Week 6

We had another great week this week! In science we used toy cars and learned how distance, time, and speed are all related.



The kids timed their cars at a certain distance and then we figured out how fast they were going. Some of the kids were amazed at how fast their cars were. Some of the boys were so excited to be able to use their cars in science.





Friday we did our OREO project. The kids each stacked Oreos as high as they could without touching them.



Our class average was 21. Max was able to stack 34 Oreos! He was the top winner.







After we stacked the cookies we used them to make sculptures. I'm amazed with the creativity of our students. Check out some of these!











Students: What was your favorite part of this week?

Week 5

This week we used heat scene pictures to learn about conduction, convection, and radiation. The kids rotated around to all 10 pictures and decided what kind of heat transfer was present.


Students: For this week give me an example of conduction, convection, and radiation. Don't forget we have a test Tuesday on this topic.



RAKem Up Randy came to visit our class this week. RAK stands for random acts of kindness. The kids have been doing many helpful things around the school this week. If you check the previous post you will see where Randy went to help out in the library. We will continue to do RAKs even after Randy returns home. This is similar to filling a bucket. Dr. Davis talks every morning about doing things to filling someones bucket. Are you a bucket filler or a bucket dipper?

We also started writing our new pen pals from Texas. The kids are very excited to have pen pals. Some of them wanted to know why we couldn't just text them, but we are working on writing. So all our communication will be through snail mail.

Here is the link to RAKem Up Randy's blog. We posted our first post today.

http://rakemuprandy.blogspot.com/

Week 4- Was it really a 4 day week?

It was a short week this week because we were out for Labor Day. However, it didn't seem like a short week at all!

At the beginning of the week Mr. S. brought kelp for everyone to try. It came in flat sheets and everyone who wanted to try it had the chance. As you can see I don't think there was anyone that liked it. I must admit I didn't try it, it just didn't look like something I wanted to eat.

We also continued our study of kinetic and potential energy with our popper experiment and the "slow" helicopter race.

 

Ask your child to explain how the popper showed kinetic and potential energy.

This week we also talked about 9/11/01. Many of the students were very young when this happened and they don't remember it. I shared my story about where I was when it happened. I was doing my student teaching in a 2nd grade classroom. The link to the video we watched is in the previous post here if you want to watch it. Students have heard many different stories and this video did a great job of explaining the facts and answering students' questions.

Friday our entire school participated in a small ceremony to remember those who lost their lives on that day. We tied ribbons on the fence and released balloons to honor and remember.

Friday was also Grandparent's Day at MES. We had some parents and grandparents come to have lunch with students.

We also learned about RAKs (Random Acts of Kindness). Many people did RAKs on September 11, 2001. People were willing to helps others even in their time of need. Many firemen and police officers lost their lives because they were helping others when the buildings collapsed.

We also talked about how our community did the same thing in April when the tornados came through our area. There were many strangers who went out and helped those who had lost everything. A RAK can be something small or something big. It can be as simple as helping a classmate that dropped his/her books.

Students: What RAK have you done this week? Make sure to practice your RAKs this weekend because RAK Randy will be coming to visit our classroom next week.

September 11th Video

Here is a link to the video we watched in class today.

Week 3

This week we had a lot of fun in science! First, we did a helicopter experiment using the scientific method. The kids cut out their helicopters and tried to figure out a way to make it spin faster. Of course they had to stand in the chair to make sure it had plenty of room to drop to the floor. It was so funny to see their faces when I told them to stand in the chair! Guess that has never happened before.

Next week we will be having helicopter races so we will see who came up with the best plan of action for speeding up the paper helicopter.

We also started our energy unit. We learned about potential and kinetic energy. Make sure to ask your child the difference between the two. Friday we had another experiment to complete.

The kids used bouncy balls and measured the bounce height of the ball dropped from different heights.

Students, here is your question to answer this week: Did the height of the drop effect the bounce? And how did this relate to energy?

Megan M. snapped a few pictures today and I've added a few of them on the blog. Looks like I'm not the only one always taking pictures.

Finally, I had to share this silly story. Someone was super excited Tuesday when Emma had her lunch brought down in a giant paper sack. He obviously talked her into giving it to him. At recess I see this child walking around with a paper bag on his head. Of course, I had to take a picture when we returned to the room. Do you know who this is? He has a big smile on his face!

We are having a great time in class!. Students have been doing a lot of writing and I have seen some great things. Some students are even working together to create their own comic books. The students have earned 4 brownie points for their good behavior. Keep up the good work guys!