Feb 5, 2023

Making Things Bubble

Our students really like to make things bubble. So many of our science experiments came from this basic starting point, but it was really interesting to see where their experiments went. If you take an equal mass of Mentos and baking soda which one makes the bigger chemical reaction in Coke? Which of four vinegars makes the biggest chemical reaction with baking soda? How does adding liquid detergent impact the baking soda and vinegar reaction? Do other "acidic" things make baking soda bubble (coffee, orange juice, lemon juice)? We'll be sharing all of the answers to these questions at our science symposium this week - a chance to let our community know about the results of all this experimentation.

Morgan's PK and K Class

* Explored wet and dry oobleck. Many children compared the two and talked about which one they liked better and why. * Played with shaving cream! Some children liked how soft and squishy it was. Others liked the smell of the shaving cream. * Used chalk and chalkboards, developing their fine motor strength. * Experimented with markers on regular and textured paper. * Used cookie sheets to display magnetic numbers and letters! * Designed with patchwork tiles. * Played with our Light Bright! The children liked looking through the little holes to see each other on the other side. * Continued to develop our ring toss skills. * Counted snowmen then filled in the missing numbers from 1-20. * Graphed our names to compare who had the most and fewest letters. * Drew with oil pastels. * Played Connect 4. * Explored coffee grounds. Some children loved the way the coffee smelled while others said it was stinky! * Graphed snowflakes - I asked the children if they liked snow then graphed their answers.

Tracy's 1st-3rd Class

In math, our first grade class is working on number sentences, counting money, making and measuring paths, and comparing numbers with the symbols for less than, greater than, and equal. The second grade class is developing their understanding of centimeters and inches, so they can look at something and make an accurate estimate of its length. They also worked on temperature change problems (appropriate for the weather swings we've been having), making change for different whole dollar amounts, and adding tens or hundreds to a given number. The third graders are continuing to work on area and perimeter, including decomposing irregular shapes into rectangles to solve for area and perimeter.

In writing, we continued to work on our research projects. The children are reading books about their topics. When they find an interesting fact, they find the related heading in their notebooks and write it there in their own words. Figuring out how not to copy has been a challenge for many of the kids.

In reading groups, everyone spends some time reading out loud. We work on fluency, reading with expression and noticing punctuation. We work to add words to our vocabulary, looking for similar words or word parts that we recognize. We stop and check for meaning as we read, making sure we understand what is happening. We spend some time on "word work" where we notice things like vowel teams, discuss short and long vowel sounds, look for suffixes and prefixes, or other patterns in words.

Theresa's 4th-6th Class

In math, the eldest kids had a test, and they are making serious progress in their understanding of ratios, fractions and percents. The 3rd and 4th graders have been asking for a test, so we will give them one soon.

In writing, we are in the middle of research reports. The kids are learning how to take notes, paraphrase, organize their thoughts and draft a piece. The kids have also been doing "daily writing." Every day when they come into writing, they do a quick, grammatically correct paragraph based on a prompt.

In reading, we are all starting new books. The 5th and 6th graders are starting The Elephant in the Room by Holly Goldberg Sloane. It touches on issues of immigration and neurodiversity. The 4th graders are exploring non-fiction.

Our Theme: Science Experiment