THE LIFE CYCLE OF A CHICKEN

 Today we learned all about the life cycle of a chicken. After learning all about birds, we know that all birds have wings, have feathers and lay eggs. 

 Mrs. Schwalbe brought in some different colored chicken eggs to show the children. Best of all, she introduced the children to Sparkles, one of her own chickens!

Needless to say, meeting Sparkles was a big hit with the class!!!

MAGNIFICATION - making things LOOK big

During science lab #4, we took a look at magnification. We learned that when we magnify something, we only make the item look larger while it actually stays the same size. We discussed the different tools we can use to magnify an object. Here we are looking at a feather under a large screen microscope.

Each child was invited up for a closer view of the feather, which looked very stiff and sharp under magnification.

We spent some time looking through view masters. Everyone loved how they made

such tiny pictures easy to see.... and in 3D too! We could have looked through these all day.

Lastly,  we learned how to use magnifying glasses properly and then used them to look at the details of all kinds of tiny objects.

BIKE DAY 2015

Today we had our Bike Day, and it was a great time. The weather threatened rain, but it held off until later. The cool temperatures kept the gnats at bay, so I say it was perfect bike riding weather!

 A line of chairs made into a median gave us something to ride around.

 And that's what they did - they rode around and around and around.

 Until, finally, it was time to rest! What a great bunch of children - and some pretty good bike riders too.

SCIENCE LAB - SOLUBLE AND INSOLUBLE

In our most recent science lab, SOLUBLE AND INSOLUBLE, we learned about how some items will "disappear" and become part of the liquid they are mixed with (soluble) and how some items will not (insoluble).

After learning the meaning of these two new science words, the children created their own mini-oceans using both soluble and insoluble items. They used food coloring, vegetable oil, shells, rocks, and star fish.

See how proud they are with the results! Learning about science can always be fun and something children will love.

ST. PATRICK'S DAY 2015

Here we are making some decorations and getting ready for our annual WIPP parade.

Our leprechauns getting very excited!

The weather may have been uncharacteristically cold, wet and windy, but that wasn't about to rain on these children's parade - literally. Smiles and waves were the order of the morning.

As you can see, everyone had a wonderful time!

SCIENCE LAB - THE STATES OF MATTER: LIQUIDS VS. SOLIDS

We had our second science lab in class recently. In this science lab we learned about the different states of matter, especially liquids and solids. The children shared different things that are solid and things that are liquid. Just about everyone was able to come up with a solid thing or a liquid thing.

We used a recipe to get the correct measurements (science lab #1) to make a non-Newtonian fluid. This fluid can act as both a solid and a liquid depending on the amount of pressure applied to it - think quicksand. 

After demonstrating how to work with a non-Newtonian fluid, most of the children couldn't wait to get their own hands into it!!

We took turns seeing how it felt and how it works. Some of the children could have played with it all day!

ST. PATRICK'S DAY IS COMING!

Happy Leprechauns have come to our classroom to help get us into the spirit of St. Patrick's Day. We have been discussing shamrocks, rainbows and pots of gold. And, of course, we all can't not wait for our school St. Patrick's Day parade.

When not working on all things GREEN, we have been seeing what we can create with our bar bell builders. My builders have made everything from our shape of the month, the diamond, to jewelry for their stuffed animal pets! Such a creative group.