October 2003 Week 3 Observations

Participants are listed by latitude and longitide, starting from the northernmost latitude. 54:52N-40:00N | 39:59N-29:27N | Firsts | Map | Quest [39:59N 82:59W] USA Ohio, Columbus Trinity School, Ms. Olvera & Ms. Haninger's second graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: This week started out warmer and ended up much cooler. Indian Summer (#1) is over for now. LAND & WATER: The earth is getting wetter and colder. Some creaks are freezing. There is steam over the rivers, ponds and creeks that wee se on our way to school. PLANTS: We have had a lot of wind lately and most of the leaves on many trees are off and on the ground. ANIMALS: Rabbits, ground hogs and squirrels are digging holes. Birds are migrating more and more. PEOPLE: People are wearing jackets and long sleeves and people are raking. OTHER: Days are shorter and Halloween decorations are going up in the neighborhoods [39:39N 85:08W] USA Indiana, Connersville Eastview Elementary School, Ms. Newton's first graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: Weather has been a little bit summer and a little bit fall with highs ranging from the 50's to the 70's. LAND & WATER: PLANTS: Many of the trees are becoming bare as the leaves continue to fall. ANIMALS: We noticed that hummingbirds are no longer at the feeder and have not been noticed for a couple of weeks. We think they may have migrated. PEOPLE: OTHER: We will be on fall break next week beginning Wed. afternoon. [39:33N 95:08W] USA Kansas, Atchison Atchison Gifted Program, Ms. Van Dyke's students WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: The weather has been in the mid 70s which is unusual. The full moon this week was beautiful and there were many constellations. The Big Dipper is a favorite. LAND & WATER: Our yards are beginning to be covered with the beauty of multi-colored leaves. Grass is still green and covered with dew every morning. PLANTS: Rose bushes are beautiful and many flowers are blooming. The leaves are turning red, yellow and green. Along the river bluffs, many people come to see the autumn colors. Some planted tulips ANIMALS: We have seen bluejays, robins, finch, and sparrows in our backyards. Squirrels, crickets and spiders are everywhere. We see a few Monarch butterflies, but they are moving south through Texas. They follow the same route year after year on their migration through Oklahoma and into San Angelo and Del Rio, Texas. They need milkweed plants to survive. PEOPLE: We are wearing jackets in the morning and leaving them in the classrooms in the afternoon because it's warm. It is raining now and this is a good time to plant grass seed. The ragweed pollen is very high and many people have allergies. OTHER: We are participating in Journey South, a Monarch Butterfly migration simulation. We made butterflies from paper and printed out a letter to our partners in Mexico. We translated our letters into Spanish and glued them on the butterfly wings. In the Spring when the real butterflies return to Kansas, our friends in Mexico will send their butterflies and letters back to us. [39:38N 77:43W] USA Maryland, Hagerstown Crimson HomeSchool, Ms. Bussard's fourth graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: The temperature has dropped. Today the highs were 54 degrees. It was wet and cold today. Yesterday morning we had the most awesome sunrise! There were alot of clouds and the sun was just comming over the mountains. All of the clouds were lined with a beautiful bright pink lining! We have never seen anything soo beautiful! LAND & WATER: The water is very cold and now the ground is begining to be covered with leaves. PLANTS: The wind was very strong the other day, gusting at 55 miles an hour. Many leaves fell that day! Most of our plants in the garden are dying. There are a few hardy floers remaning: Colea (red and geen leafy plnt no flowers), some of the Larkspur are still in bloom. In the hurricane our Morning Glory Tee Pee fell down so they are now being affected by the ground moisture and frost. ANIMALS: The squirrls are very active now, gathering nuts for the winter. Chipmunks, are also on the go. The Canadian Geese are a rare sight now, except at the park where they stay all year. We are getting ready to set up our bid feeders for the winter. PEOPLE: More people are putting on coats these days. [39:32N 74:29W] USA New Jersey, Jackson Switlik Elementary School, Ms. Wardell's second graders , WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: We have not had much rain in Jackson this week. Stephanie recorded temperatures in the 60's F. Wednesday and Thursday were very, very windy. LAND & WATER: The wind caused many leaves to fall to the ground. They are crunchy, red, brown and orange. The ocean was very rough with high waves. We see dew on the grass each morning. PLANTS: The plants are becoming shrivelled and and the grass is dry and brown. The trees have more colors this week as we reach the peak time. We see more acorns and pinecones on the ground. ANIMALS: Today we saw Canada geese fly in a "V" over our heads. We spotted a preying mantis that was green and brown hiding in the grass. Sarah saw the horses on her farm getting darker in color. We also saw deer and squirrels looking for food. PEOPLE: Most of us have been wearing sweaters or jackets in the morning, and most are wearing pants. Fall is a time for football and many people are out throwing the ball around. OTHER: Breann noticed that when the sun goes down and it gets cooler, you can see warm breath coming out of our mouths. The days are getting shorter and we don't really like that. We have also seen more bees and yellow jackets flying around. [39:02N 95:41W] USA Kansas, Topeka Pleasant Hill Elementary School, Ms. Seeger's fifth graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: The sun is setting earlier and there has been a chilly wind. It has been down to 40 degrees F. in the morning. LAND & WATER: The dew on cars froze the morning of 10/17. We had to scrape our windows this morning. We have had dew all week. plants at our houses are colorless with dying leaves. ANIMALS: Animals are getting furrier. Some of our pets are not wanting to go outside. PEOPLE: People are wearing jeans more often. We have been shaking and shivering. [38:13N 90:24W] USA Missouri, Festus Festus Elementary School, Ms. Schweigert's third graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: We had a pleasant week. Highs in the 70's and lows in the 40's. We had a few clouds, but mostly sunshine all week. Tuesday was a very windy day. We had recess and then we went to get our pictures taken. We had to refix our hair from all the wind. LAND & WATER: We did not have any frost this week. The ground was a little damp on Friday, because we had a little rainfall on Thursday night. PLANTS: There are a lot more leaves on the ground this week. ANIMALS: We are still observing the flocks of birds migrating and some animals collecting food for the winter. PEOPLE: In our neighborhoods we observed several people sweeping, and raking the leaves. Some people are burning the leaves and others put them in a large trash bag for the the trash man to pick up. [37:51N 90:31W] USA Missouri, Park Hills West Elementary School, Ms. Stam's fourth graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: It was a sunny, bright, beautiful day here at West Elementary. The temperature was 68 degrees F. We have been tracking our sunrise/sunset each day and we have discovered that each day we lose up to three minutes of sunlight. LAND & WATER: The ground is a little dry. The grass is still green, but not growing nearly as fast as in the summer. PLANTS: The chrysanthemums are in full bloom. The trees are glowing with bright yellows, organges, reds, and purples. The sunflowers in the school flower garden are going to seed. The picture we have included this week shows the zinnias that are still in bloon in our garden as well. ANIMALS: There are still some Monarch butterflies in our area. Abbie took our picture of the Monarch on the zinnia in our garden. We saw many pigeons on the electric wires. The air was filled with birds chirping on this beautiful day. We have noticed that the squirrels aren't as visible as they were the last two weeks. Ladybugs are invading our homes. We still have some insects visible. PEOPLE: People are still having to mow their lawns. It's not quite time to rake leaves yet. We think in another week that this will become the evening chore for many people. We are also still enjoying outdoor activities. [36:39N 93:15W] USA Missouri, Branson Signs of Autumn Scientists of Branson Primary School Ms. Lennon, Ms. Ellett & Ms. Pingleton's first and second graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: The weather this week has ranged from the 60's in the morning to up in the low 70's by afternoon. We have had several quick thunderstorms on several nights, but have had totally beautiful days. It has been one of those weather weeks you wish would go on forever! LAND & WATER: The land and water has not changed much this week. The soil is still warm and insects are hopping everywhere. PLANTS: The trees are becoming brighter with orange, yellow, brown, gold, and green leaves. Our school recess area has woods on two sides. The students love watching the gradual changes that are taking place. Leaves are falling to the ground and some are starting to become "crunchy" under our feet. We like to stand very quietly on our nature hikes and listen to the leaves falling from the trees. ANIMALS: Tarantulas! Tarantulas! Tarantulas! This time of the year tarantulas are migrating. We see huge spiders crossing the roads. Our first grade class has one for a pet at the moment. We started with two but shared one with a second grade class. The students are "excellent" grasshopper catchers. We seem to have an abundance of them on our playground. Lucky Tarantula! We will set it free soon so that it can be on its way. We have enjoyed watching it stalk its prey. On our nature hike this week we saw a lizard, spider, ants, squirrel, and a squirrel's nest way up high. PEOPLE: We are still wearing light jackets during the morning, but definitely shed those jackets by noon. Many students come to school in t-shirt and shorts wearing a jacket. OTHER: We are enjoying these last days of Indian Summer! We know it will turn cold soon, but for now we're wearing shorts! [34:13N 118:14W] USA California, La Crescenta Lincoln Elementary School, Ms. Goddard's second graders , WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: The weather has been very hot with few clouds in the sky this week. We had sunny days with no clouds or rain. LAND & WATER: Everything is getting very dry and needs to be watered. The water level is getting lower because of all our high temperatures. PLANTS: Since it has been so hot everything needs a lot of water. ANIMALS: They are not very active due to the hot weather. Deer can be seen in the early morning. PEOPLE: People are staying inside until early evening when the sun goes down. They come out later when the temperature cools down. [33:57N 84:32W] USA Georgia, Marietta A.L.Burruss Elementary School, Ms. Tucker's kindergartners WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: This week our sky has been blue with some clouds and very chilly in the mornings. Our highs have been around 72, and our lows have been in the mid 50s. A few days have been very windy. LAND & WATER: The tress are getting more colorful, and they are falling to the ground more. Some mornings there have been frost and dew on the grass and the cars. PLANTS: Trees are turning colors. Some trees have nuts falling from them. ANIMALS: We have seen squirrels busy gathering nuts. PEOPLE: People have been wearing jackets and long sleeves and long pants because it is geting colder out. OTHER: It is getting darker out earlier. Our days are getting shorter. Houses are starting to have Halloween decoractions [33:37N 92:04W] USA Arkansas, Warren Mrs. Karen's Kinder Kiddos, Ms. Norton's kindergartners WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: We have had a variety of weather this week in Arkansas. The lows have been dipping into the 40's at night making the mornings chilly. Our highs have been in the upper 60s to low 70s. We have seen three days of rain this week. The children complain about the rain because they can't go outside, but the adults are glad to see it as we are 7" below normal for rainfall this year. Today the sky has been overcast. LAND & WATER: Leaves are beginning to fall and they make a mess in our yards and on our playground. We have seen many people in their yards raking leaves. The river that runs through our county has been elevated due to the rainfall. PLANTS: Leaves are turning on the trees and beginning to fall. Some of the smaller bushes and tress are already bare. ANIMALS: PEOPLE: Everyone is now wearing light jackets and long sleeved shirts to school. Sometimes we even have to wear our jackets last recess. The wind this week has been cool. [33:27N 82:00W] USA Georgia, Augusta Brown's Home School, Ms. Brown's kindergartner WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: 70's in the daytime. Rained all day yesterday. Beautiful sunny sky today. LAND & WATER: Nothing unusual PLANTS: More leaves falling and yellowing from the rain. The temperature dropped because of the rain. ANIMALS: Squirrels are very busy with acorns around the oak trees. PEOPLE: Still wearing long pants and short sleeve shirts. Sometimes shorts in the afternoon. [33:23N 111:56W] USA Arizona, Tempe Kyrene del Norte School, Ms. Cress's third graders OTHER: We were away this week on fall break. Our temperatures are back in the 100's and we are hoping for relief soon. We broke a temperature record from 1920 with a 104 degree temperature this week. Here are some autumn poems written by a few of our third grade students. Autumn by Jared Orange, red, brown, and yellow, those are the looks of autumn. That is what the leaves look like in autumn. Crunchy leaves, refreshing breeze, those are the feels of autumn. It feels nice in autumn. Pumpkin pie, hot chocolate, those are the tastes of autumn. It tastes good in autumn. Fishing at the park, harvesting crops, that is what we do in autumn. We do that so the plants donāt die. Smelling roses and also pine trees, that is what we smell in autumn. It smells sort of good and sort of bad in autumn. That is what we do, feel, smell, and taste in autumn. What is Autumn? by Amanda Autumn is the smell of burning leaves turning into ashes. Autumn is fishing right when the sun goes down. Autumn is the look of leaves falling off beautiful trees. Autumn is the feel of wind blowing through your hair. Autumn is the taste of pumpkin pie with a glob of whip cream on top. Autumn is going to the park on a wonderful day. Autumn is the taste of hot chocolate melting in your mouth. Autumn is the smell of fresh rain. Autumn is the feel of gooey pumpkin seeds between your fingers. Autumn is the look of bright, beautiful , orange leaves. Those were some senses of autumn. Autumn by Makenzie I smell fresh grown roses, with bees buzzing and sucking nectar out of them. I also smell the moisture of the rain. In Autumn I rake leaves. I carve a pumpkin. I feel the goop going through my fingers then laugh at the pumpkin. I see orange, red, brown, and yellow leaves falling. I feel wind. I feel wet grass. I taste warm burning hot chocolate running through my teeth. I taste caramel apples getting stuck to my teeth. Those are what we see, taste, do, smell, and feel in Autumn. What is Autumn by Thomas Autumn is the smell of yummy food. Autumn is also the stinky smell of grass mowed by people. In autumn we go fishing for big fish. We plant winter grass. Autumn is look of bright red leaves and large flocks of birds. The feel of autumn is chilly, cool temperatures and cool wind. The taste of autumn is plump turkey and yummy ham. This is autumn. [32:56N 94:05W] USA Texas, McLeod McLeod Elementary School, Ms. Simmons's fourth graders , WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: It is sunny and cool. Low temperatures have been around 50 degrees F. The sky has been partly cloudy. It has been beautiful! LAND & WATER: The grass is turning brown. PLANTS: The leaves are turning red and brown. ANIMALS: PEOPLE: We are getting out all of our winter clothes and blankets. It is getting colder. [32:31N 94:46W] USA Texas, Longview Pine Tree Elementary School, Ms. Baker's second graders , , WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: The weather is cooling off a little. The high tempurature is around 85* and the low is around 60*. There were a few rainy days this week. LAND & WATER: PLANTS: The trees are still pretty and green. Many people are putting fall mums around their houses to get ready for fall. ANIMALS: PEOPLE: We are still wearing summer clothes to school. [29:46N 95:23W] USA Texas, The Woodlands The Woodlands Christian Academy, Ms. Stahl's sixth graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: This week was partly sunny. We would have sun and some gray skies. Pretty muggy this week. The temperatures were around 75 degrees (F). LAND & WATER: The ground around our scene remains moist because of the moist air. It rained a little this week, making the ground somewhat muddy. PLANTS: Our plants are just barely beginning to change their leaf color. The lower plants in front are still green, maybe they will change last. ANIMALS: Rabbits, Rabbits, everywhere! We are encountering a lot of rabbits that love to run in and out of our scene. [29:37N 81:49W] USA Florida, Hollister The Children's Academy, Ms. Cadwallader's first graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: Cool and sunny this week. We got a daytime low of 47 F. The fall breeze came back. The sky was very blue and bright and there were no clouds. LAND & WATER: PLANTS: The tall grasses are making seeds. The fall wildflowers are blooming but a few have gone to seed. The sunflowers are big and open. There are tons of acorns falling to the ground. The grass is green and the oak trees still have green leaves. The seeds are blowing off in the wind. ANIMALS: The cats and other animals were very frisky when the cool weather came. The squirels are active. We saw Cardinals gathering food. We don't see the hawks much, they seem busy getting food. PEOPLE: OTHER: It was cool and beautiful so we did our school outside. It was fun to be outside all day. We created our work with chalk on the driveway. The weather was nice for our soccer and baseball games. [29:27N 98:30W] USA Texas, Converse Converse Elementary School, Ms. Harris's kindergartners WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: This week we have seen mostly sunny weather with few clouds in the sky. It feels great to us at about 80 degrees Fahrenheit in the afternoon. We have noticed the days are getting shorter. PLANTS: Our grass is still green and growing. Most plants are still green but are beginning to thin and slowly lose leaves. ANIMALS: Mosquitos are still biting us! PEOPLE: We are still able to wear shorts but pants are comfortable too. However, we need a sweater in the early mornings. OTHER: We are able to turn off our indoor air conditioners and open the windows. 54:52N-40:00N | 39:59N-29:27N | Firsts | Map | Quest