Will It Sink or Float?

      This afternoon we moved on from our fabric unit and began learning about sinking and floating. We began the lesson by brainstorming what sink and float meant. Once we came to a common understanding of the vocabulary the class began to vote on whether certain objects I had picked out would sink or float. We were unable to decide of the staples or paper clips would sink or float.
      After we had made our predictions we began testing the objects in a tub of water. We found out that most of our predictions were correct with the exception of the hand sanitizer and the rubber band.

     Once we completed our testing of the objects we came up with some ideas of why they would either sink or float. These are still preliminary ideas and we will continue to test to see which ideas are true of buoyancy.
    My goal going forward is to let students test their own ideas of what they believe makes something sink or float. 

Washing Fabric

In science this afternoon students got the opportunity to wash fabric they had soiled earlier in the week. Students first scrubbed the fabric in water and then moved on to washing it with laundry detergent added to the water. Students discovered that mayonnaise, grape jelly, and hot sauce came out entirely but ketchup and mustard stains remained. Mustard was the most difficult to get out.

Kindergarten Concert

Here are a couple pictures and videos from our Valentine's Day concert this morning.

Water and Fabric

In science class we explored ten different fabrics to find out which ones would be best for making a raincoat. We decided that the best fabrics would be the ones that didn't let water soak through. Students were given their own water and dropper to see what happened when water was added. At the end of the exploration we decided that out of the ten fabrics that nylon was the best because the water just beaded up on top and didn't soak through. We will move on to washing fabrics on Friday.

Learning to use money

Yesterday the kids got the chance to use pennies and nickels to buy various things ranging in price from a penny to six cents. Each student was given 7 cents and allowed to purchase whatever they wanted. The purpose of the lesson was to make sure what we have been learning about money exchange to be as authentic as possible. After "shopping" for their items they checked out with me and we added up the price to make sure they had enough money to buy what they had picked out. It was a good learning experience to see how we exchanged nickels for pennies and to see that items would cost them different amounts.

Learning to Survey

In math this afternoon we began practicing how to come up with a survey question and then how to carry out the survey. We brainstormed as a class good yes/no questions to ask and had each student decide on one for their own survey. After each student had a question we made sure we knew proper etiquette on how to approach a student by telling them hi and then asking their question. They each had a sheet with every student's name so they could mark down yes or no. We practiced how to ask their friend where their name was on the sheet if they were unable to find it. All 18 of the students really did do an amazing job with this activity. Hopefully tomorrow we will learn how to graph our results to share with the other classrooms.

Weaving Wednesday

This afternoon in science class we had the opportunity to learn how to weave. After taking fabric apart the students realized that to make fabric we had to have threads going both up and down and across. We learned that we need to alternate the over-under pattern. Since you began with the "over" using the first piece of yarn, this time you need to start by going under. It was good practice of looking for opposites. We will finish up their weaving tomorrow morning... hopefully.

Dance Marathon Friday Night

The Van Allen Dance Marathon will be held this Friday Night (2/3) in the gymnasium at 6:30. It is for a great cause and the kids really enjoy it. I hope everyone can come out and dance a few hours away!