DARING Women of the Sky

This week we focused on some DARING women in history.  With the invention of the Wright Brothers' Flying Machine, there came some females that dared to follow their intrigue with airplanes, and learned how to fly!

   We learned about the "third Wright Brother", Katharine Wright (their sister) who supported her brothers' creativity all the way.  She was history's first female airplane passenger.  (She used a rope to tie her skirt around her legs, so it would stay put during the flight)

  Then came Harriet Quimby- the first female pilot.  She dared to abandon her skirt and trade it in for a purple silk knickerbocker outfit.  She was the first female to fly across the English Channel.  (Would have been front-page news, if the Titanic had not sunk the day before).  Harriet learned the hard way why a SEATBELT would have been an important piece of equipment when she fell to her death.

   My favorite female pilot was Bessie Coleman- the first black woman to obtain a pilots license.  Since flight schools in the US banned her from enrolling (due to her race) she overcame this obstacle by going to France for her pilots license.  There, she was taught stunt-flying.  Loop-de-loops and barnstorming were a big hit with audiences.  Bessie was in high demand, but she would only perform if the crowds were de-segregated.  Her dream of opening up a flight school for African Americans was cut short when a mechanics tool slid into the controls, jammed them, and the plane crashed.

  (Avery made me chuckle when she commented "The lesson for the female pilots is: never let a MAN ride in the plane with you"!)  ha!

   We finished our discussion with the Powder Puff Derby airplane race of 1937.  A transcontinental race where women pilots were pitted against men to prove once and for all that "women are incompetent flyers".  Of course, a female named Louise Thayer won the race, and held altitude, distance and speed records. 

   Next, we tried our hand at becoming paper airplane pilots.  Trinity made a very fun spiral flying object, and the rest of us folded the "Harrier" jet that claims to be the best flier ever.  We took our planes to the parking lot where we practiced launching.  I believe Zane to be our most skilled paper airplane pilot.  His plane consistently flew the longest distance.  Elliot used his engineering mind to tweak the folds a bit to create a plane that does barrel rolls!  Tyler ended up re-folding his plane so that it flew like a dart.  I was super-impressed with all in our Daring Club- creativity and problem solving was evident as they came up with their own versions of a paper airplane.  fun!

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The RACE to the SOUTH POLE

    Today we heard the story of the DARING expedition to the Antarctic and the South Pole.  We were introduced to Mr. Robert Scott from Britain, and Mr. Roald Amundsen from Norway.   These two explorers represented their countries in a "race" to be the first to reach the South Pole.

    We imagined how incredibly difficult it would've been…a leaky boat, losing half their food supply overboard, sled dogs freezing to death, frostbite, snow blindness, battling blizzards every day and temperatures as low as -67.    It took four months of walking just to get there, and another four months to walk back.  The Scott team lost the race by only 33 days!

    We decided that even though the British explorers were not the fastest, we consider them winners because they dared to go somewhere new, learned along the way, and they took time during their trek to draw maps, document native species and bring back fossils to the Royal Geographic Society.

    Also-we agreed that the next time we were visiting the Antarctic that we would stop by the "Discovery Hut" and see a completely preserved base camp that still has their beds, clothing and food exactly as it was the day they left it 100+ years ago.

   Next we played a board game.  We divided into two groups:  Norway and Britain.  As we moved along the game board, players who got snow blindness had to wear a blindfold until their next turn.  A player who developed scurvy had to eat an orange wedge.  If your sled dog died, you must howl (sadly) like a husky.  If you were the victim of frostbite, then a scarf and gloves must be worn, of course!  The kids had a great time "racing" to the South Pole - as it turns out, even with a board game, team Norway made it there first.

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Welcome to the DARING club!

This week we congratulated ourselves on being members of the Daring Club.   (Being daring is NOT the same as being dangerous).  Members of our Daring Club recognize that our world has many possibilities and ideas to fill our days with adventure, imagination-and fun. 

The world is bigger that we can imagine, and its ours for the exploring-if we dare!

We had an activity where we added some "essential" gear to our exploration knapsack.

A pocketknife, a bandana, a stretch of rope, a journal and pencil, a flashlight, a compass, safety pins, duct tape, a deck of playing cards, a good book and PATIENCE.   These are all good things to have with us when we are out exploring and having adventures.

Our first daring feat was to teach ourselves how to juggle!   We started learning the basics using juggling balls made out of rice-filled balloons.  We reminded ourselves that we can do anything once we've practiced two hundred times, and we made it a goal to continue practicing our juggling skills throughout the semester.    We will impress the masses when we'll perform a juggling routine at the next talent show.

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Cleopatra

Hey ya'll! We are learning about Cleopatra.  I am going to be doing make up....we can take it off when we are done. Please tell me if you are concerned about anything pertaining to sharing make up....I will be using my eyeliner and my mascara and my make up...so if that makes you uncomfortable then let me know.

With love,

Allyana

Our Class on Oct. 2nd!

Hey guys!  Today was lots of fun!  You all did really great with the stick rafts!  Alrighty!  So.  Next week I would like all the girls to wear pig tails and to come dressed like what they think a spy would wear.  We are going to be learning about woman spies!  We are going to learn how to become the best spies in the whole world!!!  Alright, any questions?  Leave a comment!

Our Awesome Party!

So I am going to throw an awesome birthday party.  It is going to be one for all the girls that have a birthday this semester.  I need to know if anyone has any party decorations that they are willing to bring that would be awesome.  Also does any of the girls have food allergies or restrictions.  I would like to make something for the party as well as have treats through out the semester.  And if any of the girls would like to bring a snack they can, but it is not required.  Alright!  I am looking forward to getting to know my girls and having a fun semester!

With Love,

Allyana

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