Week of November 18 - 22

Here's what we did in the Science Lab this week:

• Kindergarten: We looked at and sorted rocks.We are getting so good at writing like scientists!
• 1st grade: We investigated the effect of puffs of air on different objects.
• 2nd grade:We explored rocks by testing and sorting them.
• 3rd grade: We began our study over volcanoes by learning about its parts and each part's function.
• 4th grade: We made Cartesian Density Divers. Ask your 4th grader how it works!

Upcoming Events:

• December 2 - 6: All students will come to Old Union's 2nd annual Super Science Sale. Previews will be on Monday and Tuesday (similar to Book Fair), and purchases are welcome the rest of the week. Hours are 7:30 - 3:30 except on Thursday, when the hours are 7:30 am to 6:00 pm.
• December 12: 3rd graders are making and erupting volcanoes. This activity involves soil, baking soda, vinegar, and food coloring. If your student is allergic to any of these items, please contact me ASAP. 

Have a great Thanksgiving Break!

December 10 - 14

I guess the countdown is officially on for winter break; I heard lots of kids remind me that next week is the last week until "next year." :)

Here's our weekly update:

• Kindergarten: We learned more about the patterns in the Earth, specifically focusing on the seasons and the patterns of day and night. Students brainstormed some fabulous ideas about what special things happen in each season, got to add a picture to a part of our season mural, and played a game that involved reading and thermometer and dressing a teddy bear appropriately for the weather. Home extension: Pick out a tree near your home, and "adopt" it with your student. Allow your student to observe the changes of the tree over the course of a year. Students could even write or draw their observations in a home notebook.
• 1st grade: We studied weather and air this week. We read a book that taught us more about various types of weather and discussed how weather affects our lives. Then we learned about weather vanes and how they help people make predictions about the weather. Afterwards, we made our own weather vane to take home. Home extension: Allow your student to use his/her weather vane in your back yard at home. He/she can keep a log of the direction of the wind and the temperature for the day; then, he/she can use those patterns to try to start predicting the weather.
• 2nd grade: We created 3 different types of paper airplanes and tested them to see which model flies the furthest. We also observed the ways that airplanes moved in the air and tried to come up with reasons why certain designs flew better than others. Home extension: With your supervision, allow your student to Google paper airplane directions and make a few different kinds. He/she can conduct a similar investigation to this week's lab lesson at home.
• 3rd grade: This was week 2 of our volcano project. On this day, we constructed volcanoes out of soil, sand, water, toilet paper rolls, and baby food jars. We made our volcano models look as lifelike as possible before we activated "eruptions" in each one. Home extension: this website not only tells how to make a "volcano eruption," but it also gives variable suggestions so that students can make this into a true experiment. You may want to allow your student to conduct these experiment extensions in the back yard, due to mess. :)
• 4th grade: We continued our matter investigation this week with a foil boat competition. Each team was challenged to make the strongest boat possible out of 1 foot of aluminum foil. (We measured the strength of our boats with hexagram weights.) Students were able to experiment with boat shape and surface area to see what design would hold the most weight. Home extension: If you have a small, plastic tub and some foil, your student could recreate this investigation at home. He/she could experiment with different lengths and widths of foil and use pennies to measure the amount of weight the boat can hold.

See you next week!

December 3 - 7

Wow! I cannot believe it is already December! We are having such a blast in Science Lab that time has been flying. :)

Before we get to the weekly update, I just wanted to say an extra THANK YOU to all of those that helped or supported OUES's first annual Super Science Sale last week! It was a lot of fun and a great success! 

Here's what we did this week:

• Kindergarten: We learned about temperature this week. We studied how the temperature changes through the year, how temperature impacts our lives, and how to measure temperature. Home extension: If you don't already, start having conversations with your student about the daily temperature, and let him/her decide what to wear, based on the weather.
• 1st grade: We learned all about air this week. We learned that wind is moving air, and we did an investigation to figure out how much wind it takes to move certain objects. Home extension: Ask your child about the wind investigation and allow him/her to re-create it at home with random, household objects.
• 2nd grade: We learned more about sound energy this week. We saw how sound waves look by modeling them on an slinky, we made "clucking chicken" noises with sponges and cups, and then we made our own cup telephones. It was fun to observe the vibrations and the way sound travels. Home extension: Fill various-sized glasses with water and allow your student to tap them with a spoon to create sound.
• 3rd grade: This was week 1 of our volcano exploration unit! Students learned all about volcanoes and made a model volcano on paper. We are so excited to create model volcanoes with soil and sand next week...and even more excited to make them explode! Home extension: While your driving for errands or the holidays, ask your student to look out the window and identify as many landforms as possible. There probably won't be any volcanoes where you're going (), but we've learned about other landforms, too, that your student could be on the lookout for.
• 4th grade: This was our first week into our matter unit, and we kicked it off with a fun investigation about making potatoes float. We got to conduct an experiment with our table groups to see if potatoes will float in salt or sugar water, and, if so, how many spoonfuls of sugar or salt it takes to make the potatoes float. Home extension: Allow your student to try a variation of this experiment at home by taking something that doesn't usually float and adding salt or sugar 1 spoonful at a time to see if you can make it float. Your 4th grader is an expert at this, so let them show you how it works! 

Green Thumb Club members, if you and your child would like to attend the Tuesday, December 11 meeting at Calloway's Nursery, please arrange transportation for your child. We will begin the meeting at 3:15 pm. If your child can't attend, no worries! We will gladly welcome him or her back at our next meeting on Tuesday, January 22.