Science has been a real treat for the senses the past 3 weeks!  We have been learning the Scientific Method at all levels, which means, EXPERIMENTS!  This is the children’s favorite thing…..so I have been really feeling the love lately!  They have worked on the following skills

Asking a question, following instructions, noting their materials, making observations and recording them, making a “best guess or hypothesis” recording data and possibly analyzing it, making conclusions.

All of our experiments have been recorded on a variety of worksheets that will familiarize the kid with language, steps and turning a process or experiment into something that can be shared.

All of their written work will come home at the end of the year in a Science Notebook.  Some of their documentation will be on display during our “science share” night at Rivendell on March 8 from 6-8 PM.

Data – recording and analyzing…Asking a clear question. D Do Tall student’s have the biggest feet? height/feet length data

Floating M’s experiment=separation, dissolve, recording times for data

Variables, hypothesis and conclusion

Which candy will “melt–dissolve first” Question, hypothesis, recording 

Float or sink, things we see the same/different. Sharing information, building on previous knowledge to try again.

Surface Tension. Prediction, Hypothesis, Conclusion

I am thrilled to present an after school enrichment camp called MAKER MONDAY>

this group will give us plenty of time each Monday to dive into the creative world of Makers.  only 10 kids can register, so see the information below and email me ASAP to reserve your spot. kariwondergill@gmail.com

Meet in the Science Lab- 3:20-5:00   Age 7 and up   $90 per session

Session 1.  January 8,15, 22, 29    Session 2. April 2, 9, 16, 23

To register: kariwondergill@gmail.com

The Science Lab will be our maker-space for children to Dream BIG and build it! Students will be given tinkering demos and materials to design and build their own inventions.

Demonstrations and materials will include (but not limited to)

• Take-a-parts
• tool use
• simple circuits
• Makey-makey
• Little-bits
• tape, glue, knots and more!

My inspiration comes from AJ Juliani and John Spencer….check out some details here

some of our work might look like this!!!

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaKtnAsqlt4
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLKa2weeajI

I am hosting OPEN LAB time for all Middle and Older Kids on Tuesday and Wednesday from 12-1.  All students have had the privilege of coming in during their recess time to work in small groups on ANY project they like!

WE have made slime, kinetic sand, marble runs, reptile mazes and houses, crystals, dioramas and various explosions including launching film canisters from PVC pipes with the force of alkaseltzer!

Your kiddo knows the amazing possibilities that come with open lab and works hard to earn it each week. I began the year with open comments and expectations regarding “what kind of work” I look for “behavior I expect” and studious, curious kids who get an invite.  I honestly picked those kids, but I also filled in up to 20 slots each week.

In January I will be more selective and not just rotating through the list~ which means my expectations of their behavior and participation will come with reward. The privilege will be well worth working towards and I am counting on each child getting invited.

Our wrap up in Geology was studying minerals or as the kids say “crystals!”  We used our Geologist field notes and classification system from Rock ID….We checked its luster, cleavage, hardness and performed a streak test.  All of the identifying characteristics needed to be something OTHER than the color.  All the classes soon learned a lot of fancy adjectives such as Metallic, transparent, mottled, dull, waxy and more.
PK chose their favorite and circled the choices for smooth, sharp, bumpy> big, medium, small > shiny, spotted, stiped

YK took 2 different minerals placed them in the center with all the other mineral and described them to the group without saying its color while peers listened and guessed.

MK  did an official mineral study using a streak plate and scratch test. Though they learned to think and describe creatively, their main mission centered on Identifying the mineral….which was often difficult with such a random old collection.

OK worked on not only mineral identification, but the vocabulary surrounding it… including luster, cleavage, opaque, translucent, the mohs scale for hardness and more. They all worked in groups to identify their rock, its type and where it might come from.

AFTER ALL THE STUDIES WE CELEBRATED BY GROWING OUR OWN CRYSTALS! coming home soon!

For years now (14 to be exact) I have been teaching children about the energy required to get food or clothing into our lives.  It can be simple or complicated, dramatic or logical….but it is ALWAYS surprising and interesting!  I never skip an opportunity to talk through our favorite thanksgiving dish- Turkey.  This year I only had PK and YK that week, so I kept it minimal- well 16 steps. I didn’t add up all the miles or fuel or talk about inhumane treatment of animals….I just narrated the basic steps while they counted the farms, trucks and humans needed to make a great meal! Here is a snipet of what we did.  Turkey farm, truck, hatchery, truck,  chick farm, truck, processing plant- butchering, de-feathering and packaging (I skipped the injections of preservatives and hormones) truck, cold storage, grocery store, home and cooked by family. They called in deliveries and pick ups… happily managed the cold storage, store and pulled feathers with joy! All the while gaining an understanding for food and energy. I hope your child brought the paper and topic home to you and your dinner time conversations, because it is always worth discussing!

We transitioned from investigating the types and uses of different resources all over the country with our Native American studies to Mountains and Plains resources of Colorado and finally the basics of Geology.

All students have been introduced to the rock cycle: Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic. They will begin to act as Geologists with tests such as luster, streak, scratch, cleavage and basic mineral identification.

PK sorted rocks by look- streaks and strips, holes and cracks, smooth and shiny, sparkles and crystals and size and shape.

YK- Sorted sediment by size from Boulder, cobble, pebble, granule, sand, silt and clay. The biggest to smallest was easy, but matching names to size was more of a challenge. They then sorted a variety of tricky pictures such as brick, diamond, kitty litter, quartz, turquoise or shell and fossil into ROCK NOT ROCK categories which raised some great questions and further investigation.

MK- had the same ROCK NOT ROCK activity and broke into groups to further investigate rocks such as quartz, sandstone, pumice, granite, obsidian and limestone to figure out if these rocks were Igneous, Sedimentary or Metamorphic. This will be our introduction to next weeks mineral identification and classification.

OK first started with identifying the 4 types of mountains to learn how each were formed and understand the story of how rock forms, moves and morphs from state to state. We used this information to help with our rock cycle understanding and will take this a step further with mineral identification. Once we understand the relationship with all three we will be well on our way to reading the landscape and understanding the story left behind when we dive into fossils and prehistoric time periods.

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Our new topic unit is Native Americans.  I am approaching it from a natural resources perspective. I am teaching the kids by identifying the landscape of a particular region one can also identify the natural resources of that region.  The United States is broken into 6-8 regions while referring to Native American’s. These regions are the North, Pacific Northwest Coast, California, Great Basin, Plateau, Plains, Southwest, Northeast, Southeast.

I have taken time with each group to sit in circle and tell stories….while explaining that along with living on this continent a Long Long Long time before any other settlers’, this may be the only thing that all Native Americans have in common.  I am trying to debunk the myth that all native people wore head dresses, lived in tepees and performed pow-wow’s.  You too may take time this month to ensure that your student student has an accurate understanding of just how diverse this group of people are.

The natural resource part of our study is where things get exciting. PK and YK are sorting animals and plants into their accurate habitats, matching appropriate shelter made from wood to a forest region, clay to a desert or bison hide tepees to a plains region. They are noticing tools and trade items that would also be made from local materials such as totem poles from large trees of the PNW or clay pots from the red sandstone in the desert or grass baskets and root diggers that would be necessary for gather food on the plateau or rice field.

MK and OK are also taking notice of this regional resource based lifestyle, but moving into the present day resources that natives still use and manage.  MK will learn about Native Americans and reservations and our government’s agreements regarding first rights to resources. They will dive a bit into shoreline and fishery management and how tribes along the waterways still have subsistence fishing or whaling.  They will learn where tribal rights govern the use of coal and wind energy  throughout the west and protect open space in many states.

My general objective is to connect the land with the people and how although shopping for all materials today is available, cultural practices still occur within tribal life today, including pow-wow’s!

We have been studying all things universe!!! Our weekly theme within the topic units for all grades is

Oct. 9-13 Gravity /Planets, Oct. 16-20 stars, Oct.23-27 the moon, Oct. 30-Nov 3. universe, Nov.6-10 Humans in Space

Our space exploration has started with gravity. We learned that the more mass something has, the bigger its gravitational force.  Next we classified planets according to size, distance, color and gassy or massy or both! We have investigated the life cycle of stars and phases of the moon as well as constellations and what happens to a bright star.

Our PK have played with gravity and designed their own constellations.

YK have classified the planets and dropped and measured craters on our model moons.

MK have created a picture/word wall for all classes to learn from and made models to explain rotate and revolve.

Ok have mastered the acronym to memorize planets, experimented with seasons and have begun the journey into understanding fusion, refraction and gases that make up our universe.

Preschoolers took time to talk and play with Gravity today!  We learned that the Sun is so big and weighs so much it has enough gravity to hold the Earth and all the other planets together. We also learned that the Earth has enough gravity to hold the moon, but the moon barely has enough gravity to hold us. All of the discussion was centered around big, medium, small- light, medium, heavy.

We took time to play with gravity in the Lab before we move into our new topic Unit~ Astronomy!

If you are not seeing any pictures of your child, please email me and give permission to post on this blog page. I have some real gems.

The OK and MK have made a map of their model and welcome you to come take a tour in the Science Lab this week!

Here are a few pics of the model.  YK took turns choosing artifacts and I read them the facts that MK and OK researched and wrote about their model. This made for an amazing collaborative demonstration of learning and wrap up to Inca, Aztec, Mayan Topic Unit.