We welcomed our first lizard to the lab this week! We currently have one brown anole, but I hope to add several more as they become available. Click here to watch a video about anoles.

It has been on my to-do list to make a child friendly Periodic Table, so that I can refer to it during our labs. I have listed the first twenty-two elements. I am going to challenge my scientists to learn them in order. Click here to learn a song that will help with memorization.

In conjunction with their Earth unit, third grade scientists traveled to the Dahlonega gold mines- always a fun field trip! Thank you chaperones! I was helping Mrs. Kiefaber’s class, so there are more photos of her students on this video.

Second grade biologists are taking this question through the scientific process. We made our hypotheses and now we are waiting to see what happens. Be sure to check back!

One week later, we observed that the grapes were slightly smaller and had lines on them. Why do you think that happened?

My kindergarten scientists have been studying the farm. After a lesson about the parts of a corn stalk and an ear of corn (cob, kernel, silk, and husk), we shucked an ear of corn, removed the kernels, and broke the cob in half to look at the inside.

Then we put on our goggles and moved to the lab tables for an experiment. We poured 1 cup of vinegar from the beaker into a jar filled with two cups of water. Next we added corn kernels. The kernels dropped to the bottom of the jar. Then we added 1 T of baking soda and we couldn’t believe what happened next! After the “explosion”, the kernels rose to the top, but moved up and down with the bubbles because the reaction created a gas- carbon dioxide.

Fourth graders found this luna moth caterpillar during recess and couldn’t wait to show it to me. We returned it to a tree and were amazed at how quickly it was camouflaged by its surroundings.

You have to finger paint when you are learning about the sense of touch! Objects are classified by their texture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we finished using the cold, squishy, slimy finger paint, we took a print of our favorite design.

All of my scientists look forward to observing our lab animals! It isn’t often that I catch all three frogs together. Yoda is usually hidden away during the day. As soon as I took this picture, he disappeared.

Jabba likes to go for a swim.

Uno, a Pekin duck, and Percy, a silver appleyard, live in the retention pond behind school. They were hatched in the lab and cannot fly. We had some visiting mallards last week. Our ducks were not very welcoming, and they didn’t stay long.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Squirt loves to sunbathe- just one “toe” in the water!

Our tadpole’s front legs appeared last week. On Sunday, he still had a long tail, but today it turned black and has almost disappeared. He is also using his new lungs to breathe.