Seymour Simon's Blog, page 23

The Top 10 Stories of 2012

We are working like busy little Elfbots this week at SeymourSimon.com, preparing our annual TOP 10 STORIES OF 2012Countdown. If you haven’t joined us before, please be sure to check Seymour’s blog every day from December 22 until December 31. We will be featuring readers’ favorite stories of 2012, along with your comments. Some of the best stories of the year were written by our readers, feature reader artwork, or have great comments from you all. So be sure to check and see if your story or your writing made the list! Happy holidays, everyone! As a holiday treat, we’ve left a video preview of the new Christmas eBookelfBOTdown below. Enjoy, and we’ll be back on Tuesday, January 1 with the first "Cool Photo" of 2013.

Cool Photo of the Week: Callaghanite Crystals

We noticed in last week’s AWESOME SCIENCE WORD contest that a number of you chose minerals, which often have beautiful crystals and are cut into what we commonly call “gems” or “jewels.” This is a photograph of crystals of the mineral Callaghanite. It was named in honor of Dr. Eugene Callaghan, who was the Director of the New Mexico Bureau of Mines, in honor of his work studying magnesite deposits. This mineral contains magnesium and is typically found in an area with a magnesium deposit. For those of you who are interested, the chemical formula for callaghanite is Cu2Mg2(CO3)(OH)6•2(H2O). Can you say that three times fast?

And the Winners Are…...

Thank you to everyone who entered the MY AWESOME SCIENCE WORD contest. We enjoyed seeing the choices you made and reading your writing using those words.168 people entered this contest - that is a lot of excellent research and writing! As promised, we have selected two winners of this contest, and both will receive an autographed copy of the new edition of Seymour Simon’sSCIENCE DICTIONARY, being published by Dover Books on December 19th. We chose the winners at random, using a very cool random number generator website calledRandom.org. Are you ready? Here are the winners of Seymour Simon’s Awesome Science Word contest: Individual Winner: Jack B., Quarry Hill Elementary, Ms. Dubell’s class Awesome Science Word: jet streamDefinition: Jet streams are strong winds that effect the weather. Why you think it is awesome: I think jet steams are awesome because they go 100 - 300 miles per hour. Use the word in a sentence: I hear about jet streams on the weather channel and at airports. Classroom Winner: Mr. Perlman’s Class, Eleanor Roosevelt Elementary School Awesome Science Word: Rainbow Definition: A Rainbow is a colorful, half shaped circle that appears after it rains and gets sunny outside. Why you think it is awesome: We think rainbows are awesome because they have all of our favorite colors. Use the word in a sentence: I see a big colorful rainbow in the dark blue sky! Congratulations to everyone who entered. Be on the lookout for another blog post, because we enjoyed the work you did for this contest so much, we are going to publish some of your writing for everyone to read.

A Visit to Makefield’s LEARNING GARDEN

Seymour’s visits to the Pennsbury schools are continuing; he spent yesterday at Makefield Elementary School in Yardley, Pennsylvania. In preparation for his visit, the Makefield studentswatched a videoabout Seymour Simon, read hisautobiography, used his books in their art classes and explored nature.Mrs. Renee Pope, the Makefield Elementary School librarian, told us: "We are a certified green school with a green roof, solar panels, a learning garden (the fruits and vegetables are used in our cafeteria when harvested), and many things inside the school that reduce the use of energy and our carbon footprint. We are building benches from trees cut down for the recent renovation. We had them milled and dried so we can use them to make our benches!!"Seymour was presented with an amazing book (thicker than your arm!), with a letter to Seymour Simon from every student in the school about what they observed in the school’s Learning Garden. Seymour particularly loved this book because he is always encouraging his readers to get outside, to look, listen, hear, smell and observe the wonderful nature that is all around us. This school is full ofSeeMore Explorers!We don’t have enough room here to share them all, but here are some examples of both the beautiful artwork posted around the school and the excellent writing compiled into this book, THE NATURE OF MAKEFIELD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.DEAR SEYMOUR SIMON….I saw rocks. - Adam, kindergarten I found a praying mantis. - Scarlett, kindergarten I saw a purple flower. - Adrianna, 1st gradeThere were bees. - Christian, 1st grade I herd crickets. I smelled flowers. I wish I can play and I want to live hear. It is a fun place. LOVE IT HEAR!! And I love Nature. - Nina, 2nd gradeBeing outside makes me feel good. I see a butterfly. I smell flowrs. I wish I could smell more things. If I was looking up from the grund to the sky I would see the botum of a flower. - Maggie, 2nd gradeI feel on the out side of my body is cool air. I wish we had more flowers. I smel basil and choclit mint. I believe nature is cool. - Noah, 2nd grade I heard birds chirping. Being outside makes me feel free. I saw a yellow watering can. I tasted fresh mint. I wish I had a garden like this one. I never experienced something like this. - Avery, 3rd grade I hear the calm wind and the rustle of the leafs. I see bold pretty flowers. I wish bees grew 20 feet tall and butterfly wings were 30 feet long. Being outside in the garden makes me feel so happy. - Christian, 3rd grade I saw a praying mantis, a butterfly and a bee. It was so fun. - Jeffrey, 3rd grade One day I experienced nature Makefield learning garden. I see pretty flower. I hear bird cheering believe nature. - Ashlynne, 3rd gradeI saw a woolly bears that made the garden very love able. There were plants that smelled like mint and felt like mint. There were purple peas that were extraordinary plants you’ll never see. I wish I could grow blue peas or even orange peas and rainbow peas. I smell the nature touching me. - Darci, 4th grade I could feel on the outside of my body the damp wet air. Being outside makes me feel relaxed and calm. I could hear a 1st grade playing. I could see our beautiful garden. I smelled a very good smell of flowers. I wish this garden could live through the winter. If I was looking from the sky to the ground I would see our plants, grass, our awesome school and garden. If I was looking from the ground I would see the bright sun and the fluffy white clouds. This is my school’s garden. - Mitch, 4th grade If I was looking from the ground toward the sky I would see big green leave, purple vines, beans, and the holes in the leaves. I smell the sweet smell of flowers, hay barrels, and big brown lumps of mulch. That is what I smelled, saw, heard, and felt on that warm morning. I wish I could stay in the warm air all day!!! - Celia, 4th grade As I looked at some soaring hawks and wondered. They probably saw the beauty of the marigolds and 17 leafed, yellow and pink flowers. I wondered about ants. They probably saw pink flowers and leaves all around them. As I walked in I wished I could stay out all day. - Andrew, 4th grade When I stepped outside I heard the buzzing of bees and the chirp of birds. The wind tugged gently and whispered in my ear. You can smell flowers pollen. When I’m near nature I feel peaceful. - Jodi, 4th grade In the Makefield Learning Garden I see,A bunch of black and yellow bees I look around and see most green, But there are little things that can be seen I look at the fluttering butterflies, And imagine what it would look like through fly’s eyes. - Emma, 5th grade Great place to sit and enjoy. Always bees flying around. Right under the pergola is a great place to be. Day light and water helps flowers. Every day the garden looks beautiful. Never want to leave this amazing garden. - Ben, 5th grade Hello, my name is Honey Bumble. I was named after my mom, the honey bee. I was born in Makefield’s Learning Garden. I have 9 brothers, my dad and mom in my family. I love it here at Makefield. This garden is amazing. When I wake I see the pretty colorful plants. There are purple beans, yellow flowers with brown middle, and all sorts of wonderful plants. This part of nature is a relaxing place I love to lay on the hay here and listen to the laughing kids playing near the garden. When I fly high up and look down from the sky I see the beautiful pergola that they just built. I love Makefield’s Learning Garden a lot! - Katie, 5th grade When I was out there I smelled some unique flower smells and they were snazzy. I taste the warm, moist and calm air. I believe nature is very elegant and peaceful.- Will, 5thgradeMint plant Awesome garden Kids play in the learning garden Epic plants and flowers Flowers that are big, puffy and yellow I wish we could stay out longer Every color there is bright Lots of beautiful flowers and plants Delightful looking green tomatoes - Nathan, 5th grade When I was out in the garden I heard a lot of crunching pebbles. I saw all kinds of bugs flying everywhere. The taste of basil was very minty in your mouth. I wish that in the garden there were more snakes. The smell of the new mulch was terrible! I believe that nature is peaceful and nice. - Harry , 5th grade I feel the wind brushing my face, It is like it’s running in a race! This makes me feel happy, bright and strong, While I watch the children running along! I love to watch the beautiful flowers swaying in the breeze, But soon in the winter they will freeze! Watch the bumble bees flying from flower to flower, I wonder what they will do during April showers! I never knew nature bloomed this beautiful, It’s like you’re watching a natured miracle! Watching the big white puffy clouds turn into creatures makes me smile, While I lay watching for a while! Makefield’s learning garden inspired me to write this poem you see, Now I wish you can visit it seeing everything I can see! - Allison, 5th grade

AWESOME CONTEST: Deadline

Hi, everybody. Because Seymour Simon’s visit to six of the Pennsbury district schools was postponed until January due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy, there seems to be a little confusion about when the AWESOME SCIENCE WORD contest ends. Students who had a visit from Seymour Simon this week - that would be the Quarry Hill, Afton, Eleanor Roosevelt, Makefield and Edgewood Elementary Schools - need to enter the contest by midnight tonight. The winners of autographed copies of Seymour’s new SCIENCE DICTIONARY will be announced tomorrow on the Seymour Science blog. We will run a new contest in January for students who attend Village Park, Manor, Walt Disney, Penn Valley, Fallsington and Oxford Valley Elementary Schools. Seymour Simon is coming after the holidays, and you will have your own special contest then!

Eleanor Roosevelt Elementary: ANIMOTO

I had such a great time yesterday with the students and teachers at Eleanor Roosevelt Elementary School in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, and they took so many great photographs that Liz (my wife and editor of this blog) decided to make an Animoto video.I hope you like it. I really enjoyed my time with you all yesterday!

Writing Wednesday: Model Shark

Welcome to Writing Wednesday! For this Writing Wednesday, we’re going to use a photograph that was taken when Seymour Simon visited a school in Pennsylvania yesterday. This class built a model of a shark that was so big it needed to be hung out in the hallway!Your Assignment: In 50 words or less, tell me about what animal model you would build if you could, and why. Use as many descriptive words as you can to tell me about your model. Some of the things you might describe: What animal would you choose? What would it look like? What color would it be? How big would it be? How would other students feel when they saw it? How long would it take you to make it? When you are finished writing, click on the yellow "Comments" link at the bottom of this post to add your writing.

Terrific Student Work at Eleanor Roosevelt School

Seymour Simon visited Eleanor Roosevelt School in Morrisville, PA yesterday, and boy, was he surprised at all the things the students and their teachers had done to prepare for him!Every classroom door was decorated as a different Seymour Simon book, and even the outside doors of the school were wrapped in paper that made them look like our solar system! Here are photos of some of the great class decorations and bulletin boards:A bulletin board dedicated to Seymour’s new book, EXTREME EARTH RECORDS.This room studied POLAR BEARS.Isn’t this an excellent WOLVES bulletin board?This room decided to concentrate on INCREDIBLE SHARKS.And these guys got really carried away and built a 12-foot long Great White shark in the hallway. Wow!

Cool Photos of the Week

Today we are sharing three "Cool Photos of the Week," , all from Russian photographer Andrew Osokin. These are all photographs of snowflakes, taken using an extreme macro lens. Aren’t they beautiful? It makes me wish for snow!

Thanks, Quarry Hill Kids!

I have just received this lovely note from Ms. Carolyn Hjembo, the Reading Specialist at Quarry Hill Elementary School in Yardley, Pennsylvania.Dear Mr. Simon, My students wanted to tell you how much they enjoyed your visit to QuarryHill Elementary this morning. First, Gracie learned some new things when she attended the assembly.Thomas liked how you made the paper airplane. Thevideo was amazing!Alex liked how you taught us a lot of things about space.I enjoyed your assembly and having the time to chat with you at breakfastand lunch. Thanks so much for visiting us! You’re welcome, everybody. I had a great time, too!For kids who want to read more about paper airplanes on my blog, inculding seeing the Paper Airplane video again (or show it to your friends),click hereto find all the Paper Airplane stories on my website.Happy folding!Seymour Simon