October 2003 Week 5 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 very, very cold and rainy and ended up with another Indian summer of perfect weather, 70's and mid 70's. LAND & WATER: Plants that grew over hte summer have been removed from beds, corn has been harvested from the fields and hay has been stack ed up for winter. PLANTS: They are dying. ANIMALS: Still getting ready for winter and some are building nests for hibernation. PEOPLE: Sometimes cold sometimes warm--hard to know what to wear. CONCLUSIONS: We enjoyed this project and we learned what it means to be careful observers. Have a safe, warm and happy winter to all other participants. [39:39N 85:08W] USA Indiana, Connersville Eastview Elementary School, Ms. Newton's first graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: Temperatures think that it is summer again. This morning the temp was 70 F when we came to school. Great weater for trick or treating! LAND & WATER: Grass is still green and growing, but is not growing quite as fast. PLANTS: Roses are still blooming. ANIMALS: Lots of animals are looking for food. Deer are now seen running across harvested fields and roads. PEOPLE: People are not wearing big jackets this week. CONCLUSIONS: Fall doesn't seem to know if it is winter or summer. Each week has been different - going from eavy frosts to 70 F in the mornings! Animals are sensing approaching winter though because they are busy finding food or leaving for warmer places. [39:33N 95:08W] USA Kansas, Atchison Atchison Gifted Program, Ms. Van Dyke's students WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: The sky is not yet turning gray, Sometimes it can be cold all day, Sometimes it is still hot, Yet other times it is not LAND & WATER: The Amelia Earhart Memorial Bridge crosses over the Mighty Mo, At 7 miles an hour, the current might seem slow The river bluffs have colors of orange, yellow and red, When the clocks fell back, we just want to stay in bed! PLANTS: Some plants are getting old, Yet others are standing and fighting the cold, Some big trees are still green, But others are not as supreme ANIMALS: You will see a turkey here and there, Mostly when there is still the morning air. Deer are now common, more than before, Some will even come to your door PEOPLE: Children are making costumes for Trick 'n Treat, Candy and decorations in the bag for gobblins we meet, Is Atchison haunted, you might want to know, The Haunted House Trolley rides put on a show, The McInteer Villa has a few ghostly stories to tell, Is there a light in that tower? you might want to yell! OTHER: Our town was featured on national TV, All about strange sightings, but how can that be? We listen to the ghostly tales and love to disagree, Do you believe in ghosts and everything you see? CONCLUSIONS: Our nature observations won't come to an end just yet. Each week a different class group completed the observations online, but we still are working on our tree museum and outdoor bulb planting since we are experiencing perfect weather for this time of year. Come to Atchison for 3 celebrations next year and visit the Forest of Friendship and our new Lewis and Clark riverfront memorial. [39:32N 74:29W] USA New Jersey, Jackson Switlik Elementary School, Ms. Wardell's second graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: The sky has been very dark and cloudy. When the sun came out in the middle of the week Frank said it hurt his eyes. We had a tornado warning at the beginning of the week. Fortunately, we only had dark skies, wind, and rain. The temperatures have been mild. We are very lucky that today for Halloween the high is expected to be in the low 70'sF. LAND & WATER: Many more leaves are on the soggy, wet ground. The landforms we have in Jackson are hills and plains, with a lake. The Atlantic Ocean and the Toms River are not too far. PLANTS: The summer plants are shrivelled up, but the colorful mums are able to live. The trees are really at peak this week with many beautiful colors. Breann observed the berries on her bushes are waiting for the animals to gather for the winter. ANIMALS: You can see our friend hiding in the grass near our classroom. We continue to see geese on the field, ready to migrate south. PEOPLE: People are dressed today for Halloween and we don't have to wear coats this year. Some of the costumes in class today are witches, princesses, a clown, Harry Potter, Hermaine, vampires, Scooby, and Uncle Sam. OTHER: The days are getting shorter, especially since we turned back the clocks. CONCLUSIONS: We had fun reporting our observations, finding and learning more about the preying mantis, and learning how the seasons change in different parts of our world. If any participants are interested in emailing over the winter months, please contact us. See you in the Spring!!! [39:02N 95:41W] USA Kansas, Topeka Pleasant Hill Elementary School, Ms. Seeger's fifth graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: It has been cloudy, and we have noticed that the days are getting shorter. Daylight Savings Time has meant less light in the evenings for us to play. It has been in the 40's and 50's for highs this week, but we have had lots of ups and downs in temperature. Someone in class knew that it snowed in Kansas somewhere, but not near the northeast part where we live. LAND & WATER: The Kansas River is way down. There are plants growing on the sand bars, and that does not usually happen. PLANTS: Pumpkins cost more this year, and we think there are fewer of them. We think that is related to the drought here in Kansas. Grass is dry. People are burning leaves and having bonfires. Kacie has seen lots of toadstools. ANIMALS: Spiders in our houses have increased. Clint, Devin, and Cody all saw hawks this week. We are still seeing migrating birds. Squirrels seem to have found a place for winter because they are less active. And, our animals (dogs) are wanting to stay inside more often. PEOPLE: Tanner says that his family normally goes for walks and rides bicycles, but they haven't been doing that as much because it is dark in the evenings. OTHER: CONCLUSIONS: We talked mostly about the drought and its affect on the Autumn here in Kansas. One result of the drought is that the leaves here are much prettier than normal. We have noticed more deep reds and purple leaves. We also have noticed, sadly, that more trees than usual have died. [38:13N 90:24W] USA Missouri, Festus Festus Elementary School, Ms. Schweigert's third graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: Monday and Tuesday we had highs in the 60's. On Tuesday it rained all morning but had quit in time for afternoon recess. Wednesday and Thursday highs in the 70's. On Halloween (Friday) it was cloudy most of the day and we had a few sprinkles later that evening while we were trick or treating. LAND & WATER: The ground was a little soggy in some spots. We have not noticed any major change in the water levels or the ground temperature. PLANTS: On the trees the leaves are mostly brown and have fallen off. The leaves do not look near as pretty as they did about 3 weeks ago. We notice a lot more bare looking plants and trees. ANIMALS: The same as last week. PEOPLE: This week people were still raking and burning leaves. We still wear our jackets to school but do not always need to wear them by afternoon recess. OTHER: CONCLUSIONS: Our conclusion is that you really never know what the fall weather is going to be like. It seems like some days were are getting closer to winter temperatures and other days we have to run the air conditioner because it is like summer. So it is best to always be prepared and take a jacket with you during the fall season. [37:51N 90:31W] USA Missouri, Park Hills West Elementary School, Ms. Stam's fourth graders CONCLUSIONS: 1. We discovered that the farther away from the equator a school was, the colder their temperature. 2. We also recognized that in general the leaves fell sooner in the north than in the south. We believe this happened because the cooler temperatures that occured in the north caused photosynthesis to stop sooner which caused the leaves to change color and fall to the ground. 3. The schools located in the northeast were the only ones to have snow or frozen ponds. 4. The cause of all of these things is the tilt of the earth. All of the schools participating were in the Northern Hemisphere, which means we are beginning to tilt away from the sun. This causes the cooler temperatures and shorter days. Those places nearer to the equator experience less of a change in temperatures. 5. As for bird migration, our hypothesis was that the birds in the north would begin migrating the soonest. However, our data from the project did not show this. We conclude that it is more difficult to monitor bird migration than it is the other fall firsts. It is not easy to constantly monitor the skys to notice migration. We also wondered if all states had the same kinds of birds migrating. We enjoyed our time spent on this project and look forward to next year. Hopefully, some of the Southern Hemisphere schools will participate next year. Although, we realize some may be on spring/summer break. [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: We can't figure it out! It doesn't look like Autumn is actually going to come this year. The high temperature today was nearly 80!!!! We were actually sweaty and miserable at second recess; however, this afternoon we had a welcome rainstorm that cooled things off a tiny bit. LAND & WATER: No frost, nothing! This is a very warm autumn. PLANTS: Leaves have turned and many have fallen. We still have pretty colors and they probably won't fall until we get a nice cold wind. ANIMALS: I don't think anybody has left for the South yet . . . they don't need to when it's balmy like this! PEOPLE: We were hot, hot, hot, today. Of course, tonight we'll have to trick-or-treat with umbrellas! OTHER: We have been studying compare and contrast. We made a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast our tree on week 1 and week 5 of the project. Boy did it look different! CONCLUSIONS: We have watched this beautiful season unfold. It's been a pleasure to learn about how the season changes and how things are different in different parts of the world. Thanks to everyone for sharing! [34:13N 118:14W] USA California, La Crescenta Lincoln Elementary School, Ms. Goddard's second graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: This week the weather really changed. We started with very hot temperatures and ended the week with very cool weather. Our temperatures ranged from 87 degrees to 66 degrees this week. Our sky has been very cloudy and smoky due to the horrid fires in Southern California. This morning it actually rained for a little bit. LAND & WATER: We haven't seen any changes in the land. The water has gotten colder. PLANTS: The trees are dropping their leaves. We are seeing more plants that bloom in the autumn. ANIMALS: The animals are starting to go to their warm spots. PEOPLE: We are beginning to wear warmer clothes and looking for our umbrellas. [33:57N 84:32W] USA Georgia, Marietta A.L.Burruss Elementary School, Ms. Tucker's kindergartners WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: The sky has been pretty sunny this week. A few days it rained. The temperature has been fairly cold, but very warm the last two days. LAND & WATER: The grass is starting to dry out and turn brown. PLANTS: The leaves are stilling turning colors and a lot have fallen off the trees. There are a few trees that no leaves at all. ANIMALS: We haven't seen a lot of birds or caterpillars lately. PEOPLE: People were wearing jackets most of the week. Yesterday and today, we are wearing short sleeves because it is in the upper 70's. OTHER: Cars that are outside have frost and dew on them in the mornings. CONCLUSIONS: Our conclusion is that fall is here. We have seen birds flying, leaves changing colors and falling off trees. People are wearing jackets and pants. The weather is getting colder and winder out. [33:27N 82:00W] USA Georgia, Augusta Brown's Home School, Ms. Brown's kindergartner WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: Colder at night now (blankets, warm p.j.s). We still have not turned on the heat in our house yet though. It warms up nicely during the days. Still short or long sleeves during the day. Jackets at night. Temperature in the low 40's at night and up to 60's or 70's in the day. Mostly sunny weather, but a couple of days of rain lowered the temperatures. LAND & WATER: Just for the record, we will not see snow or frozen water until January or February most likely. Even then, the snowfall is brief. No iceskating on ponds or snowmen around here! We saw alot of mist rising off the Savannah River and Augusta Canal early this morning. The ground is cooler. People are still planting winter flowers. PLANTS: MORE leaves falling. We raked and vacuumed the yard, but the rain brought down just as many leaves again. There are still alot of leaves up there on the trees. ANIMALS: Squirrels are busy. We have seen a few flocks of migrating birds. PEOPLE: We are wearing a variety of clothes. We see people in everything from shorts and short sleeves to long pants with jackets. We played "baseball" in the yard for an hour yesterday afternoon. Now through spring is the time to enjoy playing outdoors without sweating and mosquitos and no-see-ums etc. OTHER: We visited a pumpkin patch and went on a hay ride. It was fun. (The pumpkins were imported. We aren't sure if pumpkins would be ripe around this area by now.) CONCLUSIONS: The weather is getting colder, but gradually. It didn't seem like that much happened over this past month. It's interesting to see that other parts of the country/world are either hotter and sunnier than here or experiencing blizzards already. [33:23N 111:56W] USA Arizona, Tempe Kyrene del Norte School, Ms. Cress's third graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: Our weather has become more mild with low temperatures in the low 60's and high temperatures in the mid to high 80's. We have had several cloudy days starting on Wednesday, and our winds have picked up on Thursday and Friday. Our cloudness is being caused by smoke from the California fires. The picture shows the cloudy sky just before sunset on Friday, October 31. It looks kind of spooky for a Halloween night. LAND & WATER: No rain this week. It continues to be dry with blowing dust. PLANTS: Some of the leaves are beginning to have more color. Seeds and pine cones are falling. Summer flowers are dying away. Jared's peach tree is getting leaves. The summer grass is looking more brown and winter grass is growing. ANIMALS: Mrs. Cress saw a coyote 3 times near her house. The coyotes seem to be coming down looking for food. Mrs. Cress lives right near a large desert city park, which is about 12 miles from our school. PEOPLE: More students are wearing long sleeves and long pants because the temperatures are finally getting cooler. CONCLUSIONS: We have had a fun time reading about the weather all over the world and learning about how different weather is in other places. Reading poems and seeing all the great pictures was our favorite part. [33:17N 84:46W] USA Georgia, Moreland Moreland Elementary School, Ms. Bassett's third graders TE5T [29:46N 95:23W] USA Texas, The Woodlands The Woodlands Christian Academy, Ms. Stahl's sixth graders , , WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: This week had quite diverse weather. Starting out, this week we had cooler temperatures and to end this week we had pretty warm and muggy temperature. The sky has been relativly cloudy. LAND & WATER: The land is wet from moist weather. PLANTS: The front of our scene was mowed down. So we have less to discover. There is definite changing colors of leaves. They are turnign loose and falling off. ANIMALS: The rabbits are still everywhere. The students discovered that there were some geese that have migrated south. So they are flying around over head. CONCLUSIONS: We have enjoyed watching and keeping track of our scene and reading what other people have to say about their area of the world. Perhaps we can join you again in the Spring! [29:37N 81:49W] USA Florida, Hollister The Children's Academy, Ms. Cadwallader's first graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: We have had sunny days and cool nights Our low this week was 45 F. We had big blue, clear skies. Two days it rained and there was a thunder storm. The lightening was close. LAND & WATER: PLANTS: Lots of acorn are falling. The sunflowers lost the blossoms. The garden plants are still blooming in the morning and the grass is still green. ANIMALS: We saw birds flying in a V pattern. The deer are out and the squirrels are busy. The bees really liked our pumpkins PEOPLE: We are wearing long sleeves and shorts. We got brave enough to swim in the cold water (72 F) OTHER: CONCLUSIONS: Fall is not very dramatic in Florida. The leaves don't fall off the trees in October but the weather does cool down and we get lots of birds from the north. [29:27N 98:30W] USA Texas, Converse Converse Elementary School, Ms. Harris's kindergartners WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: It is 82 degrees Fahrenheit at 1:00 in the afternoon. We usually have slightly cooler weather than this on the last day of October. The sky is partly cloudy and it is very humid to us. We are sweating! PLANTS: The plants are still green and the trees have barely lost any leaves. CONCLUSIONS: Fall is justly barely begun. We do not think winter will be extremely cold--no snow for us. Maybe in November we will see more leaves fall and the weather get cooler. We are still wearing shorts now! 54:52N-40:00N | 39:59N-29:27N | Firsts | Map | Quest