For a complete introduction and to get to know each Fuddlebrook story/concept, work your way across the main menu bar above. Have fun exploring, and please contact us with any questions you may have!

But that's not all. Check out the introductory video that explains why we created the Fuddlebrook School Science Series.

Resources

Watch as our budding young artists have a blast creating their own masterpieces with a little help from magnets, too.

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Given the heart's never-ending workload, it's a wonder it performs so well, for so long, for so many people. But it can also fail, brought down by a poor diet and lack of exercise, smoking, infection, unlucky genes, and more.

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Recent News

There’s just something about the month of March. Maddening, temperamental, teasing March. The flowers and trees are beginning to put on a colorful show, the days are warmer and longer, and the Earth seems to want to burst with new life. Read the Fuddlebrook story A Change of Season to learn why we have the different seasons (at least in our part of the world).

March can be fickle, though. It can be warm one day and cold the next. We can see thunderstorms and highs approaching 80 one day and the next day we have snow showers—maybe even a blizzard! So no doubt March is moody. However, the most noticeable and consistent weather factor in March seems to be the strong winds. Every other day it seems the weather forecasters are calling for a “breezy/gusty/windy” day. Why does March seem so windy compared to other months out of the year?

It’s all about the transition. We are heading out of the cold short days of winter into the longer and much warmer days of spring and summer. Cold air is situated north while warm air is trying to approach from the south.  While the wind can be irritating sometimes, read A Big Gust of Wind to learn about how important wind can be too.

Finally we’d be remiss not to talk about the colors of spring. Liza’s Colorful Tale teaches us about primary, secondary, and tertiary colors. The activity Liza’s Rainbow is fun for St. Patrick’s Day. A sunny day will supply the “rainbow,” now what about the leprechaun’s pot of gold? But that’s not the only fun Fuddlebrook color activity. Our experiment and video features Herman’s Colorful Magnetic Artwork from A Case of Attraction. Watch as the kiddos have a blast creating their own artistic masterpiece with a little help from magnets too.

Let’s face it. March is just chock full of “teachable moment” fun days (Dr. Seuss’s birthday, St.Patrick’s Day, first day of Spring, and Pi Day just to name a few.) So grab your Fuddlebrook books and celebrate this crazy transition month with great stories and fun science activities.  

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February is the month we think about valentines, Cupid, and candy hearts, but on a more serious note, it’s also American Heart Month. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States.  

The heart is part of your body’s circulatory system. It’s made up of the atria, ventricles, valves, and various arteries and veins. The main function of your heart is to keep blood that’s full of oxygen circulating throughout your body. Because your heart is crucial to your survival, it’s important to keep it healthy with a well-balanced diet and exercise, and avoid things that can damage it, like smoking.

Want to know more about this awesome organ?

  • The average heart is the size of a fist in an adult.
  • Your heart will beat about 115,000 times each day.
  • Your heart pumps about 2,000 gallons of blood every day.
  • The first open-heart surgery occurred in 1893. It was performed by Daniel Hale Williams, who was one of the few black cardiologists in the United States at the time.
  • The first implantable pacemaker was used in 1958. Arne Larsson, who received the pacemaker, lived longer than the surgeon who implanted it. Larsson died at 86 of a disease that was unrelated to his heart.
  • The earliest known case of heart disease was identified in the remains of a 3,500-year-old Egyptian mummy.
  • The fairy fly, which is a kind of wasp, has the smallest heart of any living creature.  
  •   Whales have the largest heart of any mammal.
  • The giraffe has a lopsided heart, with their left ventricle being thicker than the right.  This is because the left side has to get blood up the giraffe’s long neck to reach their brain.
  • Most heart attacks happen on Monday.
  • Christmas is the most common day of the year for heart attacks to happen.
  • The human heart weighs less than one pound. However, a man’s heart, on average, is two ounces heavier than a woman’s heart.
  • A woman’s heart beats slightly faster than a man’s heart.
  •  The beating sound of your heart is caused by the valves of the heart opening and closing.
  • It’s possible to have a broken heart. It’s called broken heart syndrome and can have similar symptoms as a heart attack. The difference is that a heart attack is from heart disease and broken heart syndrome is by a rush of stress hormones from an emotional or physical stress event. Death from a broken heart is possible but extremely rare.            
  • If you were to stretch out your blood vessel system, it would extend over 60,000 miles.
  • Heart cells stop dividing, which means heart cancer is extremely rare.
  • Laughing is good for your heart. It reduces stress and gives a boost to your immune system.

Read the fun Fuddlebrook story, Freddie Plays a Joke, to learn more. Then, watch our video that shows a heart model of a healthy and unhealthy heart, a model of a pumping heart, and a tasty treat from our sister series, The Quirkles®, entitled Yawning Yolanda’s Blood Candy, that demonstrates the four components of blood.

Here’s to a great and heart healthy February!

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What people are saying

This new series marvelously succeeds in introducing young students to inquiry-based, experiential learning of scientific concepts that are age-appropriate. Moreover, students have the opportunity to explore story-based scientific concepts further through hands-on investigations.

--Teresa, Biology Ph.D; former elementary teacher, Springfield, MO

What people are saying

The thing I love most about the Fuddlebrook series is the connection aspect. Not only have the creators connected literacy and science, they have also provided opportunity for exploration of all areas of life. The dispositions and traits of the characters are consistent throughout the books and lead to discussions about friendship, bullying, loyalty, honesty, and humility. Fuddlebrook is "teaching the whole child by connecting to life."

--Carolyn, First Grade Teacher, Ozark, MO