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Kathleen - Our EC/Primary topic tonight is collecting ideas for hands-on science activities. We plan to share ideas about Hands On Science activities.
susan - so are any of you doing anything exciting in science in you classroom?
susan - ok let me tell you what we are doing
susan - well, I teach Kindergarten and i have 16 kids half day
Christina - Flubber: a matter experiment that is great for all ages
susan - we are learning about reptiles
Kathleen - Christina, do you make your own flubber?
susan - made a vivarium out of an aquarium
Christina - I have done flubber with 2nd grade, but also fifth. You must adapt to their needs
susan - we have living and non living things in our vivarium that we have graphed pictures of
Kathleen - Did everyone open and carve a pumpkin in October, exploring the texture, temperature, smell, taste? Then plant the seeds?
susan - we have plants, grass. rocks , and a lizard
susan - I caught the lizard outside
susan - the kids are fascinated with him
susan - about predator and prey
susan - we feed him crickets
Kathleen - susan, is it a real lizard, or salamander? Where are you? I'm in Connecticut
susan - we watch him eat and drink
susan - he licks water off the plants
Kathleen - animals are wonderful in the science area, just for observation. What did you graph?
susan - i live in texas he is a regular green lizard
susan - we graphed living and non living things
susan - they have observed him camouflaging
susan - and shedding too
Kathleen - susan, any other animals in there with the lizard? sounds great. do you have the kids try to walk the way the lizard walks?
susan - ha ha- well just lizards and crickets now
susan - each child made a book about our vivarium
Kathleen - susan, then the kids could move like crickets do, too!
susan - we read the book the very quiet cricket
Marcia/Ca - The biggest favorite for younger children is the tornado bottle..Easy to make and they enjoy it for weeks
Gumbo/K/La - we're doing sink/float this week.....will do fresh/saltwater at end of the week......
Gumbo/K/La - my kids loved dissecting the owl pellets.......
susan - for sink and float i brought in several pieces of fruit, apples, oranges, corn on the cob, and a banana
susan - we made predictions of sink or float they were surprised at results
Gumbo/K/La - susan.....same here.....then we draw pictures on sink or float side of paper.....
jtck/WA - Up here in the PNW, we're doing simple machines, magnets and tidepools/oceanography. I'm especially stumped on simple machines...something _different_ for a change...oh, K/1.
Kathleen - We have winter coming on so weather is a focus, but the senses around the holiday open up lots of possibilities
susan - for dehydration we sliced apples and are observing the process hanging in our classroom
jtck/WA - Susan...do you talk about the water cycle with that?
Gumbo/K/La - LOL, kathleen---'snowy' is just something we never get to graph on our monthly weather report!!!! :-)
jtck/WA - Anyone have any good ideas for science journals with K/1s
susan - yes, one little boy wanted to watch the rain evaporate the other day!
Marcia/Ca - not here in northern California, either
Kathleen - simple machines: form a wedge with kids, set a group up with one child in front, next row 2 kids, etc. Then have them shuffle through and separate another group of kids who are in a cluster
susan - for journals you could ask a question-then let them illustrate or write their prediction
jtck/WA - The best luck i had with journals was for observations of changes (plants, weather, etc.). Never thought of it that way, susan.
Kathleen - you warm weather coastal people must do a lot with sea shells? classifying, etc
Gumbo/K/La - kathleen----have a bunch for the kids to sort, make patterns,etc.......
jtck/WA - We do look at shells, but you know, the classifying thing is an excellent idea. We get so caught up in the "unit" that we miss some of the earlier foundation stuff. Especially with K/1.
Kathleen - shells, they can match up the bivalve shells. Also, sort by size.
Kathleen - kids could print with shells dipped into paint. roll the paint-soaked shells on paper, stamp with them
jtck/WA - Kathleen...a great idea for me to use to review patterns. We also do a fish print...ties into a SS unit on Japan too!
Gumbo/K/La - I made magnetic fishing game for kids for different themes......this week using real lures,etc and they make tally marks for each one caught.......
Kathleen - jtck, that gets tedious, doesn't it? Can you do KWL in pairs, or independently once the kids understand the concept? make their own individual or small group charts depicting KWL
jtck/WA - Gumbo...explain the science angle more. Kathleen, firsts could do that, and share. Get me behind the scenes more.
susan - ok-we do this poem in the spring for pollenation- i type the poem on paper- the kids discuss then illustrate
Kathleen - I have to get up the nerve to do the fish print idea sometime, right after we dissect owl pellets :-)
jtck/WA - Anyone useing the internet for intro? Wondering how to set it up.
jtck/WA - Kathleen, what's the science angle on owl pellets...nocturnal animals
Gumbo/K/La - food chains....
Kathleen - back to simple machines: kids can form human gears, too. get the idea?
jtck/WA - Great! Now if only I could get a shark pellet! ; )
Kathleen - gumbo, explain the owl pellet project. LOL! owl pellets are not the food, they come after the digestion!!!! LOL
jtck/WA - Now Kathleen, I get it but I'm having trouble getting there.
Kathleen - jtck, you could but you might lose an arm getting it from the shark!!LOL
Gumbo/K/La - owls eat their prey whole......cannot digest fur and bones---regurgitate that....instant owl pellets........ :-)
jtck/WA - Susan! Very cool! Bet you could make money on a compilation of science realted primary poetry!
jtck/WA - Susan, any chance you could share your science collection somehow?
Kathleen - color mixing is a good science activity, just let the kids explore with different types of paints, water colors. you can let them mix colors into frostings or cream cheese, then blend them when spreading onto cookies or crackers to see the changes
jtck/WA - Hmmmm...Always thought of color mixing as an art thing. I tried to use it in relation to light, but the kids didn't get it. And they couldn't make the prisms work. Or maybe it was all the PNW "liquid sunshine" in the way...
Kathleen - Or let the kids put eye droppers of different colors food coloring onto white cream cheess spread on bread, then they can blend and swirl
Kathleen - colors fit with science
Kathleen - exploration, experimentation, observation are all scientific activities
Gumbo/K/La - use with the book mouse paint.....
Kathleen - also, prediction
jtck/WA - Hey great idea Gumbo. Anyone have any great books they use for science that aren't "science" books?
Kathleen - Eric Carle books about caterpillar, spider, cricket, chameleon
jtck/WA - You know, I love the scientific methos idea, but our units really don't lend themselves to it. It's almost like we have to do the scimeth separately!
Gumbo/K/La - itsy bitsy spider....... water cycles, arachnids.......
jtck/WA - I use the Apple Pie tree for seasons and weather. Great food tie-ins!
Kathleen - jtck, that's too bad. give an example
Gumbo/K/La - thanksgiving-------changing form of matter......(whipping cream to butter) :-)
jtck/WA - Well, I guess simple machines are so complex (lol) that to turn them loose without a solid intro is only good for an exploration. Predictions don't work, and the machines aren't all that thrilling. The float/sink thing is better for scimeth, I think.
Gumbo/K/La - there's science in everything.......
Kathleen - Susan sent her poems, I'll post them here, you'll have to copy and break them back into stanzas. first is "Bug":
"Bug ":
Ugh! A bug is under my rug!
Now it's on the floor.
Now its' crawling across the room.
Now it's out the door.
(this one is fun to illustrate as I show them how to draw the inside of a room)
Gumbo/K/La - I keep my 'science' very simple.......magnets, life cycles, food chains, senses, colors, day and night.......
Peachy - We cook fresh cranberries to watch the changes and listen to them "pop" as the skins burst.
jtck/WA - And doing ahnds-on scimeth with tide pools is impossible. Magnets offer some opportunities, but most kids have so much experience that there's no real Aha's to be had.
jtck/WA - Aaarrrgh. Sorry about my typos, all.
Kathleen - Peachy, I think cooking is one of the excellent science activities. Cooking cranberries is a wonderful experience in many ways!
Gumbo/K/La - my kids never get tired of magnets......they love to play with them......
jtck/WA - I love changes stuff! That's one i can do year-round, with little prep!
jtck/WA - Oh, they love magnets all right. We have great fun with magnet scuplture kits (can't remember the name.) Money well spent.
Kathleen -
Cow
How come a cow-Never says "OW!
Whenever there is milking to do?
It doesn't say "OW"
For it pleases the cow,
So instead, the cow says "MOO"!
(We learn this after visiting the farm and milking a cow. They always ask "Doesn't that hurt"?)
Kathleen -
Inchworm:
The inchworm crawls
An inch at a time.
The inchworm is short
And so is this rhyme.
Peachy - Colors_lemonade with a little extra yellow food coloring...add a blue ice cube.
jtck/WA - Thank you, Gumbo!
Kathleen -
Jellyfish:
I know that there are jellyfish
But tell me if it's true
Could there also be
In the sea
Peanut-butter fish too?
Kathleen -
Ladybug
The ladybug's a beetle.
It's shaped like a pea.
It's color is a bright red
With lots of spots to see
Kathleen -
The Penguin:
The penguin's a bird that cannot fly
But can swim like a torpedo.
And on the ice
It looks nice
Dressed in his tuxedo.
Kathleen -
Spider
Spin, spider, spin!
Spin your web round and wide
Spin your silky web with pride.
Greet the guests who come inside.
Spin, spider, spin.
Kathleen -
The Robin
See the pretty robin.
Hear the robin sing.
Cheerful little robin
First sign of spring!!
Kathleen -
Bee
BUZZ! goes the bee
Hour after hour.
BUZZ! goes the bee
From flower to flower.
Kathleen - That's what susan sent. Thanks susan! She said these are a few from her animal collection.
