Happy Fall everyone!! Did you know that September is statistically our DRIEST month and has an average temperature of 71 degrees. In case you haven't guessed, we have been talking about the WEATHER in several of our classes!! A HUGE THANK YOU to all of the parents who have volunteered in the Science Lab. I appreciate you taking the time to assist me with many of our outdoor lessons. I am very grateful to have an extra set of hands when taking students outside. I continue to be amazed by the observations of all of my students and I am so proud of their enthusiasm for learning about Science.
Here's what we've been learning about:
Kindergarten- We have been comparing and contrasting different animals, we used our senses to observe animals during a "safari" on the Nature Trail, and we talked about animal babies and mothers. Next we will be learning about different types of motion and movement.
First Grade- We have been learning about the weather! We learned about thermometers, made rain gauges and a wind catcher to measure the wind. We talked about the water cycle, did an evaporation experiment and made a precipitation chart. Next we will be learning about magnetic forces.
Second Grade- Solids, Liquids, and Gasses.... Oh my! We've been doing experiments with the states of matter. We used Alka Seltzer to demonstrate the three phases of matter, melted crayons and then froze them, to see a solid melt- turn into a liquid- then back to a solid in a different shape. We also planted fall vegetables with Earth Parent volunteers. We will be moving on to a study in energy next.
Third Grade- I'm excited that we've had the opportunity to explore habitats and organisms on the nature trail. We've done habitat studies on animals, a plant/tree survey, discussed animal and plant adaptations, and studied how seeds travel. I am very excited that will be using Rock and Mineral samples that I borrowed from the Tellus Science Museum during our next unit of study!
Fourth Grade- Weather has been the main focus of our study. We have discussed the water cycle and have participated in several activities to reinforce the concepts behind the water cycle. We talked about how clouds are named and made a cloud chart. We did an experiement on transpiration and planted fall vegetables with Earth Parent volunteers and we studied weather instruments. Our next unit will be convering forces motion using simple machines.
Fifth Grade- Who knew that constructive and destructive forces could be so much fun?? We used graham crackers in an experiment on plate tectonics. We made and erupted volcanoes. We studied the science behind earthquakes using six different stations and are finishing up by experimenting with the different types of weathering and erosion. We will soon be moving on to a study of Matter and learn about physical and chemical changes.
