Let’s start in the sky today. The Honeybees know about the planet Venus, and for the next few nights after sunset you can find her at her brightest in the western sky. You’ll also be able to see her in the beautiful star cluster called the Pleiades. The Pleiades were formed about 100 million years ago during the time of the dinosaurs. The stars are blue-white, and some of them are five times larger than our sun. This star group is called the Seven Sisters even though it contains hundreds of stars. During the next few nights, finding Venus before bedtime can lead you to the Pleiades. Here is a picture of the Pleiades.
https://science.nasa.gov/venus-and-pleiades-april
I went on a hike in my neighborhood yesterday down to our creek. We played for a while and took pictures of wildflowers. We had our neighbors dog Red with us, and he got all the way in. We walked past a big tree that has been a house for honeybees for many years, but I didn’t see any bees yesterday. I did see lots of flowers, ferns, and budding trees. When we walked back up the hill there was a beautiful rainbow. My house has a red roof, and it was under the rainbow.
Do you know what makes a rainbow? It was sunny, but there were lots of dark clouds around and mist in the air. When sunlight shines through mist it can make a rainbow. Remember the crystals in our windows that made rainbows in our classroom around lunchtime and rest time? Imagine that the tiny drops of mist are just like our crystals and form a rainbow all across the sky.
Do you know this song?
Want to make your own rainbow? You’ll need some help from a grownup, but you have just what you need in your house.
Here’s a STEAM rainbow experiment that I like to do when we are in school.
https://www.steampoweredfamily.com/activities/walking-rainbow-thou-shall-not-pass-edition/
I also like to teach rainbow order in our class. Christina from the Friendly Foxes and I had talked about getting simple temporary tattoos that the kids could wear during our rainbow unit. { If they make it from Amazon, these will be in your children’s art journal that I deliver to your mailbox next week.}
I’ll leave you with a picture of my sprouts this morning. It’s almost time to eat them. Do you see roots? Do you see leaves? Honeybees, do you eat hummus? Maybe we can make some tomorrow. Sprouts are very good on top of hummus.
