Sparkle Buds April 2024

Mrs Lindsey was everyone's favorite teacher at Lincoln Elementary School. She was known for her entertaining teaching techniques. One day she walked into the classroom and announced to the class that they would all be seeing stars in their futures. She then asked, “Does anyone know what astronomy is?” Olivia raised her hand and said, “I'm a Libra.” Mrs. Lindsey responded, “I can understand why you would think that astrological signs are part of astronomy because astrology and astronomy both deal with celestial beings. In fact, many of the constellations in the sky have given their names to astrological signs” Mrs. Lindsey then went on to explain that astrology is the belief that the location and movement of stars and planets affect the way events transpire on earth, which is…

Liam is a compassionate and empathic young man who wants to improve the lives of others, even those he has not met. Despite working through a phonological disorder, Liam courageously uses his voice to express the ways he can help others. Earlier this year, he asked his mom how he could help people in Ukraine. Liam put his own money towards materials and created pins and a promotional video then set out with a goal to raise $500 for the Red Cross in Ukraine. To date, he has surpassed $3,000 with all proceeds going to Ukraine and he continues to fundraise for this important cause. Liam has also assembled holiday-season meal kits for donation including creating 20 pancake kit hampers for families who access Cochrane's Helping Hands-Free Food Shed. Liam…

The Spotted Hyena is the largest of the hyena family and is usually the type of hyena that is portrayed in cartoons and movies. Its scientific name is Crocuta crocuta. It is also often called the laughing hyena. They get their name from the spots on their fur which is reddish brown in color with black spots. Spotted Hyenas have powerful forequarters with a strong necks and jaws. They have one of the strongest bites in the animal kingdom. Females are generally bigger than males and can weigh anywhere from 100 to 150 pounds. Spotted Hyenas live in much of central and southern Africa, south of the Sahara Desert. They can survive in a variety of habitats but like to live where there are lots of zebras and antelopes. This…

Spotted hyenas are carnivores. They eat other animals of all types. They either hunt on their own or scavenge from the kills of other larger animals like lions. They are particularly good scavengers because they can crush bones with their powerful jaws and are able to eat and digest them. When they hunt they typically hunt wildebeests, gazelles, and zebras. Hyenas often hunt in a group, isolating and chasing down a weak or old animal from a herd of prey. Hyenas eat very fast as the fastest hyena gets the most food. The Spotted Hyena is social and generally lives in groups called clans. Clans can vary in size from 5 to 90 hyenas and are led by a dominant female hyena called the matriarch.…

In 1603 there was an invention that changed how our society works. Thermometers gave us a sophisticated understanding of heat. In 1593 the renowned scientist Galileo Galilei invented a thermoscope. The thermoscope he invented worked on the principles of buoyancy and gravity. A thermoscope is a device that shows changes in temperature. A typical design is a tube in which a liquid rises and falls as the temperature changes. The modern thermometer gradually evolved from it with the addition of a scale in the early 17th century and standardisation throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. Although the thermoscope was partly credited with having been created by Galileo the original inventor was Santorio Santorio.…

Project Supplies: • I Paper Plate, cut in half. • Glue. • Gold Coins or yellow construction paper. • Green paint and paint brush. • Scissors. We painted a full paper plate. You could cut the plate in half before you paint it if you only want to make one pot of gold. Once the paint fully dried, we cut the plate in half. You could also use the second half and glue each half together to create a pocket-style pot of gold. Now, it's time to add the gold! We went to the dollar store and bought a few packages of gold coins for this project, and St. Paddy's Day counting games and even decor. But, you could very easily cut out coins from yellow construction paper. Use glue…