Pre-K Use Their Senses!

Pre-K has been using their senses to learn about their world!  They have been using sight to observe objects; touch to describe how things feel; and smell to decide which smells are the best!

The shells look and feel so bumpy. 

Do they have a smell?

Kinetic sand is so squishy.

It sticks to my hands.

I'm making a pancake.

The magnifying glass makes everything bigger.

Pre-K is also meeting the many critters in the science room.

The snail have two eyes on the top of it's head and two feelers
underneath.

It's so big!

Where are you going?

Red wiggler worms...wiggle a lot!

They like to try to escape.

They are slimy.

The move slowly.

Mealworms are different from red wigglers.

It holds onto my finger.

They are smaller than the red wigglers.

Mystery bags!  What does it feel like?

Touch bags.  What does it feel like?

This feels like a ....

Which materials feels rough? Smooth? Sticky?

What feels smooth?

This feels bumpy.

I found them all.

Mystery smell bottles!  What is this smell? Sweet? Spicy? Orange?

This smells like orange.

This is the pepper!

I like this smell!

Summer Vacation 2019

It's hard to believe that summer is just about over!  I had a wonderful time walking in the woods, swimming in the ocean, reading and visiting my friends in London. 

While in London, I was thrilled to see Olafur Eliasson's exhibition at the Tate Modern.  He is one of the creators of the Little Sun solar lamp!

"Beauty", fine mist in a dark room with a spotlight.

"Moss Wall", reindeer moss, a lichen native to
northern latitudes.

"In Real Life", illuminated from inside projecting shadows and
light outside.

"Your Uncertain Shadow", colored spot lights
projected on a wall. When people walk past the
lights, their shadow appears on the wall.

The components to make a Little Sun solar lamp.

I also got to spend the morning at the Natural History Museum.  What an impressive building.

Blue whale skeleton in Hintze Hall.

Giraffe and giraffe skeleton.

The stunning "Museum of the Moon" by Luke Jerram.

Charles Darwin.

Gems and minerals.

Specimens from Darwin's travels.

Darwin's Origin of the Species.

 Lastly, some photos of the critters and objects I saw this summer!

 

 I hope you all had a fantastic summer!  I can't wait to hear about your adventures!

1st Grade Weather Report!

In our last unit, 1st graders are investigating the weather! They are learning how to read a thermometer in both Celsius and Fahrenheit.  We first investigated temperature in the classroom, then, during next science class, we go outside to take the temperature and write a weather report!

It's hard to see where the red line
stops sometimes.

You have to give the thermometer time
to measure the temperature.

You have to be sure to only hold the sides of
the thermometer.  If you don't, you will be
taking your temperature!

Looking closely at the temperature of cold water.

Now discovering the temperature of warm water.

Writing the weather report from the garden.

Going outside to see what the temperature is.

Reading the thermometer, checking the wind!

2nd Grade Explores Ramps!

2nd grade has been investigating what happens when objects roll down a ramp.  They first used wheels to make different types of rollers that would roll around the corner, back and forth as well as a wobbly roller.  They then tried to create new "tricks" with their wheels.

These wheels roll straight.

It's hard to make one wheel roll straight. It
wobbles and falls.

A lot of time was spent readjusting
the clothespins to keep the ramp up!

Around the corner!

Sometimes the axel needs to be cut once it
starts to bend.

 The next investigation involved rolling cups.  This was a bit trickier.  The first challenge was rolling the cup off the ramp and "parking" underneath.  For the second one, the cup needed to roll off the ramp and fall upside down. Lastly, they needed to figure out how to roll the cups straight down the ramp.  This involved using masking tape to keep the cups together!

We are ending the unit by manipulating runways for a marble to roll through.

Down the hill, up the hill and back down
again.

Around the corner.

 The ultimate challenge...using more than one runway!

Three runways!

Working together!