This week, we kicked things up a notch.
Beginning a new unit on weather, we started our Monday morning learning about clouds. We read Sometimes It Looked Like Spilt Milk together...
...and then we painted our own clouds.
"Sometimes my cloud looks like binoculars."
"Sometimes my cloud looks like a tree."
"Sometimes my cloud looks like a big, blobby thing."
Then, we made it "rain". By placing warm water in the jar and trapping it on the top with a plate full of ice cubes, we mimicked how moisture evaporates from bodies of water on the earth, collects in the cold atmosphere, and then forms rain droplets.
At the end, we created our first science journal entry. Bam! Kicked it up a notch!
Our science journals will increase in complexity over the next few months and eventually the children will be asked to print a few of the letters themselves, dictate their predictions, and afterwards, their conclusion.
We made our M-Moose...
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| M is for Moose! |
...and our m-moon.
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| m is for moon! |
We played with modeling clay...
...and we painted.
With water colors, too.
We also got really into storms and read a lot about them.
Especially tornadoes.
The highlight of our week was our tornado bottles. Learning about funnel clouds and "swirly, whirly wind", we had an opportunity to examine the concept with water.
Funny story: The kids' questions regarding tornadoes were endless. I explained that tornadoes are created when warm air from the south and cold air from the north meet and "fight", creating a circular motion. Eventually, the air stabilizes and the tornado goes away. For the rest of the week, the children asked one another to "stabilize" rather than argue.
On Thursday, we had a wonderful visit with Ms. Katie and her newborn daughter. We miss her and greatly look forward to her return.
I think she misses us a little, too. Who wouldn't?
