Weekly Highlights!

The children loved their science explorations this week! Using metal, glass, and cork balls of various sizes, the children predicted and measured the different amounts of force and motion that would occur when rolling them down a meter-stick ramp. They realized that the heavier balls (metal, glass) required much more force than the lighter balls for motion to occur. They did a wonderful job predicting, experimenting, and exploring not only the different materials, but also the size of the ball, and the height of the ramp. They used the measurements on the meter sticks as evidence! I was so very impressed with the wonderful thinking that took place during our lessons this week!

 It was finally time to celebrate all of the hard work the children did on their personal autobiographies! They turned out really great! We put our desks in a circle and walked around to each desk perusing each other's autobiographies. The children wrote positive comments on a post-it note on the back of their friends' work. These beautiful stories are currently hanging in the hall outside of our classroom. Make sure to take a look the next time you pop by for a visit!  We will be looking ahead to Fairy Tales as our next writing unit!

 MORE science! We started talking about the concept of friction, or the rubbing together of two objects, causing them to slow down in speed. The children recognize that the surface of the objects determines the amount of friction there will be. "Bumpy" or "rough" surfaces will cause more friction than "shiny" or "slippery" surfaces! Below, Danny and Ava are racing pennies down a ramp onto aluminum foil on one side, and wax paper on the other. Which penny do you think would go the farthest?!

Meet Mr. Sanzone! He is a college student who is learning to become a teacher, and he came in to our class for a few hours this morning! He read books with the children, helped them practice their spelling words before their test, and even checked over a few +8 fact papers! He is getting to know what its like to be a teacher, and we are happy to have him in our class while he completes his 10 observation hours over the next few Fridays.

 Max was our star of the week! He shared a neat experiment with the class that had us thinking more about why the sky is blue! He dropped a few drops of milk into glass of water, and we were able to see a blue tint when he and his dad shined a bright light on it! Mr. Czapulonis read a fun Magic School Bus story to the class that tied in perfectly with our science lessons on motion! We also shared why Max is a super star student. He is hard-working, focused, and takes his learning seriously! He is also a very caring and friendly classmate. We are lucky to have him in our class!