Snow Day!

Roxanne's snow day

We have been visiting friends in Colorado.  Yesterday we went to Rocky Mountain National Park.  It is such a beautiful place!

While we were there, it began to snow.  Wow!  It was so much fun!

Dad threw me a snowball.  I tried to catch it, but it broke apart in my mouth.  

What happened to the snow ball?

After the long drive, I just wanted to run.  I love running in the snow!  

We don't have much snow in Texas.  Do you have snow where you live?  I hope that you have fun playing in it.

If you would like some great ideas on what to do during your snow days, just click below :

http://northattleboroughmoms.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/TT_SnowFun.pdf

http://britton.disted.camosun.bc.ca/snow/snowbook.pdf

http://www.oh-pin.org/articles/pex-04-snow-activities-let-child.pdf

We Saw the Northern Lights!

Have you ever seen the Northern Lights?  When we were in Canada, we did!  They were so beautiful!

Mom woke up about 2:30 in the morning.  She looked outside and saw dancing green lights.  She woke both Dad and me up to show us.  We got out of our camper and stood in the cold.  It was so exciting! 

The Northern Lights were like crazy rainbows.  They danced and shimmered.  They shot across the sky.      Sometimes there was one beam.  Sometimes there were two.  

The beams changed colors.  Most of the time they were green.  Other times they turned almost pink and blue.  Wow!

Here are some photos that Mom took of the Northern Lights.

We wanted to know more about the Northern Lights.  What are they?  Why can't we see them in Texas?

We found out that Latin name for the Northern Lights is aurora borealis.  The lights come from our sun.  Electron particles escape from the sun.  These electrons are attracted to earth's magnetic field.  When the electrons collide with the gases in our atmosphere, we see Northern Lights. 

Northern Lights occur during times of high solar activity.  The closer you are to the earth's magnetic north, the more often you can see the Northern Lights.  It is easy to see Northern Lights in Alaska and Canada.  You can sometimes see them in the northeast United States several times a year.  Because we are so far south in Texas, we may only see them once every ten or twenty years!  I'm so glad that we got to see them in Canada!

If you would like to learn more about the Northern Lights, just click here:

http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/polar/EPO/northern_lights/aurora_broch.pdf

and

http://www.romsenter.no/filestore/aurora_article_3.pdf

To watch a video about the Northern Lights, just click here:

http://www.alaskacenters.gov/aurora-information.cfm

You can also check out this book about Northern Lights from your library:

Auroras by Donna Walsh Shepherd

Seeing All that We Can See

It has been wonderful to see so many animals on our trip.  I saw eagles flying.  I saw horses running.  I saw bears eating berries.  I saw sea stars and bison and moose.  Just look at the photos in our last post!

When I think of all the animals that I have seen, it helps me to remember how important my eyes are to me.  We need to take special care of our eyes.  We need to be safe when we play sports.  We also need to have our eyes checked every year by a doctor.

To learn about eye safety, please click here:
http://isee.nei.nih.gov/pdf/EyeSafety.pdf
and
http://isee.nei.nih.gov/pdf/HVM_Calendar_tagged.pdf

For more information about your eyes and healthy vision, please click here:  http://www.nei.nih.gov/activitybooks/pdf/activityguide6to8full.pdf
and
http://www.eyedidntknowthat.info/pdf/EyeFactFortuneTeller.pdf

Do you want to learn ways to fool your eyes?  Just click here:
https://www.vsp.com/dms-inline/pdfs/edc/Eyecare_Discovery_Guide_Part_Four.pdf

The Animals We Have Seen!

We are still on our trip to Alaska and Canada.  Soon we will head for home.  It has been so much fun!

We have seen many animals on our trip.  We have seen moose and bear.

Bull Moose

Grizzly Bears

We have seen eagles and wood bison.

Bald Eagle

Wood Bison

We have seen fox and caribou.

Cross Fox

Caribou

Some of the animals that we have seen are very special.  They are called endangered animals.  When an animal is endangered, it means that there are only a few of them left in the wild.  Bald eagles, grizzly bears, and wood bison are all endangered animals.

If you would like to learn more about endangered animals, we found some fun activity books for you!  Just click here to download them:

http://www.epa.gov/espp/coloring/cbook.pdf
http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexicanwolf/pdf/ES_coloring_book.pdf
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_0023.pdf

Why should we save endangered animals?  Read these and learn!

http://www.fws.gov/endangered/esa-library/pdf/Why_Save_Endangered_Species_Brochure.pdf
http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/polaraction.pdf'

Should You Be Afraid of Bears?

I like bears.  I think they are amazing animals.  


Up here in the north, bears hibernate.  That means that they sleep when it is cold.  Here in Canada and Alaska, bears hibernate for seven months.  That's a LONG time!  When they hibernate, they don't eat, or drink, or go to the bathroom.  


When bears wake up, they are very hungry.  They eat most of the time when they are awake.


Bears have very good noses.  Their nose is 100 times better than my nose.  And my nose is 70 times better than yours.


Bears are also very smart and curious.  


Most importantly, bears are very powerful.  They are also very fast.  They can run much faster than a boy or girl.


Because bears are almost always hungry, and have good noses, and are very smart, it is important for us to know how to keep them and us safe.


First, never feed a bear.  Also, never leave food where a bear can get it.  If a bear begins to like human food, he may become dangerous.


When you hike in bear country, it is important to make a lot of noise.  Most bears will move out of your way if they know that you are in the area.


Also, never get between a mother bear and her baby.  She may think that you want to hurt her baby.  If she does, she may hurt you to keep her baby safe.


I think that we need to respect bears, not to fear them.  Once we learn how to be careful around bears, the bears and we will all be a lot safer!


Here are some great activities to keep you and bears safe in bear country:

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/species/livingwithwildlife/bears/pdfs/bearawarecoloring.pdf

and

http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/stdprodconsume/groups/lr/@mnr/@bearwise/documents/document/mnr_e000047.pdf

What's the Difference between a Brown and Black Bear?

So what's the difference between a black bear and a brown bear?


Brown bears:  Brown bears range in color from black to blonde.  Brown bears are larger than black bears.   Some brown bears weigh over 800 pounds.  Most adult brown bears weigh about 500 pounds.


Brown bears are sometimes called grizzly bears because they have special fur.  Their fur catches the light in a special way, called grizzled.  Grizzled fur shines.


The best way to tell if your bear is a brown bear is by his claws.  The claws of a brown bear are always out.  Brown bears also have a hump on their back.

A brown bear

Black Bears:  Black bears are smaller than brown bears.  Black bears normally weigh between 110 and 300 pounds.  Their claws do not show like brown bears.  

A black bear

If you would like more information about black bears, just click here:
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pdf/bear/bearfacts_kids.pdf

If you would like to learn more about about brown bears, just click here:  http://yukondelta.fws.gov/pdf/brownbear.pdf

Videos of the Hyder Bears

Here are some videos that Dad took of the bears at Hyder.  It is fun to see how the bears move.

The first movie shows a young black bear.

The second movie shows Jaws, the older brown bear.

Can you see any difference between these two bears?