Mrs. Johnson's 3rd Grade Class
(Hallsville, Texas)
Questions - February 21st, 2002
Dear Mr. Pete,
Have you seen a bear yet?
Has it snowed on you? How is Canada like Texas?
Brittni
Brittni,
We did not see any Bear on the trip, this time of year they should be hibernating (sleeping in a cave or under a big log). I did meet a local person named Roy, that told me about a bear cub coming up to him in the woods last spring when he was eating his lunch. The cub put his paws up on Roy's knees and Roy fed him his sandwich, cake and candy bar and his Pepsi.... when Roy tried to get back in his pickup, the cub tried to get in too.... He said it was very exciting.... but he was worried that he mama bear would not be happy! It has snowed on us throughout the trip, usually every morning...The province (like a state) of Ontario, Canada is bigger then Texas, it has big pine trees like east Texas, but is a whole lot colder.... Summer only last about 2 and a half months and they do a lot of logging like here in east Texas.
Dear Mr. Pete,
How cold is it in Canada?
Are you catching a cold? Are you still feeling o.k.?
Madison
Madison,
Canada can get pretty cold, I have been up there when it was almost -50 below 0, at this temperature, your bare skin will freeze in just a few minutes. On one day of this trip it went from -30 below 0 to 45 degrees in about 24 hours... how many degree change is that ??? Nope I did not get sick on this trip... in fact the fresh clean air cleared up the allergies I experience living here in East Texas!
Dear Mr. Pete,
How is your mom and dad
doing? Do you like Canada ? Hope you have a good weekend.
Carli
Carli,
My mom and dad are doing Great! they both had a great time, My mother is a cancer survivor and has done this trip for the past 19 years since she got cured. Do I like Canada ? Yes, I love to visit, the people are real friendly and the landscape is beautiful and unspoiled by development. but it would be hard to live there all the time. The summers are too short and winters too cold.
Dear Mr. Pete,
Have you seen
any racon or deer ?
Madison
Madison,
I did not see any raccoon or deer, actually we were to far north for the deer.. the snow is too deep. We did see moose, wolf, foxes, porcupine, owl, ravens and eagles!
Dear Mr. Pete,
If you make math problems agian please
make them easier Mrs.Johnson said they were hard for her.
Morgan
Morgan,
Sorry about the math problems being hard, but they were real world problems that we struggled with on our trip ourselves.... Sometimes people think they don't need to learn math, cause they won't use it after they leave school. As you can see we did !
Dear Dad,
The math problems were
hard ,but they were pretty fun ...I think a four weeler would be fun to
have one .
LOVE Sarah
Sarah,
Fun huh? I will have to give you more math problems when I get home.... As far as the 4 wheeler is concerned, we will have to work on your mom.... she doesn't like the idea.
Mr Pete,
Here's the answers to the Questions--Wow,
I had to look up the conversion chart in the encyclopedia. The class
really like the names of the coins in Canada..
1) Up here in Canada, everything is measured
using the metric system, I need help converting back to the measurement
system used in the United States. a) How many miles did we go, if we traveled
355 Km's today?
b) If I put in 23 liters of gas today,
how many US gallons is that ? and if I traveled 100 miles, how many miles
per gallon did I get? Bonus: if all 6 snowmobiles each used 23 liters of
gas today to travel 100 miles, what is the combined miles per gallon...
1a) We found that you traveled
about 213 miles. ok!
1b) We found that you put 5.98 gallons in
your tank. ok!
1c) We figured you got about 16 miles per
gallon. ok!
1d) If six snowmobiles were involved it would
have been about 96 miles per gallon.
***WRONG ANSWER*** the correct answer is (100
miles / (23 liters / 3.8 liters per gallon * 6 snowmobiles)) = 2.8
miles per gallon , this is the combined gas mileage of all the snowmobiles
2) Today I was riding and I looked at the GPS
and it showed that I was 18 miles from our destination, if I was traveling
at 36 miles per hour, how long until I get to my destination ?
We think it will take you about 30 minutes.ok!
3) In Canada, their coins are pennies, nickels,
dimes, quarters, loonies ($1) and toonies ($2). If I purchased a candy
bar for $3.30, what 4 coins would I need to pay for it? Bonus: What
would 2 loonies, 3 toonies, 3 quarters, 5 dimes, a penny and a nickle total?
If the Canada to US exchange rate is 50%, how much do I have in US currency?
One toonie, one loonie, a quarter and
a nickel ok!
Bonus*** $9.31 in US currency
it would be about $4.65 ok!
---- This concept really blew the kid's minds. They really had fun
doing these problems. Thanks!
Mrs. Johnson, Great Job! Thank the class for all their help!!
Questions - February 19th, 2002
Dear Mr. Pete,
What is the most important
gear you are using?
Logan Shaw
Logan,
The most important piece of gear besides the Snowmobile itself is the GPS. With the GPS (Global Positioning System) it shows exactly on a digital map where you are. This means you are never lost! and when it is 30 below 0 getting lost could be disastrous! The second most important piece of gear is the Satellite Phone. Imagine being out in the woods a long way from town or a house and you get hurt... how are you going to get help, fast? Cell phones don't work and walkie talkies don't have long enough range. The solution is a Satellite Phone, it allows you to call the police or an emergency rescue team, the GPS will give you the information to give to the rescue team, so they know exactly were on the map you are and send a helicopter to the spot you are standing if necessary!
Dear Mr. Pete,
What is your favorite part
of the trip so far?
SaraWray P.S. THANK
YOU
Who is the most interesting person you have
met so far?
Sara Wray,
My favorite part of the trip is seeing the trees along side the trail, totally covered in snow, hanging onto each branch, ready to fall off at any moment.. I also like spending time with my mom and dad... they live in Michigan, so I don't get to see them very much. The most interesting person or in this case persons we me were the locals and waitress's at the Newfoundler restaurant in Beardmore, Ontario. The were very friendly and helpful.
Dear Mr. Pete,
Do you know how
cold it is up there? Has your snowmobile
crashed? I hope not. thenyou wo n't be abel
to tell us about your trip. What kind
of food did you bring? I hope you won't
fall through the thick snow! I hope
yousee a moose. Have a good time!
Tyler Green
Tyler,
This afternoon it was about 15 degrees, pretty cold, your hands start getting numb after a couple of minutes. No my snowmobile has not crashed yet! a couple of other riders have crashed though. Fortunately, they did not get hurt. The web page for Tuesday, Feb 19th shows one of the riders, after he went off the trail and ran into a tree.
Dear Mr. Pete,
have you seen any mooses up there. wood
you send me an e mail att tbotter22@aol.com I will look for it to
night. I will get on your webpage To see were you are and how cold it is
. my phone number is 296-9653... I hope you have a good time!
Taylor Botter
Taylor,
I sent you an email about 8:00 P.M. central time last night. I tried to send a picture of Fox we saw, but your email provider AOL rejected it..
Dear Dad,
I now what I want ,I want
a snowmobeal.I think it would be fun to have one . If it is snowing in
Michagan next time we go I could ride it .Or mabe I could go with you on
your snowmobeal trip .I would a great time .
LOVE, Sarah
P.S. emale us back soon. See you soon.
Sarah,
We don't have much use for a snowmobile in Texas! how about a 4-wheeler? They do make a snowmobile that is designed to haul 2 people, maybe in a few years we can look at having you go with me!..but will mom let you go ?
Dear Mr. Pete,
Well today we decided on
the top 10 items you need for the trip. Everyone ranked the needs
and items. The items are written in order of the amount of
votes each received, 1 getting the most. Here are the results:
1. first aid kit
2. toilet paper
3. heating pad
4. tools
5. sleeping bag
6. food/water
7. extra batteries
8. lighter( waterproof)
9. rope
10. GPS
Here are some extra items they think you should
also consider:
extra pairs of warm clothes
walkie talkies
pictures of your family back home
portable potty
extra gas
toothpaste and brush for fresh breath
books
I will tell you that at least 1 or 2 thought that the c.d. player and gameboy were necessities!
I hope your trip continues to go well. If your can think of any problems solving using math that we can help you with let us know --- something that requires addition, sub, multiplication, or division
Mrs Johnson,
Please thank the class for me, I will make sure to pack the items the class has picked! In fact the one item "extra pairs of warm clothes" was an excellent suggestion, I had to buy another sweat shirt when we stopped for lunch today! I was cold! When I come to visit the class after I get back, I will bring some of these items and discuss this delimia further. I have a couple of math problems that I need help solving:
1) Up here in Canada, everything is measured
using the metric system, I need help converting back to the measurement
system used in the United States. a) How many miles did we go, if we traveled
355 Km's today?
b) If I put in 23 liters of gas today,
how many US gallons is that ? and if I traveled 100 miles, how many miles
per gallon did I get? Bonus: if all 6 snowmobiles each used 23 liters of
gas today to travel 100 miles, what is the combined miles per gallon...
2) Today I was riding and I looked at the GPS and it showed that I was 18 miles from our destination, if I was traveling at 36 miles per hour, how long until I get to my destination ?
3) In Canada, their coins are pennies, nickles, dimes, quarters, loonies ($1) and toonies ($2). If I purchased a candy bar for $3.30, what 4 coins would I need to pay for it? Bonus: What would 2 loonies, 3 toonies, 3 quarters, 5 dimes, a penny and a nickle total? If the Canada to US exchange rate is 50%, how much do I have in US currency?
Mr. Pete
Questions - February 18th, 2002
dear dad ,
I've been having a good time this week .i also hope you are to .i had a
great birthday . mom ,erin ,me ,and bisciut miss you .
love,
sarah
Sarah,
I miss you too. Your dad is looking forward
to seeing you next Sunday, You are coming with your mom next Saturday to
Michigan and driving up to Grandma and Grandpa to pick me up. What do you
want me to bring you back from Canada ???
Dear Mr. Pete,
i
have been wondering If you saw
any wild animals because I
like wild animals like
deer ,moose ,or elk
so please tell me when
back.
Senceirly
Seth.
Seth,
We have seen a big white snow Owl purched on the top of a tree looking for dinner..... maybe mice or rabbits or small birds. We have also seen several little red foxes, they are very curious and stand and watch us drive by. Also we have seen Whisky Jacks. a small little bird that would like to steal your lunch, they fly in real close and if you are not paying attention, would get your food. We also saw a porcupine up in a tree.... it was so cold, we are sure he was shivering. We have seen a lot of moose tracks in the snow, but no moose. I also saw a pure white snowshoe rabbit hop across the trail in front of us... I slowed down so I would not hit him!
Dear Mr. Pete,
What is the mystery
riders name . Have you seen an Elk yet?
Senrely
AUSTIN
Austin,
The mystery rider is David Loomis, David is from Michigan and is a grandfather. He came on the trip to help us by driving the pickup with our gear to the next stop on our trip. His family did not know he was coming until the day before we left. His family did not know that he was going to ride a snowmobile, so we were trying to keep it a secret.
Dear Mr. Pete,
Sounds like things are
going great! The kids were so excited about the website page.
I've run copies for the kids. Sarah said Virginia doesn't know how
to get to the web page......so you better e-mail her.
Mrs. Johnson
Mrs. Johnson,
I have a problem that I think your class can help me with. I have too many things to take on the snowmobile each day and need to prioritize. Please remember we are 100's of miles from civilization, in temps down to -30 below 0 and no help in sight. Can you have the class vote on what are the 10 most important items and email me the results..... thank you!
Items:
a) stormproof, waterproof lighter (used
to start a fire in any conditions)
b) digital camera (used to take pictures
along the way)
c) 50 ft of rope
d) NASA sleeping bags (used if we get
stranded overnight)
e) Satellite Phone (used to call anyone
anywhere in the world)
f) shovel with fishing hooks &
line and
g) GPS (Global Positioning System -
used to locate exactly where you are on the planet)
h) Dried Food & Water
i) Extra Socks and Gloves (in case the
ones you are wearing get wet)
j) First Aid Kit
k) Candy
l) Popsicle's
m) extra batteries
n) Leatherman tool (assorted tools for cutting
and fixing things)
o) Duck tape
p) Heat Pads (heats up to 100 degrees and
stays that way for 7 hours after opening)
q) CD player
r) Gameboy Color w/ assorted games (in
case you get bored)
s) Candle
t) Matches
u) Toilet paper (also use as kleenx)
v) Pepsi or Coke soda
Also, let me know if the class thinks that
I am forgetting something