April
20
April
20
Four Legs!
April
20
Investigating Rocks and Balance
It’s always a treat watching young children explore and manipulate natural materials Scientists classify everything, so my kindergarten geologists learned to sort rocks by physical properties-color, size, texture (rough or smooth), and luster (shiny or dull). It was a 70s dress down day!
Then we made rock sculptures with river stones which is a fun way to develop those critical thinking skills.
April
16
Planters from Recycled Materials
PreFirst botanists reviewed the parts of the plant and what plants require to grow and thrive. Then we moved outside to fill our planters, made from recycled bottles, with soil. Each scientist planted a nasturtium, moon flower, and morning glory seed, and watered them to begin the growing process.
I also shared planters that I made from CD cases. I planted bean and flax seeds.
April
15
Wheel and Axle
Second grade engineers continued their study of simple machines with a lab that focused on wheels and axles. Click here to learn more about wheels and axles. These physicists were challenged to construct a vehicle with wheels that could move freely on its axles. A variety of materials were available for wheels, axles, and chassis, as well as a variety of adhesive choices. Determining how to attach the wheels to the chassis was one of the design challenges. As they used the design process, they realized that some sort of hub caps were necessary to hold the wheels on the axles. At the end of the lab, some of the wheels did not touch the ground, some wheels were tilted, and others did not turn. I witnessed problem solving and collaboration as they worked to resolve these issues. In part two of this lab, we refined our designs after we tested our prototypes.
April
15
Visiting Salamanders
April
15
They’re growing Fast!
March
30
Spring Hike
My prefirst scientists joined me for a spring hike. As we strolled around our beautiful campus, we watched for signs of the seasonal change and checked them off our scavenger hunt board as we discovered them. I sent home another game board, so families can hike in a park or around their neighborhoods and search for these items again.
We spotted a toad and a crane fly too.
One of my scientists observed the ripples in the grass around the storm drain. How did they form?
We found a magnolia sapling in the woods. How did the seeds travel there?
Look at the male cones that are filled with pollen!
I knocked these male pinecones and we watched the pollen fall out.
March
30
Pollen
March
25
Chromatography
Prefirst physicists used chromatography to determine the colors that each manufacturer used to create a black pen. We learned that some pens are water soluble while others are not, like Expo and Sharpie. Click here for details of this investigation. We tested some other colors too.
Mrs. Daniel read Purple Green, and Yellow by Robert Munsch and connected reading with science.
