Halloween Candy Science

If you know me at all as a teacher, you know I live for science. I love it. It is honestly the most engaging, fun, memorable part of the day. 

With that being said, today was not a good day for an intense science lesson on the unit we've been working on -- paper. 

It's the day after Halloween. Two words for you -- candy hangovers. My little ones were some strange mix of excited, exhausted, and over-stimulated today. 

Inspired by this pin on Pinterest, we did some Halloween science. I originally planned it because I thought it would be a fun way for the kids to use some of their Halloween candy. However, it turned into a wonderful lesson full of questions, predictions, discussion, and exploration. It's definitely a "keeper" for future years.

And... NO, I'm not going to tell you all the results. You are going to need to try it for yourself!!! :)

"Earth Week" highlights

In our classroom, it's not just Earth Day... it's Earth Week! Here are a few highlights from our week:

Even though we do Dr. Seuss in March, I always save The Lorax for Earth Day. It's the perfect story for developing little tree-huggers. :) I love how the kinders honestly gasp when the Onceler cuts down the last tree. The horrified looks on their faces are just priceless. 

So, we made some adorable Lorax mustaches:

And I took each of their pictures...

... and we made these cute pointillism earths (paint + Q-tips)...

... then we glued our pictures in the middle and wrote about how we can help the Lorax take care of the Earth. Turn out great!

We went on a trash walk...

World's cutest Earth lovers.

Then, the kiddos brought in empty cereal boxes and snack boxes all week long. We spent a whole afternoon making crafts out of the boxes -- reusing!!! The kids were amazed with what we could make for free. And the best part is, we were helping the earth!

We made bookmarks with tracers, hole punchers, scissors, yarn, and markers.

The kids loved them! They turned out so cute.

Then, we cut up box fronts with pictures on them to make "puzzles."

I made direction signs to go along with both crafts so my kids could independently rotate between the two stations... and so we could make these at the science station during literacy workstations this week! Click HERE or on the picture above for the printables.

Then, we made "bird nest bags" by stuffing empty mesh produce bags full of sticks (from our trash walk), yarn, string, ribbon, paper, etc. We will hang them in trees on our playground to help the birds find what they need to make nests. Another great activity for reusing.

Last but not least, if you haven't read this book... stop what you're doing and read it! But, keep some tissues handy -- it will make you cry!!!

I know I say this all the time, but this one really is one of my FAVORITES.

Our Tree Named Steve by Alan Zweibel

It was a great week!!!

My little scientists

I. love. science.

It's no secret. I'm kind of obsessed with teaching science.

Over the last 4 years, I have had some wonderful experiences in my district -- and I am so blessed and thankful for these experiences and the knowledge I have gained.

In turn... my KINDERS love science. They talk about it all the time -- and I love the "carry-over" throughout the day.

Well, over the last couple weeks, we have been exploring different types of fabric in science. We've felt, talked about, and compared different types and their uses.

Today, we went on a classroom "fabric hunt." The kids took labels around the room and marked the items they saw that were made of fabric. They then used their science notebooks to record what they found.

I came home this afternoon and threw my coat on the couch. That's when I saw this...

I have no idea when/how it happened, but one of my little scientist labeled my coat hanging behind my desk... and I brought a little piece of science home with me today.

I love my little scientists :)

a couple science favorites

These two items have really enhanced my classroom science instruction and the classroom science station:


A simple reminder that scientists' drawings should be ABCD.


Instead of a science word wall, make a science OBJECT wall. At the beginning of each unit, I select 5 target vocab words - must be concrete and meaningful! Then, we start the unit with a mini-lesson in which we create the object wall as a class and share where we've seen these objects before, what we observe about them, what we think they might be used for, etc.
  
I love my kinder scientists! 

What is a scientist?

Student-generated responses after read-alouds and discussion. Love this anchor chart!

Plants printables

My kinders and I recently started our unit on plants. The kids absolutely love it. Here are some highlights from our unit and some printables.

We learned about the four parts of the plant -- roots, stem, leaves, flower. We learned each part's "job" with this song. (Click on the picture for printable)

Next, we added food coloring to water and watched as our white carnations slowly changed colors. This was a great way to visualize how the stem works - bringing water up the plant.


It was beautiful and lasted all week. The kids ran to check them every morning! We left the first cup plain so we would have something to compare with.


Then, OF COURSE we planted some bean seeds. It was a simple, but extremely engaging activity for the kids. 


We will be watching our seeds...


... and keeping a journal of our observations (click the picture below for the printables).

This week (no pictures yet!), we will be doing a seed/plant match. I have 8 different packets of seeds for a variety of plants (pumpkins, sunflowers, bulbs, etc.) I kept the seed packets with the pictures on them. I am going to put the seeds in small, clear cups and challenge the kinders to try to match the seeds to the grown plant! I think they will be very surprised when they see the answers! Click the picture below for a printable.

Have fun!! :)

Kinder class pet

Last week, we welcomed our new class pet into our kindergarten classroom -- a baby leopard gecko. I can't decide who is more excited... me or the kids! They are fascinated with the little guy, as they have never had or even seen a lizard. I am thrilled with the possibilities he brings into our classroom. My students will learn so much from him -- science, responsibility, as well as care and respect for living things.

Of course, we brainstormed a name for him. After suggestions ranging from our own names to "Star Wars" (they are kinders after all...), we decided on Echo. We measured him on Thursday and documented our findings. He is currently 11 cm and we will continue to measure him and watch his growth to full-size (10-12 inches).

One of the best parts about having a lizard is that they are low-maintenance and it is SO FUN to watch them eat. Echo eats live mealworms and crickets, so he "hunts" them in his cage. He is even "hand-feeding" from a pair of chopsticks - which the kids LOVE.

My favorite part of having a class pet so far is the authentic and meaningful learning that has taken place. There is something empowering about arming a child with a supply of strong vocabulary words - and giving him/her the opportunity to use them in context. Right now, if you ask any of my kinders about our new class pet, their explanation would be littered with words like nocturnal, cold-blooded, reptile, and habitat. Oh, and they know exactly what they mean! I've never seen my class gain strong vocabulary and complex concepts as quickly and excitedly as they have with Echo.

Any educational philosopher would tell you this comes from the contextualized and naturalistic stage for learning our class pet is providing. And I know this is true. But, a small part of me has to believe it's because he is so cool. :) Stay tuned to watch our little guy grow-up.

Engineering is Elementary

I had a wonderful experience last week - I travelled to Boston for work to attend the "Engineering is Elementary" workshop at the Boston Museum of Science. Since traveling is definitely *not* typical in my job, I was absolutely thrilled to go! I learned so much during the workshop and was in great company. The three women I traveled with made the whole trip memorable and exciting.

It is not often that I get excited about curriculum materials... but EiE is truly a refreshing and novel concept for elementary classrooms. Besides incorporating rigorous engineering challenges into the classroom (fun!), students are introduced to the engineering design process -- ask questions, imagine, plan, create, and improve. Talk about authentic and meaningful experiences! Of the 20 units, some of my favorite challenges included building walls with a plethora of earth materials (and of course knocking them down), toying with a play-doh recipe (balancing liquids and solids), and designing a fan-propelled windmill. You wouldn't be surprised to hear how engaged and involved we were in the challenges, as adults!

As if EiE was not already after my heart, each unit begins with a multiculturally-based storybook presenting an engineering problem (I'm such a sucker for a good story...) Best of all, the main characters in the book are children, illustrating a powerful core value of the program - anyone can be an engineer. 

I think the most valuable thing I came home with was inspiration. The whole concept of integrating engineering in the classroom - even a kindergarten classroom - was invigorating and exciting to me! My "wheels began to spin" as I realized all the ways my students are already engineers - on the playground, at the blocks station, and in life. They are naturally curious problem-solvers, and now I feel more prepared to guide and foster these natural characteristics within the engineering design process.

Look, Mrs. A! They're moving!

Our kindergarten classroom got a very exciting package in the mail this week... our CATERPILLARS! The kids could not be more excited, wide-eyed, or curious about our 5 new "classroom pets."



We have been learning about living things, what they need, and how they change and grow in science. This is the perfect culmination of life science in our classroom. We have 5 new friends, but one is very little. It has been a great "teachable moment" to discuss why this might be a disadvantage and how he might not progress the same as the other caterpillars. I love their honest opinions of the world around them. They have few misconceptions -- they are simply little minds ready for growing scientists.

One of the highlights of this week was naming our caterpillars. Because kinders have an impossible time "voting," we had to do a modified version. Each student gave me one suggestion for names and I chose five from the list. One student could not think of any name except for his own name -- ha! :) We ended up with Harry, Larry, Poppy, Tulip, and Tiny.


We made a "word bank" poster and posted it above the caterpillars. We brainstormed a list of words that would help us write about or write letters to our caterpillars. The kids now visit this station during literacy workstations and they have done the sweetest writing ever. I am simply in awe of not only their interest and curiosity in these little creatures, but also their kindness and consideration.


My students can't WAIT to watch the caterpillars grow, form cocoons, and turn into butterflies. And I can't wait to watch my students. It is truly a blessing.