Learning About Connections!

Today, the Urban Naturalists learned about food chains and about how all the parts in nature are connected. The Urban Naturalists put together food chains examples and presented them to the rest of the class. After the presentations, the scientists observed and drew diagrams of earthworms: our excellent decomposers!

Our Urban Naturalist, Edward, hard
at work drawing diagrams of our worms!

Some of us were still a little hesitant
 to touch the worms...

Scientific Drawing

We had a lesson from our OSEEC AmeriCorps, Chloe, on Scientific Drawing tips and tricks! We put them to good use by sketching and labeling some objects from nature. We then took a walk out into the chilly schoolyard to find some objects to sketch. We learned the importance of focusing on shapes, patterns, colors and distinctive features when drawing our scientific sketches.

Practicing our Scientific Drawing Sills using biofacts from the Audubon Society

One student's drawing of a butterfly wing

An excellent example of a
 scientific drawing of a seagull egg! 

It was chilly outside! 

Concentrating on the details of an owl feather

First Day of Winter Session!

We were pumped to start our first day of Winter Session! 

We wrote up and illustrated our class contract together. The Urban Naturalists came up with the contract on their own. It is as follows:

• No stealing
• No touching the dogs at the park
• Keep your hands to yourself - don't get up in my grill
• Use the bathroom before we go to the park
• Respect nature, friends and educators 
• Listen to the person speaking
• Be careful with the animals we find
• No littering 
• No being nasty
• No swearing 
• Stay with the group
• Stranger Danger 
• Stay where you are and howl if you get lost in the park
• No feeding the animals
• No throwing things 

Specifically for the educators: 

• No yelling when everyone is happy
• Be awesome! 
• Don't accuse anyone or abuse your power 

We then met a Ball Python named Bo and learned about snakes from one of our veteran 8th grade Urban Naturalists!

Group of Urban Naturalists illustrating the importance of not littering in the park 

Urban Naturalists showing
the importance of  the
 "Keeping your Hands to Yourself "
 rule and the "Stranger Danger" rule

Two excellent Urban Naturalists
 brainstorming  for their posters

Kash, our 8th Grade Urban Naturalist teaching the class about Ball Pythons