In February, I was given the incredible honor of being the guest author at the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, CA for Steinbeck’s 106th Birthday Celebration. The inspiration for the title of my newest book came from a passage in Steinbeck’s Cannery Row, when Doc Ricketts was collecting tiny octopi and one blushed red with rage. The Center carries on Steinbeck’s legacy of literature with wonderful innovative programs that encourage and support readers, writers, and artists of all ages. If you’re in California, be sure to visit them.

World Ocean Day
World Ocean Day was created in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Although not yet officially designated by the United Nations, World Ocean Day is an opportunity each year to celebrate our world ocean and our personal connection to the sea. The Ocean Project, working closely with the World Ocean Network each year, helps to coordinate events and activities with aquariums, zoos, museums, conservation organizations, universities, schools, businesses. Together with the World Ocean Network, we are also working to have the United Nations officially designate World Ocean Day as June 8th each year.

Why Should I Celebrate World Ocean Day?

• The world's ocean: Generates most of the oxygen we breathe
• Helps feed us
• Regulates our climate
• Cleans the water we drink
• Offers us a pharmacopoeia of potential medicines
• Provides limitless inspiration!

	Soft corals polyps spread their tentacles to catch food (photo © Libby and Lovell Langstroth)

The following article on coral provides background information for teachers. The student lesson and activity are taken from our new Coral Reef Activity book.

For Little Octopus:

All About Coral: a description of the coral animal and types of coral.

What is Coral - Student Lesson (150K PDF file)

Build a Coral Reef - Student Activity (111KB PDF file)

Observation and Measurement
In our last newsletter, we wrote about developing observational skills in children and focused primarily on using the five senses. Observation is the fundamental science process skill, so refining a child’s observations is important.

Quantitative observation involves identifying a number or quantity. If a child notices that an insect has legs, the next question is how many? Adding number and quantity to observation gives the child more precise information. Measuring is also a part of quantitative observation.

Read more...

The season for tropical storms and hurricanes is starting. The recent devastating hurricane on Myanmar points to the damage done when natural barriers like coral reefs and mangrove forests are removed. While coral reefs have always been susceptible to storms, new research is showing that the increasing intensity of recent storms may be taking a greater toll on coral reefs. Damage from pollution, destructive fishing practices, land development, and tourism has also left reefs even more vulnerable to the effects of seasonal storms. If the storms interfere with the reef's natural process of growth and regeneration, the survival of coral reefs will be in even greater jeopardy.

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