Brainpop

For this semester I want to teach Zoe about environmental studies in science. I found a lot of good websites on the topic but Brainpop.com has a ton of movies on the subject.

Here is a list of movies (with quizzes) I will be doing with Z as part of our science study:

Air Pollution, Algae, Carbon Cycle, Climate Types, Coral, Earth's Atmosphere, Ecosystems, Energy Sources, Fossil Fuels, Glaciers, Global Warming, Green House Effect, Ice Age, Land Biomes, Migration, Natural Resources, Nuclear Energy, Ocean Currents, Oceans, Ozone Layer, Penguins, Photosynthesis, Population Growth, Radioactivity, Recycling, Seasons, Soil, Taiga
Thunderstorms, Tornadoes, Tropical Rainforest, Underwater World, Water, Watercycle, Water pollution,Weather, Cars
Fuel Cells, Gas and Oil, Solar Energy, Waste Management and Industrial Revolution.

So far she has done Natural Resources, Air Pollution, Green House Effect, Food Chain and Global Warming. On the tests she is either getting 10 out of 10 or 9 out of 10 correct and most of these are middle school level topics. I was happy yesterday at her astronaut training class that when they discussed rainforests and gracier reduction Zoe really knew her stuff and was able to answer the director's question to fuller extent than he expected.

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Also yesterday as we were driving down the Pacific Coast Highway Z, noticing all the trash on the hills said "Oh Mommy! Why do people just throw their stuff on the ground instead of recycling it?" Then she asked "One time when we are driving down this road and we are not in a hurry can we stop and pick up some of the trash? Or maybe we can just come down here on the weekend just to do that."

*smile* I don't really go around preaching about litter to her so I was happy to hear these feelings coming from her upon seeing the litter and mess. I would certainly rather she want to clean up than be one of the kids who carelessly litter.

Z is a very sincere kid. Another example of this is how she will not eat any foods wth trans-fats in them now and she worries about her loved ones who do. Trans-fats have become, for her, how some people feel about smoking. Of course in this subject I did preach a little more, but she chose to care about it and not ignore it like many other people would and I think that is a grea sign.

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Here is a sad but sweet story. Yesterday after astronaut training class Z said "Mommy! I am so excited about next week's class! We get to go up into space!"

I said "No you don't."

Ends up that when the director said that next week they were going to "take pictures from space" Zoe didn't realize that he meant with the EarthKam that is already out in space. She really thought she was going to be sent up into space. Her sweet little face was shining with excitement and I felt so sorry for her to tell her that she was mistaken. Poor little thing...

She just really wants to be an astroanut and at this age her life is full of so many amazing things I guess she just believed that going into space was possible too.