Carl Linnaeus

If you read a thumbnail biography, in an encyclopedia or on a website, you're liable to be told that Carl Linnaeus was "the father of taxonomy"—that is, of biological classification—or that he created the Latin binomial system of naming species, still used today. Those statements are roughly accurate, but they don't convey what made the man so important to biology during his era and afterward. You might read that he coined the name Homo sapiens for our own species and placed us, daringly, within a category of mammals that included monkeys and apes. That's true too, but somewhat misleading. Linnaeus was no full-blown evolutionist. On the contrary, he heartily embraced the prevailing creationist view of biological origins, which stipulated that studying nature reveals evidence for the creative powers and mysterious orderliness of God. He wasn't such a pious man, though, that he sought nothing but godliness in the material world. Here's what makes him a hero for our time: He treasured the diversity of nature for its own sake, not just for its theological edification, and he hungered to embrace every possible bit of it within his own mind. He believed that humankind should discover, name, count, understand, and appreciate every kind of creature on Earth.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/06/linnaeus-name-giver/david-quammen-text/2?rptregcta=reg_free_np&rptregcampaign=20131016_rw_membership_r1p_us_se_w#close-modal

The Period, by Richard Armour

Fat little period, round as a ball,

You’d think it would roll,

But it doesn’t

All all.

Where it stops,

There it plops,

There it stubbornly stays,

At the end of a sentence

For days and days.

“Get out of my way!”

Cries the sentence.”  “Beware!”

But the period seems not to hear or care.

Like a stone in the road,

It won’t budge, it won’t bend.

If it spoke, it would say to the sentence, “The end.”

Silliness Presenting Inventor Presentation

Alyssa gave the inventor she was presenting the name of Hannah's inventor... and was simply being silly!

Sculpting Like Michaelangelo

Medieval Times Lapbook

Robin Hood's Cure for a Boring Day

by Hannah and Alyssa Jaffe

Find an adventure.

Make a bow and arrow.

Look for someone to feast with.

Ask Allan a Dale to play the harp.

Enter archery contests to win prizes.

Blow my horn and call my Merry Men.

Steal from the rich to give to the poor.

Take walks and whistle through the forest.

Count the birds near the Greenwood Tree.

Trick the Sherriff of Nottingham with disguises.

Nutrition Magician

We went to our local library for one of their summer programs for the kids.  This magician was funny and very knowledgeable in nutrition, proper exercise and how to read Nutrition labels.  Neighbor Logan joined us too! Click here for more pictures