Water and Oil Consistency

It was hard to keep the students hands off this activity with oil, water, and Alka-
Seltzer. The childrens sensorial curiosity was at use when they were invited to explore
the slippery oil and warm water and discern their tangible properties. First, the children
were invited to keep their hands on their back and guess what was alike or different from
the two containers using only the sense of sight. Its
water! said the children in a unified voice. Then, they
were invited to smell the water and then the baby oil. It
smells like oil! Expressed E. The children were finally
allowed to feel the consistency with their index finger and rubbed it
on their hands and smelled it. We continued by adding some drops
of water coloring and see how it mixed in the water and remained
and isolated drop in the oil. Finally, pieces of Alka-Seltzer were
added and it dissolved in the water, releasing buoyant bubbles of carbon dioxide. These bubbles
rise quickly to the surface, dragging blobs of colorful water with them. When the bubbles burst at the
surface, the water sinks once again below the oil.
Does Nature Sink or Float?
The children participated in a nature walk
activity where they collected different
nature items from outside. Once inside, the
children experimented with these different
materials to see which ones would sink or
float. Since the tree branches and pieces of
bark floated some of the children put rocks
on them and practiced predicting the amount
of rocks it would take to make them sink. Hypothesizing is an important aspect of
scientific research and the students were able to develop this skill by engaging in this activity.




Animal Tracks
Linda Hammond's poem "Tracks Across the Snow"
was the inspiration: "One step, two steps, here we go!
Making tracks across the snow." During winter, animals
either hibernate (sleep), migrate (move away), or adapt.
We talked about animals that adapt in winter, which
means they stay awake and around all winter, kind of like
humans! We discussed what ways humans
adapt in winter (i.e. wearing coats and
boots, turning on the heat) and how some
animals adapt, like growing winter coats,
gathering food, having warm homes to return to when the weather is too cold.
Students explored how we might see animal tracks in the snow because they
stay local and above ground in the winter - like some birds, rabbits, squirrels,
raccoon, coyotes, otters and mice. Students chose animals and print stamps to make painted "snow" tracks on white
paper. This enhanced student learning on different types of tracks, like bunnies whose feet are side by side and
animals with tails leave a drag mark, as well as utilized sensory learning.

Keeping the Water Clean
Students have started to learn about the Philippines for global
studies they were introduced to its environment. The
Philippines has the second largest coral reef area and the local
communities of the different Islands work hard to protect and
conserve its beauty. Coral reefs are fragile ecosystems which
are the homes to twenty five percent of marine life and are
endangered by climate change and pollution. Since pollution is
such a front page issue it is important to teach children about its effects. The children
participated in an activity where they experimented with water and garbage to see the
effects that these have on the color and texture of the water.

From Liquid to Solid and Vice Versa
For STEM this month, the children will be studying the characteristics of
matter; solid, liquid, and gas.
To take advantage of this weather, the children observed how leaving three
different liquids outside for a day changed their state from liquid to solid due to the
freezing temperatures in January. The process called solidification was a sensory
experience for the children to feel the physical states from a same material affected by
temperature.
They also were invited to notice that raising temperatures (such as bringing the liquids
indoors) caused the solids to melt and change to liquid again.

Below Zero
Temperatures
First, students were able to examine
snow in a jar and predict whether the
snow would increase or decrease
upon being inside. Students were
then asked what happens outside in
the winter, and what happens to
water when temperatures drop outside. Students then were able to examine ice cubes and
predicted whether the ice cube would float or sink in water. Many students were surprised
to see the ice floating, because it felt so heavy, solid and cold.
Next, students were asked to experiment. Four ice cubes were placed in a tray; students then put tiny amounts of
large rock salt on one ice cube, small grain salt on a second, and baking soda on a third. The fourth ice cube had
nothing on it. Students could then predict which ice cube would melt the fastest. While we waited to see which ice
cube melted first, students could touch and examine a larger ice block with small objects in it. The students tried
different methods (e.g. hot water, cold water, different sized salt, hammering, etc.) to see which would work to get the
small objects released easiest. After checking our ice experiment, the children hypothesized that the large and small
rock salt was the fastest at melting the ice, and then the air. What temperature is freezing?

The Power of Observation
Children use their senses to learn and explore. Teaching how to observe will not only allow them to slow down to take
in the details of their surroundings, but also to better understand
what they see now and in the future. Science requires observation
skills and during this week, the children were prompted to observe
changes big and small to expand their knowledge about solids, liquids,
and gas. The children explored various liquids and learned about
their different
properties such as,
transparency,
viscosity, odor, color,
etc. The liquids were
poured on ramps to
observe their flow and
where mixed with one
another to note their
different reactions. In another activity, the children built a volcano using clay. The students noticed how mixing
vinegar (liquid) with baking soda (solid) fizzed as they released carbon dioxide (gas).

The Science of Making Bubbles
How could we teach gas matter to the children if gas is intangible and invisible? Well,
in a very fun yet challenging way: by blowing bubbles. The form of bubbles and their
demonstration of the laws of physics often go unnoticed by the unlearned eye, but for
those that are willing to seriously observe these spheres, it will become apparent that
blowing bubbles is not mere child's play. The children began by mixing
soap, water and glycerin. They learned that blowing too hard broke
the film made by the mix. The children started by practicing the right
way to blow, slowly. As they blew, they could see that air takes up
space as it stays in the thin layer of the stretchy liquid that enclosed
the bubble. They also witnessed that the bubbles popped immediately
when touching a dry surface, so keeping their hands and the surface wet allowed the children to play longer with their
bubbles and even blow bubbles inside their bubbles. As the water evaporated, the bubble film became so thin that it
couldnt hold the air. Oh! Mine evaporated! the children were saying.
Static and Magnetism
While the children were using the slide for gross motor
play, they felt a spark coming out every time they were
on top and touched another friend. Hey! You
sparked me! they said and they started sparking each
other as part of their game. G asked, Why do we
spark on the slide? Static electricity happens
when electrons move between different objects.
Two and three year olds may have a hard time
understanding the concept, but when they
experiment with hands on activities it provides
answers to their
inquiries. The teacher
invited the children to
work as partners when "charged" to feel a spark while using
the slide. When one child was holding the slide and another
was climbing, there was no spark. But when no one was holding the slide while one was
climbing it, a spark was produced when that child approached another. The teacher also provided a Styrofoam plate
and invited the children to rub it on different materials to see if it created magnetism. They tested it by placing the
"charged" plate on several surfaces.

BUBBLE MANIA
Our Science Olympiad was a blast as the
students explored the science of bubbles by
nurturing various skills. They discovered how
to make bubbles, why do bubbles pop, how
to add bubbles together, and much more.
Why bubbles? Playing with bubbles
encourages a variety of opportunities to
coordinate breathing and movements with the
mouth and tongue, which nurtures language
development. Bubbles also provide the
opportunity to study science concepts such as
elasticity, surface tension, chemistry, light, and
even geometry.
The students first began their bubble mania by
learning how to create bubbles following a recipe and using
their mathematical intelligences to correctly measure the amount of dish soap and
glycerin and added it to the water. The students tested the solution by trying to blow
bubbles with it. J noted, Its not working, we need more
soap! After several trials, the solution was perfected! At
one center, the students practiced bouncing bubbles off of their mittens, while
others created a mixture of baking soda and vinegar and tested to see if the
bubbles would bounce off of the mixture (the
mitten worked better than the baking soda).
Bubble prints encouraged students to blow their
straw into the colored bubble solution to create many bubbles and placed
watercolor paper on top of the bubbles causing them to pop and leave behind
the colorful print.
Students exercised their scientific and artistic skills
by putting bubbles together. Students delicately
blew their bubbles on the wet soapy surface and continued to add more bubbles creating
images. M replied, Look! I made a bear! Students worked carefully to try to add a
bubble within a bubble, which K mastered as she inserted numerous bubbles within a bubble.

EEK!
For environmental studies this week, Beekeeper John Hansen shared
with students about the important role of a beekeeper and the value of
honey bees in our world. Students were able to try on the beekeeper
veil and protective suit, as well as observe live bees in a safe enclosure.
Beekeeper John showed students how bees pollinate flowers, which
helps fruit and vegetables grow, by collecting pollen on their legs and
sucking up nectar, a sweet liquid in flowers, with their straw-
like tongues.
Honey bees are the only bees who make enough honey
for themselves and for us. Bees share the nectar with each
other, eventually creating honey because of the special
enzymes that interact with the nectar. Students were also
able to see a bee hive box, learn about queens, drones, and
worker bees, and bee body structure (head, thorax, and
abdomen). Students also touched real honey comb that
bees' make with their wax
secretions.
In addition, some students
began planting their
classroom gardens!