120 Kids from three elementary schools can’t be wrong! The 2014 band show was pretty awesome.
Friday night featured the Booksin Band in concert with elementary school bands from Trace and Willow Glen, performing as one big group. And it was pretty impressive. Look closely, and you’ll see Felicia in a number of songs, performing as a group and as a clarinet soloist with the advanced players.
Check out these links to see more from shows the band did at Booksin for their fellow students, also on Friday.
Last summer, we hit the road to explore thirteen Spanish Missions, motivated by Felicia’s Fourth Grade California history curriculum.
When they return from Spring Break, her class will officially embark on their journey through California’s Mission period, followed closely by their unit on the California Gold Rush.
So, we better hurry!
We’ll start from Oakhurst on Wednesday morning, traveling through Mariposa, Sonora, Angel’s Camp, Jackson, Sutter Creek, Placerville, Coloma, Auburn, Grass Valley, and Nevada City.
Booksin’s Annual 4th Grade Science Fair was today! Felicia’s entry was called “Citrus Fiesta,” and it explored how different liquids support growth in plants.
Big Question & Purpose: “Does orange juice, cran-apple juice, grapefruit juice, or water help a plant grow more quickly?”
Hypothesis: I believe that the Grapefruit Juice will work best out of the juices, because it has Potassium, Calcium, and Magnesium.
Results
The water was the strongest at 73% survival rate and 9 cm average height.
The orange juice was the 2nd strongest at 80% survival rate and 4.2 cm average height.
The Cran-Apple was the 3rd strongest at 40% survival rate and 3.7 cm average height.
The Grapefruit Juice was the 4th strongest at 33% survival rate and 1.8 cm average height.
Water: The average height at the end of the experiment was 9 cm. The survival rate was 75%. I observed that two of the plants were doing so well then they started to shrink.
Orange Juice: The Average height of the plants at the end of the experiment was 4.2 cm. The survival rate was 80%. I observed that the dirt was tough and I believe it had mold on the top.
Cran-Apple Juice: The Average height at the end of the experiment was 3.7 cm. The survival was 40%. I observed that the dirt was very dark and almost black. Also three of the plants died at the very end of the experiment.
Grapefruit Juice: The average height of the plants at the end of the experiment was 1.8 cm. The survival rate was 33%. I observed that the dirt had a thin layer of mold on the top. Also three of the plants died at the end of the experiment.
Procedure
Push the potting soil into the container
Plant seeds
Water until seeds sprout
When seeds sprout begin feeding the plants with 1 teaspoon every other day with the juices
Poke holes in the dirt
Materials
1 teaspoon Simply Grapefruit Juice every other day
1 teaspoon Minute Maid Orange Juice with Calcium and Vitamin D every other day
1 teaspoon Cran-Apple Juice, Ocean Spray every other day
1 teaspoon Water every other day
Natural organic potting soil, enough to fill 24 1.5 in. cells
25 Flying Saucers Morning Glory seeds
72 spot container for plants, with 1.5 by 1.5 in. cells
Conclusion
In conclusion my Hypothesis was incorrect because the average height of the Grapefruit Juice was 1.8 cm which was the smallest and the survival rate was the worst at 33%.
One possibility is that the citrus caused mold in the dirt. The mold then made the dirt appear unhealthy. The dirt then was not suitable for the plants and they did not grow as well.
If I do another experiment I would see when plants are fed different juices, then water, which plants come back strong.
Of course, comparison is the albatross of all younger children. Jocelyn’s 4th grade science project in 2009 was the “Elevation Exclamation,” and 5th Grade was called “Up, Up, and Away” [design similarities are completely coincidental].
Felicia began 2013 with successful heart repair surgery, and finished with two tournament championships with her soccer team. She learned to play her grandmother’s Clarinet, and has joined her school’s advanced band as a 4th Grader.
Jocelyn started 2013 in 8th grade, and ends it loving High School. She spent a week in Washington DC and New York, holds down midfield on her soccer team, and spells better than her “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” character.
For a special holiday project this year, Felicia decided to make blankets as gifts. But these aren’t just any gifts, they are gifts she’s donating to Sacred Heart Community Service in the name of each gift’s recipients. That means, you aren’t getting one; instead, you’ll get a warm fuzzy feeling from the inside, knowing this gift was donated to a homeless person or needy family that needed a blanket more than you did.
So, Merry Christmas to all … and to all a warm night!
It’s Christmas: Mommy needs a new Christmas Carol. … But does she need a new ornament?
For this year’s traditional gift of a Christmas Carol and tree Ornament, we present a little twist. The Carol still commemorates an activity from 2013, but it’s presented this year in the form of a decorative garland, arranged in 21 parts:
14 Commemorative charms from the fourteen missions we visited this year (thirteen on our MK Mission Mission in June, and Mission Santa Cruz from August).
14 mini-framed “Mission Bells” photos from our trip.
Not yet pictured: Seven spaces left to be filled, when we are able to complete the Mission Mission with visits to San Diego and the remaining missions of the SF Bay Area.
For the record, here’s the “Carol of the Bells,” as performed this winter by the combined choirs of Willow Glen High School and Middle Schools, ironically presented sans bell:
Happy Holidays to all … and to all a string of very busy nights!
For your viewing pleasure, Felicia appears in videos from her school band performance (“Jolly Old St. Nicholas” and “Up on the Rooftop”) and from her bell choir and children’s choir at church.
Jocelyn’s high school Bella Voce choir finished the season with a performance at San Jose’s Christmas in the Park earlier tonight; the same choir joined other high school and middle school choirs in the “Carol of the Bells” after last week’s WGHS Winter Concert.
If you need more, our YouTube, Vimeo, and Flickr feeds are full of even more Christmas spirit.
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