Professor Watermelon's Imagination Caps

Dear Creative Writers!

Soon you will have the opportunity to use your Melon Money to buy one of Professor Watermelon's Signature Imagination Caps. Wear it wherever you go, especially when you are writing, and just see how it charges your imagination with creative energy.

I hand crochet each Imagination Cap myself. Hope you ENJOY!

With Imagination,

Professor Watermelon

American Crow

I was walking around my neighborhood this weekend and saw one of the most beautiful crows perched on a fence. He bobbed his head up and down and made a low guttural caw-cawing sound. His feathers were shiny black, but with the autumn sun shining on them, dark purple sparkled. I was mesmerized by this magical creature. I knew then and there that I had found our Weekly MUSE!

I went back to my writer’s studio and began researching this magnificent bird. Here is what I found:

Crows are not your ordinary “birdbrained” creature. In fact, crows are incredibly smart. Some researchers say that crows are as smart as chimpanzees and gorillas – a somewhat close relative to humans. WOW!

And crows have developed quite a close relationship with humans. In most places around the world, if you can find us, you can find them. The same could be said for rats, but rats try to hide from us while crows will sometimes try to find us.

Just like humans, crows have problem solving skills. They will make tools from wire and sticks to retrieve food from a hole. Look here to see for yourself. Scroll down to the middle of the page. They will also place nuts in the middle of the road and wait for a car to crack it open. The crows will wait on a telephone line until the coast is clear and then retrieve their goods.

Crows are also very social. They travel together, live in families, protect each other, and even mourn the deaths of fellow crows. And if you cross a crow and cause him/her danger, they will call for help. Within moments a mob of crows will come to the rescue. They will scold you and possibly dart down at you from overhead trees.

Even more amazing, is that crows remember faces. If you have ever caused a crow harm, he/she will not forget you. The crow’s family will unlikely forget you as well – and they are not likely to forgive you… ever.

But the most amazing insight I have learned about crows is their ability for friendship. Take a look at this video. Two natural born enemies show each other love and compassion – something we could all learn from.

If you would like to learn more about crows and their common characteristics, look here.

With this new knowledge, what kind of story could you write? Maybe these WHAT IF questions will help you get started.

WHAT IF your main character (a human) becomes best friends with a crow?

WHAT IF crows go someplace magical at night, and your main character follows them to this magical place?

WHAT IF your main character understood the language of crows? Would this unlock secret knowledge about the human race?

The possibilities are endless, and please leave your own what if questions in the comment section below. I’d love to see what you come up with.

So, grab a cup of hot cocoa, a pencil and a piece of paper, and let’s begin. With your imagination, we can go anywhere. I look forward to seeing where you take us.

With Imagination,

Professor Watermelon

The word of the day is “mourn”. Here is the definition: to feel or express sadness for the death or loss of someone or something.

Photo Credit: Nakita

Picture this...

Using the comment section below, write a few paragraphs describing this picture. This creative writing challenge is worth $10 Melon Dollars. Be creative (wink).

Not an Ordinary Wicked Witch

Dear Professor Watermelon,

I read your post on the Wicked Witch of the West, and WATER is what caused that witch's death. It simply melted her away. I should know, I was the one who killed her. But that isn't the case for this little witch. Add water and watch her grow. I thought your creative writers could use her as a MUSE.

Sincerely,
Dorothy Gale
Kansas

Dear Dorothy,
 
I'm so happy to receive a letter from you in our MUSEBOX. How is the Land of OZ these days? I will certainly share this little witch with my creative writers. I'm sure many stories will come of it! Tell the Scarecrow I said hello - the Tin Man and Lion, too!
 
With Imagination,
Professor Watermelon
 

Dear Creative Writers,
 
Did you watch Dorothy's little witch grow right before your eyes? Here is your challenge: Write through the perspective of this little witch, and tell us what she wants more than anything in the world. And how does she plan on getting it? A paragraph or two will do. This challenge is worth 20 Melon Dollars!
 
With Imagination,
Professor Watermelon

The Moon

If MUSES had Olympic Games, and only one MUSE could win the gold medal for “universal inspiration for imagination motivation”, the MOON would take the prize.

I would argue that 99.999% of all human beings at one time or another has looked up at the Moon and imagined, WHAT IF…

Our imaginations LOVE the moon because it is so close, yet so far away. Sometimes we pretend that we can see a man’s face in the moon, or we might imagine that the moon is a big hunk of cheese.  My favorite is when Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster flies a rocket to the Moon and finds the Moon to be a huge COOKIE.

But here are some “real” facts:

The Moon is 238,857 miles from Earth. It is the fifth largest moon in our Solar System. Jupiter’s moon, Ganymede, wins the Gold for that category.

It takes 27 Earth days for the Moon to circle Earth. And while it circles, we get to see the sun’s light reflecting from the Moon’s surface. Take a look at this video from the History Channel to learn how this works.

The Moon has no atmosphere, but there is some gravity. The Moon’s gravity actually pulls the tides of Earth’s oceans. WOW! And without Earth’s gravitational pull, the Moon would not belong to Earth. As a matter of fact, without Earth’s gravitational pull we wouldn’t belong to Earth, either. We all depend on Earth’s gravity to keep our feet on the ground. Otherwise, we would float away to Space.

For eons people have dreamt of flying to the moon. And on July 20, 1969, that dream became reality. NASA’s Apollo 11 mission took the first men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, to the Moon.

 “That’s one small step for man. One giant leap for mankind,” said Armstrong after his first step off the Eagle landing module onto the Moon. These legendary first words will never be forgotten. Here is the actual video footage of Armstrong on the Moon. Sadly, Neil Armstrong died recently on August 25.

If you would like to learn about all the Apollo Missions to the moon, take a look at NASA’s Apollo site. You will find that America has a strong interest in moon exploration. Also take a look at this photo of a moon rock from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

With all of that learning, I bet you are in the mood for a snack. How about a Moon Pie? Ever had one? They’ve been one of America’s favorite snack since the early 1900’s. Imagine a graham cracker and marshmallow sandwich dipped in chocolate, banana or vanilla candy. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

With this new knowledge, what kind of story could you write? Maybe these WHAT IF questions will help you get started.

WHAT IF the moon really was a big hunk of cheese?

WHAT IF the Man in the Moon got angry and it was your main character’s mission to calm him down? Maybe this would be the next Apollo Mission.

WHAT IF your main character found out that the Moon landing was a big hoax.

The possibilities are endless, and please leave your own what if questions in the comment section below. I’d love to see what you come up with.

So, grab a cup of hot cocoa, a pencil and a piece of paper, and let’s begin. With your imagination, we can go anywhere. I look forward to seeing where you take us.

With Imagination,

Professor Watermelon

The word of the day is “gravity”. Here is the definition: the force of attraction by which terrestrial bodies tend to fall toward the center of the Earth.

 

Johnny Appleseed: Activities and Storytelling Tips

I can’t help but think of apples at the beginning of the school year! And when I think of apples, I think of the one and only, Johnny Appleseed!

Did you know that this American folk hero was a REAL man? He traveled on foot from Massachusetts to Indiana planting and tending his apple orchards. He sold saplings to homesteading settlers, and if they didn’t have any money, he would give his apple trees away.  

But don’t let me give the story away! Read this delightful picture book, Johnny Appleseed, by Rosemary and Stephen Vincent Benet and illustrated by S.D. Schindler. Buy a copy from Amazon, here. Or Borrow it from you local library!

Below are some activities and storytelling tips for this Professor Watermelon Favorite!

Storytelling Tips:

1.       Wear a tin pot hat for storytime. Let children predict why you are doing such a crazy thing.

2.       On the first spread, let children count the apples in the apple tree.

3.       Before reading the story, tell children that Johnny Appleseed loved animals. Can they name the animals found in this Johnny Appleseed story?

4.       After reading the book, browse the illustrations again. Ask children if they can see some similarities Johnny’s body compared to the “bodies” of the apple trees. Did the illustrator do this on purpose?

Activities:

1.       Give every child an apple for snack. Ask them to count how many bites it takes to eat an apple all the way to the core. Give them a pencil and paper so that they can keep track with tally marks. After the children are finished, ask them to count the seeds found inside the apple’s core. For older children, you may want to use the data for a few math exercises. (Perhaps chart the mean, median, and mode.)

2.       Allow children to sample several types of apples (Granny Smith, Jonathan, Gala, Honey Crisp, Red Delicious, Yellow Delicious, etc.) Talk about how each of them has different tastes and textures. Some are very sweet, while others are tart or sour. Some are crunchy, while others may have a softer flesh. Invite children to participate in the Golden Apple Election. The tastiest apple with the most votes wins!

3.       On the eleventh spread of the book, there is an illustration of the apple tree’s stages of growth. Give students a large piece of white construction paper. Invite them to draw and color their own representation of this illustration. Note how the illustration shows what is happening above and below ground levels. Also, note that as the trees branches grow wider, so do the roots.

For more about Johhny Appleseed and Apples, visit the Washington Apple Commissions kid's site.

The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover

What is red, is named after a Roman god, and takes 687 days to circle the Sun???

MARS! And I’m not talking about the candy bar. Yes, there is a candy bar called the Mars Bar, the first of a famous brand that would later unveil MilkyWay, Snickers, and M&Ms.

But I have quickly gotten off topic. The mention of CHOCOLATE will usually do that. Anyway, I’ve been fascinated with the recent landing of the Curiosity rover on the planet Mars. In fact, I have been quite AMUSED, and I think you will be, too.

On August 6, 2012, NASA (The National Aeronautics SpaceAdministration) landed the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover on Mars. The mission? Could Mars have once harbored life? In other words, has Mars ever had the environment to support small life forms called microbes? Scientists also want to know if humans could survive there one day. “Here, ye! Here, ye! Who wants to live on Mars?”

Curiosity is a six wheeled, car-sized robot, traveling the surface of Mars… right now. Curiosity is equipped with the same parts a human would need to go exploring (body, eyes, nose, brains, arms, and legs). Check out this model for a closer look at all of Curiosity’s parts.

My favorite tool is the Chemistry and Camera instrument, also called the ChemCam. This devise emits over one-million watts of lasers into Martian rocks, creating glowing plasma. A telescope records the light, and a device called a spectrometer determines what the rocks are made of. While scientists have used this instrument on Earth already (deep sea exploration), this is a first for the exploration of another planet.

Another very important instrument is the Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons. This devise detects hydrogen on the Martian surface. And if there is hydrogen, then there may have been water. And if there may have been water, then there may have been… LIFE!

On a side note: Water is made from two molecules of hydrogen and one molecule of Oxygen. Both of these elements are gasses, but together they make this magical liquid that feeds all life on Planet Earth. Water can also be a gas (water vapor) and a solid (ice).

On a more popular note: Who knows of the musician will.i.am? Well, did you know that he just released a new song called “Reach for the Stars”? Did you know that it was the first song to have ever been beamed back from Mars? Here is NASA’s video on YouTube. By the way, this song gets Professor Watermelon’s seal of approval (big grin and wink).

For the next two years, Curiosity will be roving the surface of Mars. Let’s watch together as two neighboring worlds come closer and closer together. Find updates here.

With this new knowledge, what kind of story could you write? Maybe these WHAT IF questions will help you get started.

WHAT IF Martians sent a rover to Earth, and it landed in your main character’s backyard?

WHAT IF scientists were able to collect special Mars rocks which contained newly discovered minerals? What would these minerals be used for? A cure for cancer? Invisibility? Eternal life? Teleportation?

WHAT IF the ChemCam discovered that Mars is one giant ball of CHOCOLATE?

The possibilities are endless, and please leave your own WHAT IF questions in the comment section below. I’d love to see what you come up with.

So, grab a cup of hot cocoa, a pencil and a piece of paper, and let’s begin. With your imagination, we can go anywhere. I look forward to seeing where you take us.

With Imagination,

Professor Watermelon

The word of the day is “element”. Here is the definition: one of a class of substances that cannot be separated into simpler substances by chemical means. For example, water can be separated into hydrogen and oxygen, but hydrogen is not made of anything else but hydrogen. The same goes for oxygen.