Turkey Vultures

By: Micah L.

On the overnight, I saw a turkey vulture. It

was soaring on the horizon. I learned that was the

turkey vulture’s hunting pattern. They spin in circles

to see the dead animal, then they swoop down and

grab the dead animal that they found. They eat only

dead foods like dead carrion, dead mammals,

sometimes small dead reptiles, dead raccoons, and

guts.

Turkey vultures have cool accessories like

long fingers to help them fly better, no feathers on

their heads like regular turkeys (grownups have a

few feathers on their heads), and their feathers are

silverish gray.

They weigh 1-5 lbs. and their wingspan is 5-6

ft. (63-72 in.). Also the female is slightly larger. They

live in North America in the summer time and they

migrate to Central and South America when it gets

cold.

They also have a few tricks up their sleeves,

like soaring really slowly because they can turn and

go up and down more easily and they have webbed

fingers to help them grab dead animals. The global

population of turkey vultures is estimated to be

about 4,500,000. If you see a turkey vulture in the

sky, now you’ll know some facts about them.

1

Life in a Sod

House

By: Lia L.

In the early 1800’s most people that lived in the Great Plains were Native Americans and Pioneers. Most of them lived in sod houses. A sod house was made out of mud bricks and was very small. People who lived in them had to do all sorts of different chores, like chopping wood, hunting, and cooking. When the mother cooked, she held an umbrella over the stove to protect the sod house from fire.

Sometimes when it was raining hard, the prairie animals would hide in the roof of the sod house to keep dry. When it rained really hard, the sod would get soggy and the animals would fall through the roof! That is how we got the saying, ‘It’s raining cats and dogs! The kids also did chores. When they were building the sod house, the kids would take their horses and get sod bricks for the house. For warmth, they hunted animals and used the skin to keep warm.

In the winter, they had prairie fires. The fires provided a flat surface to build their houses on.The flat surface also protected them and the house from prairie fires. The most expensive part of building a sod house was the windows. The roof was the most difficult and dangerous part of the sod house.They took cedar poles and brush tied them into bundles with mud, grass, and sod. The roofs were very unstable. Depending on the weather, dirt or water often fell from the ceiling.They hung muslin sheets from the ceiling to keep the dirt and water from dropping. Sod houses are no longer built, because we have access to stores that have materials for building, but this is the way the pioneers and Native Americans built their houses back then.

SAUL MIROWITZ JEWISH COMMUNITY SCHOOL JANUARY 2016

Morah Gaby’s Newspaper 3rd Grade Overnight

All About Prairie King Snakes

By: Riva S.

Are you scared of snakes? Well, we saw a prairie king snake on our

overnight to Shaw Nature Reserve. We wouldn’t have seen this creature if

Nelson hadn’t almost stepped on it. Our guide picked up the prairie king

snake to show us. It was a baby, so we were more surprised than scared.

They cannot hurt you when they are little.

Prairie king snakes have dark color palettes, like greenish gray, tan and reddish gray. They can also

have black spots and brown spots. They have yellow bellies and a diamond shape marking along its back.

Prairie king snakes do rattle their tails when they’re scared, but not when they’re babies. Their length is 30 to

48 feet. They live in rocky hill sides and of course prairies and corn fields. They are able to eat other snakes.

They are immune to the venom of copperheads, cottonmouths and rattlesnakes. They eat small rodents,

lizards and occasionally birds. The prairie king snake is active from April to November. We were not surprised,

since we saw it when we were there in October. The prairie king snake lays eggs in June and early July. They lay

7 to 11 eggs at a time. If you ever in a prairie, you should look for a prairie king snake!

2

HIDE AND GO PRAIRIE/PRAIRIE GAMES BY: DANIEL S. At Shaw Nature Reserve, the third graders played hide and go prairie. Native Americans also played games that we play today! Some of the games they played that we play today are shadow puppets, jump rope, hopscotch, and even checkers! They also played kick the can, jacks, and hide the thimble and guess what? They even made bean bags! “Hide and go prairie” is similar to hide and go seek, but here are the differences: 1. You hide in the prairie. 2. You move up 10 feet every round. 3. The wolf calls clothing colors. 4. The wolf cannot go inside the tall prairie grasses. (One piece of information: the wolf is the the person that calls clothing colors.) This is what Nash likes about hide and go prairie: “I like how we had to take 10 steps forward every round. The prairie is a good place to play.” Here is Ava’s opinion about hide and go prairie: “I thought it was an entertaining and fun game to play. The last round was the scariest and most exciting round of the game!!!” Here is what Danielle thinks about hide and go prairie: “It was really fun, but I didn’t like the seeds that kept getting on me, my backpack, and sweater.” This is what Yitzchak wants to say about hide and go prairie :“What I like about hide and go prairie is that I didn’t get caught by the wolf!” Here is what Micah wants to tell you about hide and go prairie: “I thought it was fun, but when I took 10 steps forward, the plants started getting thorny, and I got poked by the thorns. It was difficult not to be seen.” Here is what I want to say to you about hide and go prairie: “It was really fun. When I went to the far back into the Prairie, I saw that I was really far away from the wolf’s territory. I only thought about the 10 steps every round, and that was a mistake. You should always think about the 30 steps not just 10 steps. I was really lucky that I didn’t get called by the wolf!” If you don’t think hide and go prairie is very fun and you don’t want to play it, it’s really too bad, because hide and go prairie is more fun than you think!

3

All About Indigo Buntings By: Danielle Indigo buntings are bright blue birds that live in the prairie. They love to

hide in weedy and brushy areas like a bush at the end of the forest. Males

have blue bodies and black wings and females are a tan brown with dark

brown wings. Their latin name is passerina cyanea and their nickname is

“blue canary” because of their color. Indigo buntings love to eat bugs and

berries. An indigo bunting’s song gets passed from bird to bird and changes

every time. Indigo buntings migrate through Oklahoma into Mexico. I did not see any indigo buntings on our

prairie overnight, but I think they’re really pretty.

FUN FACTS: Indigo buntings migrate at night, using the stars for guidance. Their wingspan is 7.5-8.7 inches and their clutch

size (number of eggs they lay) is 3-4 eggs. The eggs are unmarked white with a few brownish spots.

Plant Cures By: Liya C.

Were you ever sick and you didn’t have the right

medicine to cure it? Guess what? Plants can help!

For example, the blue vervain can be made into tea

to cure a stomachache. On our overnight at Shaw

Nature Reserve we learned about some plants and

what they cure. One of them is called the boneset,

a wetland plant known for curing colds, sore throats,

chills, fever, flu, kidney problems and vomiting.

Another one is butterfly milkweed, also known as

pleurisy root. If you eat its roots, it helps pulmonary

troubles. Also, if you chew it and put it on wounds, it

will help. The last one I am going to mention is a

plant called bee balm. You make it into tea and it

cures fevers and colds. Also if you chew its leaves, it

will cure insect bites and stings.

Fun facts:

• There are normally thousands of plants in the

prairie.

• You burn down part of the prairie in fall or spring

because it helps it stay healthy.

• Parsley cures coughs and stomachaches.

• It is harder for plants to grow in the city.

• Yarrow can stop bleeding.

4

Bird Class By: Benjamin O

We had a bird class on the overnight on the second day. We learned about wingspan by spreading our arms out on a board with bird names on it. My wingspan was the same as a turkey vulture’s wingspan. We checked out bird bones and learned about how birds fly! We saw how many flaps we do in 30 seconds and compared that to the number of flaps birds make in 30 seconds. We looked in books to learn about birds. We went outside bird watching and saw a few prairie birds. We saw a woodpecker and then we went to the wet lands and saw a turkey vulture flying in circles. Bird class

was fun!

FOOD By:Tzofia D.

If you are wondering what we ate on our

overnight, this article will tell you. Don’t worry,

we didn’t starve :).

On the overnight we had 4 meals and 2

snacks: lunch, dinner, breakfast, lunch (again),

trail mix, s’mores.

We made our own dinner (burritos) on

the campfire. We had lettuce, cheese, beans,

and other stuff that you put on a burrito. After

that, we made s’mores on the campfire. For

breakfast, we had cereal, fruit, bread, muffins,

and gogurt. For the first lunch, we brought stuff

from home. For the second lunch, we had

sandwiches, veggies, and gogurts. For snack,

we had trail mix. We got to make our own using

cereal, nuts, dried fruit, and chocolate chips.

Speaking of trail mix, we brought our trail mix

on the hike that day.

Here’s what some third graders had to

say about the food:

Micah L. said, “Dinner was great but it

took a long time.”

Claire S. said, “I liked making the trail

mix.”

I liked all the food except for the lunch

that we had there, because I don’t like

sandwiches. My favorite meal was burritos

because we got to make our own!

Food Summit By Matthew S.

I could not go to the overnight because I had an unstable knee from breaking my leg in

August. So I stayed at school and helped fourth grade out with their food summit. Saul Mirowitz

Jewish Community School had a food summit on October 30th, 2015 for 93 students. Morah

Laura was in charge with her students. They wanted to try to teach the children to eat healthier.

They talked about foods like potatoes, lentils, water lettuce and basil. I helped Morah Laura (and

her students) with the food summit and their composting presentation, and I learned to eat

healthier when I want lots of desserts.

5

Prairie Falcons

By: Yitzchak

What eats squirrels and small birds and small rodents and lizards?

A Prairie Falcon! Prairie falcons live in the prairie, caves, cliffs and trees. Their lifespan is 2 to 5 years. They can lay 1 to 8 eggs at a time and make big nests in cliffs, trees, and prairies. Their colors are pale brown and white. They make a sound like a monkey laughing. Their wingspan is 35.4 to 44.5 inches.

When we were on the overnight we didn’t see prairie falcons at Shaw Nature Reserve. We just learned at our bird class. If you go to Shaw Nature Reserve, maybe you will spot one.

Armadillos

By: Ava R.

At the overnight we saw an armadillo out in the open.

Our guide said it was very unusual but they are here because of

climate change.

We only saw one armadillo but we saw it twice. The first

time was the very first day of the overnight. The second time it

was after three rounds of hide and go prairie when we were in

line about to leave. The whole end of the line saw it, including

me. In fact, I was the one that pointed it out when it got closer to

us we all got freaked out and caught up with the line.

“Little armored one” is the translation of armadillo. A

armadillo is the only mammal that wears such a unique pattern

on its shell. Armadillos are closely related to anteaters and

sloths. Armadillos can be different colors such as black, red,

gray, or yellowish. Some armadillos can’t curl up into their shell

because they don’t fit. I think it is funny and sad because if there

is danger around they would be in trouble!!! I don’t know if we

can do anything to help or not but if there is a way that we can

help I would try.

If I had touched the armadillo, I could have severe

disfiguring of my skin, sores,and nerve damage in the arms and

legs. The disease has been around since ancient times. The

disease is called leprosy. I am so happy I didn’t touch it.

Armadillos eat beetles,grubs,and worms. Armadillos are

in St. Louis because of the climate change. Climate change

means the world is getting hotter, so they are in St. Louis

because it is getting much warmer here.

Here are some armadillo jokes: There are two armadillos

playing a game in the prairie. A dangerous animal comes. One

armadillo says, “time to wrap it up.” The other goes, “Okay, I

guess we could go on a walk,” and then the other goes, “No, I

mean roll up in your shell.”

6

Teepees on the Great Plains By: Claire S.

Teepees were usually made by putting tent poles into a cone-shaped frame and spreading skins,

sometimes buffalo skin, tightly around it. An opening was usually left at the top for smoke. The teepees were

sometimes very detailed. They provided a strong shelter for bad weather. It was a great home for the nomadic

Plains area tribes like Sioux and the Blackfoot. Teepees are still used for ceremonies but no longer as houses.

Women were in charge of the inside of the teepee. The women chose where to place the teepee. The

teepee was theirs, their castle. They were in charge of everything they had to do with it. Including building it, and

taking it down for transports. The women were in charge of how everyone behaved inside the teepee. During the

day the women sat on the south side of the teepee because the sun stayed in the south for most of the day so

they could keep warm. At bedtime, everyone went to sleep at once or you had to leave the teepee.

The men’s job was the outside of the teepee. It was their responsibility to bring back the best skins to

cover the poles. They had to either bring back horses or skins to trade for poles, or they made the poles on their

own. The men usually painted the outside of their teepee. The paintings were usually a symbol of the individual

achievements. Each tribe designed their teepees differently.

What you do and don’t do with a teepee: If the flap to the teepee was open it

meant you could enter. If the flap was closed, you had to say you were there and wait

to be invited into the teepee. If you were in the family you still had to do the same.

A guest always sat next to the head of the family on the left side of them. The

head always sat the farthest from the door. These were considered good manners for

life in a teepee. Now you’ll know how to act if you’re ever invited to one!

Cabins By: Nash

When I went to Shaw Nature Reserve, one of the best parts

was the boys’ cabin. IT.WAS.FUN. It had so many features like a

basement and drawers on the bunks. My bunkmate was Nelson. He

was an awesome bunkmate.I felt like girls were extinct when I was

in the boys’ cabin.

My cabin was the Lichtenstein Lodge . The girls had the Lee

Lodge. The bunks were made of wood and fit 2 people in 1 bunk.

Both cabins had big open rooms and 1 bathroom with a toilet. There

was a big yard with a fence near the campfire. Did you know the

Lichtenstein loge can comfortably sleep 14 people with 13 beds upstairs?

And if I learned something, it is that the boys cabin ROCKED!!!! If you’re wondering what other

people thought: “They had super duper comfy beds and the bathroom smelled like roses,” Micah L. said.

“It was really cool that there were lots of rooms and too many beds!” Daniel S. said. If you're wondering

what the girls experience was, Riva S. said, “During the night it was so hot and no one could go to sleep.”

7

From Sarah and Noga:

So 3rd grade overnight! What can we say??

We were so excited to finally spend some time

outside the classroom!

It was quite cold at times (especially compared

to the weather we are used to in Israel) - but all

the fun we had warmed our hearts! Also the

chocolate s’mores helped warm us up too ;)

We had so much fun playing games - ,הנחש בא

!and our special obstacle course ,3 מקלות