NEXUS: "Open afresh your round of starry folds, Ye ardent marigolds! Dry up the moisture from your golden lips." `John Keats

I love these Marsh Marigolds by photographer, Mark Golbach,

found on his gorgeous blog on gardening. The link is HERE.

The diurnal lemon-yellow fluorescence of these spring flowers, riotous clusters nestled into a mass of glossy emerald-green leaves, proliferates in swampy and wet woodland areas and is another of my favorite things.

Their scientific name is Caltha palustris. (caltha is Greek for drinking cup or goblet, which describes their bowl-shape. Palus is Latin for marsh, which is where they grow in radiant abundance.) How serendipitous that their name derives from both cultures that we're presently studying!

One of my cherished memories is gathering ample bouquets of Marsh Marigolds on walks with my young daughter. They graced our kitchen table each spring. Such a simple pleasure. Shakespeare wrote of them in The Winter's Tale, opening, dew-filled, at sunrise and closing at sunset. . .

Here's flowers for you,
  Hot lavender, mints, savory, marjoram,
    The marigold, that goes to bed wi' th' sun.
      And with him rises weeping.

ASSIGNMENTS FOR

6th-10th

________________________

SCIENCE

Monday: BrainPOP's ENDOCRINE SYSTEM video Vocabulary & Quiz
Tuesday: The Human Endocrine System's Glands--"open-book" worksheet

Wednesday & Thursday: Review together

"Endocrine Glands and Hormones They Produce" Interactive can be found HERE
HERE is another Endocrine System Interactive

Of What We're Capable. . .

A Good Review--Just Hearing It All Again!

Did you hear that? We have 100 trillion "little individual parts of our bodies" working together? Well, immediately I want to know what a hundred trillion looks like. . .so I found THIS site. You'll just have to add 99 more trillion (which will be 198 more layers) to the pile--Holey moley!

Also, try to wrap your brain around this; just how big a number is 100 trillion?
To get an idea:

A million seconds = 12 days.

A billion seconds = 31 years.

A trillion seconds = 31,688 years

100 trillion seconds = 3,168,800 years!

Friday: BHT on the Endocrine System

AND NOW PRESENTING (TA-DA!!!)OUR AMAZINGLY,

WONDERFULLY, STUPENDOUSLY CREATIVE (Did I mention marvelous?)

ENDOCRINE SONG!! (WOO-HOO!)
Sung to the tune of Yankee Doodle

(You have to sing it to really appreciate it!

INTRODUCTION

The function of the endocrine

Is sharing information

Eight glands make and release hormones

Which enter our circulation.

These chemicals affect or react

With our body causing

Changes that will prepare us

For just about anything

THE HYPOTHALAMUS (CB and JD)

The hypothalamus in the brain
Controls the whole endocrine
Affecting seven other glands

It takes in information

To regulate the level of

Hormones that are inside us

Messages sent to the brain

Go through the hypothalamus

THE PITUITARY GLAND (CP & JP)

The pituitary gland is just

Below the hypothalamus

The size of just a tiny pea

It controls much inside us

Our blood pressure and nerve impulses

Growth and maturation

Sexual development

Essential to everyone.

THE PINEAL GLAND

The pineal gland is very small

And shaped just like a pine cone

One-third inch long, mysterious,

Much of its function’s unknown

This pea-sized pineal gland’s in our

Brain’s geometric center

Releasing melatonin, which

Allows us to sleep better.

THE THYROID GLAND (AW & MT)

THE PARATHYROIDS (HM)

The thyroid gland is on our trachea

And helps produce protein

It controls metabolism

Also growth in children

On the back of our thyroid

Four parathyroid glands lie

Controlling calcium levels on

Which nerves and muscles rely

THE THYMUS GLAND (JM & TT)

THE ADRENAL GLANDS (JR & TS)

The thymus is below the thyroid

And behind the breastbone

Development of insulin

Is its job until we’re grown

Located on top of our kidneys

Are our two adrenal glands

Adrenaline is produced there

To give “fight or flight” commands

THE PANCREAS

The pancreas is located

Deep inside our abdomen

Digestive juices it creates

And the hormone insulin

Enzymes found in pancreatic

Juice allow our body

To break down carbohydrates,

Proteins, fats to stay healthy

THE GONADS (TL & EL)
The gonads are the reproductive

Glands --they secrete hormones

Testes are the male gonads

Which produce testosterone

The female reproductive system’s

Most important organ--

The ovaries -- produce sex hormones

That secrete estrogen.

NEGATIVE FEEDBACK MECHANISM

There is a mechanism that

Controls our hormone levels

Working like a thermostat

To balance high or low swells

How this system regulates is

Through negative-feedback

Releasing hormones to adjust

To normal what gets off track.

CONCLUSION

This is a really long song

About the endocrine system

Which regulates such functions as

Growth and metabolism

Simply put this system’s small but

highly crucial organs

Produce, store, and secrete more than

Twenty important hormones!

SOCIAL STUDIES
Ancient Greece

Monday:

MAIN SITES TO EXPLORE:

The British Museum's ANCIENT GREECE -- So Cool!

ALSO:

ANCIENT GREECE FOR KIDS
ANCIENT GREECE
FAMOUS PEOPLE, GOVERNMENT, OLYMPUS, ETC.
ANCIENT GREECE Q & A (Click HERE for questions to explore with a partner.)

AND THEN THERE'S MYTHOLOGY:

GREEK GODS-INFO. So-o much to explore!
MR. DONN'S GREEK GODS
THE TWELVE LABORS OF HERCULES
GREEK MYTHOLOGY: EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO KNOW
BRITISH MUSEUM-STORIES OF THE GODS
GREEK MYTHOLOGY PRACTICE slide presentation
GREEK MYTHOLOGY OVERVIEW slide presentation

GREEK GODS CROSSWORD PUZZLE--

USE THE INFORMATION FROM ABOVE TO COMPLETE!

Tuesday & Wednesday:

Greek and Roman Architecture

Draw three kinds of Greek columns and write a brief description of each. Indicate which columns the Romans continued to use.

Really good information and illustrations can be found HERE.

For information plus illustrations of columns, look HERE.

Thursday:

"Constellations have been an important part of human society and folklore since we humans lived in caves, and, probably, even before then. The fascinating figures that we see in the night sky are so large and so beautiful that we have felt a very strong urge to attach importance to them. People have done this throughout the ages by creating very interesting stories and legends in an attempt to explain where these large "pictures" in the sky came from. These stories, also known as mythology, behind the constellations can be as interesting as studying the constellations themselves." ~Astronomy for Kids

ACTIVITY: Choose a constellation to transfer onto ½ sheet of black paper:

Place sheet with constellation over black paper.
Use a thumbtack to poke holes where stars are located.
Use a silver sharpie to mark where the holes are located.
Use silver sharpie and a ruler to connect the dots (as seen in the constellation picture).
Use silver glitter to mark the location of the principle starss
Write a brief description of the constellation myth.

Friday: We're going to create our own mini-planetariums for viewing some of the better-known constellations. (Please notice that the following patterns are printed in reverse; can you explain why?)

Print of THIS page to create film canister constellations (needed: push pins) HERE's more.
Want to make your very own constellation? I mean really?? THIS is awesome!