Scientist of the Week

Belle was our second scientist last week. She did a fun experiment we called Magic Egg. Before she started, she told us what she was going to do. Then everyone predicted if the egg would sink or float in regular water and also if it would sink or float in salt water.

First, she put the egg into regular water. It sunk to the bottom.

Then she added salt to the water and stirred it in.

Then she put the egg into the salt water. It floated! Everyone was amazed.

Thanks for that awesome experiment, Belle!

Scientist of the Week

Our first scientist last week did an experiment called, Color Vision. Actually, it was three experiments all about color.

Elizabeth put some black marker onto a thin, absorbent paper and then dropped some water onto it. The water made the colors within the black spread out so we could see that black is made with other colors.

The kids LOVED this last one, when she put food coloring into dish soap and blew bubbles with a straw. Elizabeth had to use the glasses for that one!

Thanks, Elizabeth for those COLORFUL experiments! We loved them!

Studying Soil

We had a great science unit at the beginning of May studying soil. The class really enjoyed it and learned a lot.

We studied and compared different soil samples under magnifying glasses.

We even found a few bugs in the soil. That was really exciting!

We also sifted some soil samples and found different sizes of rocks, roots, and bark in the soil. We put some soil in water. It was pretty cool to watch it settle and to see the differences.

We love being scientists!

Class Talent Show

We had our class talent show last week. We have many talented students in our class, only some of whom were brave enough to get up in front of everyone. They did a great job!

Scientist of the Week

Our second scientist last week was Ava. She did a fun experiment called, "Layered Liquids."

She poured in some corn syrup, vegetable oil, and water into a bottle. Most of the kids thought it would have some sort of reaction. They were surprised to see that it stayed in layers.

We added in some blue food coloring so we could see the water better.

Ava added some beans to show how they floated above the corn syrup. It was really cool.

The kids were amazed at what happened. Thanks for a great experiment, Ava!

Scientist of the Week

We had another fun scientist last week. James did the experiment, "Straw Strength".

First, he had a few kids from the class come up and see if they could push the straw into the potato.

They just couldn't get the straw to go in!

Then James did it! He did it so fast and strong we could barely see it happen.

He explained the trick of putting your finger on top of the straw so that the air stays in the straw and helps push the straw through. He walked around and showed the class the straw poking through the bottom of the potato.

It was awesome! Thank you, James. You did such a great job!

(The only bad thing about this experiment was, the next day at lunch there were a bunch of kids poking their straws into apples, and some went to get more and more straws to poke into apples. It took me a second to put it together with the experiment. Maybe some of you had this happen at home too. Well, I guess they all got a chance to try it!) 

Teacher Appreciation

Last week was teacher appreciation week, and boy did I feel appreciated. It was a wonderful week. I was showered in fruit, flowers, supplies, treats, and notes. Seriously, it was awesome! Thanks to a great class with great parents. I appreciate you too!!

Our room was so sweetly scented the entire week!

My room mom came in and had the kids make these cute fish to decorate my bulletin board. Thank you so much; I love it!

Scientist of the Week

We are really cruising through these scientists, trying to get everyone a turn before the year is over!

We had a great scientist last week. Jonah did an exciting experiment titled, Up and Away.
He did a great job and the class loved it!

He demonstrated and explained to the class how to make this flying contraption.

 

It was very interesting to see how well it flew with the paper clip weight, and how poorly it flew without the weight. (Sorry, my old camera's not that great at action shots, so I couldn't get too many photos. There was a lot of action!)

This was really fun and we didn't want to stop. Normally, we are not allowed to throw paper airplanes in class! Luckily, we had recess right after so we could continue out there for a little while.

Thanks, Jonah, for such a great experiment. You did a fabulous job and we loved it!

Top Readers

Our class did awesome for the principal's Spring Reading Challenge. We read over 18,000 minutes as a class. Our top readers read in the 1200-1400 minute range. And here they are...

Way to go awesome readers! Everyone in the class did such a great job!

Walking Field Trip

During the first week of May, we took a walking field trip to a local train. It was so much fun! Not only did we get to ride on the train, but we got to do several other fun train games and activities. One of their favorites was, "Conductor, Conductor, Who Stole Your Keys?" (I didn't get a picture when they were playing that one.)

Scooping coal and passing it back. . .

We watched a movie about the history of trains. It felt good to cool off inside.

Our turn on the train!

Here we go!

Afterwards we got to play with a parachute.

Our class in front of the train.

Thanks to an amazing family and some awesome moms for providing this wonderful opportunity for a memorable field trip.