Kindergarteners Explore Forces!

Kindergarten has been learning that in order for an object to move, a force needs to be exerted on the object - a push or a pull.  We are learning about forces because during this unit, kindergarteners are going to be engineers!  They are going to use their new found knowledge about forces and build a pinball machine!

We have exerted forces on objects in the classroom.

Pulling the easel.

Pulling the door open.

Pulling the chair.

Everyone likes pulling the door open!

Smaller chairs are easier to move.

Drawing the object that was moved.

Pushing the chair with my back!

I can pull and push the chair.

The easel is hard to push!

 Next we had an object exert a force on another object.

Some objects can't pull another object very well.

Watch the craft stick move the glass marble.

The cotton ball can push the stopper.

It's hard for the pipe cleaner to move things. It's not that
strong.

The shoelace needs to be wrapped around
to move it.

After experimenting with different ways to move objects, it was time to apply our knowledge to our model pinball machine!  How can we get our pinball to move?

Sometimes the ping pong ball flies out of the
model!

Don't pull too hard on the rubber band.

The rubber band vibrates.

Keeping the ball in motion.

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Just the right amount of force.

Adjusting the placement of the ball.

Awesome!

Pre-K Investigates Water on Wood and Paper

Pre-K has been investigating what happens when water is put on different types of wood and different types of paper.

Look, the wood is darker.

The wood is sticking together!

Sometimes it's hard to use the droppers.

The dark wood is darker and the light wood is lighter.

The water changes the color of the paper, just like the wood.

The water stays in drops.

So many different papers and something happens to them all!

I have a paper sandwich.

This is bumpy paper.

Look!

I can push the water.

Watching the water.

More exploring.

Investigating the Smallest Size Rock: Clay

2nd graders are investigating the properties of the smallest size rock...clay.  It's so small, you can't isolate one grain on its own! We made observations about how the clay looked, felt and smelled.  

The clay looks gray and feels smooth.

It's hard to roll the clay into a ball after using it.

It smells earthy.

I can see the clay on my hands.

It smells stinky!

The clay dries out after using it!

Next we rolled the clay into two balls.  The larger sized ball of clay was put in a cup while the smaller sized ball of clay was put in a vial that was filled with water.  Most of the classes noticed that when the vial was shaken, the clay started to break apart and dissolve.

Shaking as hard as possible to see if the clay would totally dissolve.
(It didn't!)

The more you shake the darker the water
becomes.

It looks like milk.

Look at the cracks.

Is the clay dissolved yet?

The last thing we did is to make two predictions about what the clay in the cup and the clay in the vial will look like the next science class.  Most people thought the clay in the cup would become hard.  There were various predictions about the clay in the vial, some felt it would be completely gone, others thought that it would absorb all the water.

Next science class.....we were both surprised and "knew it"!

Making observations about the clay in the cup (it's hard) and the
clay in the vial (the water is clear and clay flattened out).

The water in the vial is clear again!

It was easy to get the hard dry clay soft again,
just add water! And does it ever feel good!

1st grade Investigates Properties of Solids

In our new unit 1st graders are exploring the properties of matter.  We are starting by observing and describing how 7 different objects look, feel and sound.

The block sounds loud when it's tapped on the table and the triangle
sounds "flicky".

The fabric is blue and soft.

The screw is hard and rough.

The popsicle stick is straight and so it the screw.

Next, we played a sorting game where partners choose two solids that share the same property - flexible, rigid, hard, soft, rough, smooth, transparent or opaque.

The triangle and the popsicle stick are both
both opaque.

The triangle and the wire are both flexible.

The fabric and the wire are both flexible and smooth.

Playing the sorting game.