes and fly around sprinkling thoughts of cute sloths all over people as they sleep! Hahaha! What’s your favorite thing about sloths?
GUESS THE ANIMAL!
We headed to the tip of the African continent to find today’s animal! Make sure you read the clues after you look at the picture. We are looking for a specific answer (a species- not just a general animal name).
WHO IS IT?
Day 36- We’re back on the road to Africa this week…
We packed our good old trunk with the necessities and boarded the E&E plane to Africa this week! So nice to be back on the road. We thought we would do a safari and look for what animals we could find! After we landed we headed out to camp and unloaded in our cabin for the week. We were excited to see what animals we could find! Luckily one of our first sights was the amazing gerenuk (Gair-uh-nook)…
Range/Habitat: East Africa/dry and bushy scrub
Diet: Herbivore: leaves
Length/Weight: 4 ½ -5 ¼ ft/62-115 lb
Conservation Status: Near Threatened
Gerenuks are kind of funny looking with their long thin bodies and giant ears. We think it’s super cool that they can stand up on their hind legs to eat! What a neat adaptation! They are called the giraffe gazelle, but they’re not related to the giraffe- because we know that’s the okapi! So many fun names! Edmond said he’s going to write a song about gerenuks and okapis- he is so silly!
–Ellie
SCIENCE WORD OF THE WEEK!
So nice to see everyone this fine Monday! Now that the computers here at the University have been fixed we can get on with the business of learning! We sure hope you enjoyed World Giraffe Day on Saturday! Those mammals know how to reach for the stars! Hahaha! So who’s ready to learn this weeks word? ME!
An Ecosystem ( ek-oh-sis-tuh
m, ee-koh) is a group of living organisms (both plants and animals) that exist in one area together. Ecosystems include the soils, water and atmospheres that these organisms share.
Ecosystems can be very small to vast areas, such as savannas. The organisms that exist together in an ecosystem are dependent on each other to survive. One of my favorite ecosystems are tide pools. These amazing areas are where sea water and animals and plants are trapped during low tide on rocky coast lines. Tide pools are so fun to explore during the low tide, you can find sea stars, anemones, shrimp, crabs and seaweed among other things! Have any of you been lucky enough to explore a tide pool?
WORLD GIRAFFE DAY!!
Woohoo- it’s World Giraffe Day and we are so excited! We love the tallest mammal on earth! They’re lanky, graceful and have funny horn like things on their heads! Come learn some fun stuff about giraffes with us and tell us why you love them!
Giraffes are such special creatures. Many people are drawn to them; maybe it’s the spots, maybe the knobby knees or maybe it’s the ossicones. Whatever it is you love about giraffes, make sure you take time today to learn how you can help protect them in the wild. Check out the World Giraffe Day website! We’ve made a giraffe coloring sheet for you too!
WORLD SEA TURTLE DAY!
While the computer was down at HQs we missed World Sea Turtle Day! We so love these amazing reptiles that we could pass up a time to celebrate them and teach you some fun facts! We have seen 2 species in the wild- green sea turtles in the Caribbean and a Leatherback female laying her eggs on an island near Indonesia.
Sea turtles are being affected by humans. Their often mistake trash for food. The babies get distracted by lights on the beach as they head towards the ocean. And turtles are often hit by boats. We can help our sea turtle friends by making sure our trash never enters the ocean or is left on the beaches. If you live where there may be nests, turn your lights off at night. For other tips on how you can help sea turtles- check out the Sea Turtle Conservancy! Enjoy this sea turtle coloring sheet too!
GUESS THE ANIMAL!
It’s that great day when you tell us who the animal is! Edmond picked this for his birthday! Read the clues, look at the pic and give it a shot!
WHO IS IT?
HAPPY BIRTHDAY EDMOND!!!
Edmond photo bombing a seagull
We’re BACK!! Our computer here at HQs is working like new! Whew! It is very hard to type with hooves and a trunk as it is, so when it started acting crazy we were in big trouble! Luckily, it was fixed in time for Edmond’s birthday! We thought we’d share some fun facts about our favorite horse and horses in general and then you can color your own Edmond! If you download the coloring sheet, share your artwork with us!
Full name: Edmond J. Horse
Born in Colorado
Favorite accesory: his red bandana
Favorite activity: eating apples and dancing
Favorite color: red
Edmond is always up for an adventure, mischief and general silliness. He keeps us laughing here at HQs!
Here are some fun facts about horses:
We horses come in large breeds to very small miniature sizes. We have worked and helped humans for thousands of years. Horses are very special and if you have one in your life, count yourself as very lucky! I’m going to enjoy some apple pie and dancing for my birthday, come join me! And please share your coloring sheet when you are done! You can find us on Facebook and Twitter!
GUESS THE ANIMAL!!
Worlds Oceans Day inspired us to take the E&E submarine out and explore the vast big blue! We decided to hit up the Gulf of Mexico this week and see what animals we could find! Today’s Guess the Animal is a big one! Read the clues and let us know who you think it is!
WHO IS IT?
SCIENCE WORD OF THE WEEK!
Welcome back to class everyone! We hope you celebrated World’s Oceans Day with Ellie and Edmond yesterday! If not, make sure you check out the post and the coloring sheet! Today’s word is a big one- so let’s get ready to learn!
Today’s word is Biology: the study of living things. This includes all five kingdoms of living things on our planet. Those are animals, plants, fungus, protista (single and mutilcellular algae and flagella and monera (single and colonial bacteria and blue-green algae). Whew that is a mouth full. Biologists- the scientist who study living things specialize in all of these different kingdoms. Some biologist study one kind of fungus or just one species of animal, where others study whole groups! Biology is one of the best kinds of sciences out there! Do any of our students want to be biologist?
The Adventures of Ellie and Edmond 