Eggs-ploration

Last week, we did a little exploring with eggs. I brought in a hard-boiled and a raw egg for each class to talk about, predict what was inside and break them open to see what was actually inside. Here are some of the answers we got. Sorry I don't have any photos of the kids actually doing the activity as I was right in the middle of the action!

The kids had fun and learned a lot as well! It was exciting to witness their reactions as they watched the eggs being cracked open and waiting to see if their predictions were right. 

CLICK HERE TO SEE WHERE I LINK UP

"Protect the House" Experiment

We have been learning about homes around the world and we wanted to know why houses all over the world are built differently. To test out how houses react to different type of weather, we decided to do an experiment using cardboard boxes as our house and see which type of covering material would work the best to keep rain out. Here is the documentation of our work.

Protect the House Project

Here are the items I provided the children to choose from to cover their house. Glue, plastic wrap, aluminum foil, clear packing tape, masking tape, and construction paper.

Group 1 AM covering it with glue.

 Group 1 AM Pouring the water after glue dried.

 

Results to Group 1 AM- DRY!

Group 2 AM hard at work covering their house with foil.

 Group 2 AM covering it with plastic wrap and clear tape.

Group 2 AM adding their floor. 

 Group 2 AM making it "rain."

Group 2 AM Results- Floor fell apart, but dry on the inside!

Group 1 PM covered their house with plastic wrap and clear tape.

Group 1 PM making it rain.

Group 2 PM Results- A little wet on the edges, but mostly dry.

Group 2 PM covered the holes and cracks with clear tape and then applied glue.

Group 2 PM pouring the water with the watering can.

 Group 2 PM noticed that the glue was starting to wash away, but the inside still wasn't wet. So, we decided to make more dramatic rain by putting our house under the faucet.

Group 2 PM Results- Even after being under the faucet, still DRY inside!!!

This experiment was so much fun. It was interesting that all the groups chose a different method to protect their house. It was also interesting to hear the children's predictions about what was going to happen to the house. They were excited about doing this and the second day when it was time to pour the water, they all wanted to participate. You could've heard a pin drop in a typically very loud classroom as they were waiting to see what would happen! I was even surprised with the results. I thought at least one of the boxes would break apart. Just goes to show, you don't always know what will happen unless you test it out.

What experiments have you done with your kiddos?

If you would like a blank copy of this form to use with your students, you can download it here:
Scientific Method Template

CLICK HERE TO SEE WHERE I LINK UP

Storytime Sunday Linky Party

This week's book I chose from my collection of children's books since the kids haven't started back to school yet. It is one of the Usborne Lift-the-Flap books called Who's making that mess? by Philip Hawthorn and Jenny Tyler.

This book has got the most precious illustrations and it's a totally cute story of how "messy Jess" is always getting blamed for the mess, but as you can see when you lift the flap, it is indeed an animal making the mess.

Tons of fun for kids to read especially with the flaps they love to lift, but also the repetitiveness and rhyming words helps them learn pre-reading skills. Not to mention the opportunity to allow the children to predict who made the mess or what kind of mess will be on the next page. I know your kids will have a great time with this book!

Storytime Sunday: 10 Favorite Children's Books

Here are 10 of my favorite children's books. I am going to purposely leave out all the Eric Carle books because you all know how much I love those already. So here goes...

This book I read while in college in a children's lit class. It is great, especially for older kids who can read or the teacher can read with the help of another adult if you have younger children. The poems are meant to be read aloud by two people, sometimes seperately and sometimes together (the book will indicate when it's your turn to read). All of the poems are about insects. This is such a great book and the imagery is awesome. I think your kids will like it!

LOVE this book. All about feelings and the pages open up, so the kids can use it like a mask. So much fun! My kids always have a blast with it and want another turn.

I love Lois Ehlert books. The shapes and colors are wonderful. It's a good introduction to abstract art for young children as the pictures are mostly made of symbols.

This book as well as How do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight are 2 of my faves. I love the detail in the illustrations. Also, I love how you think the dinosaur is going to be trouble, but at the end, he ends up doing exactly what he's supposed to do!

Rhyming words, fun imaginary creatures, and faraway lands, what more could you ask for in a children's book? But of course, the legend that Dr. Suess is, there is so much more in this book. It is a great inspiration for children. All kids should have this book!

This book as well as the next one were childhood favorites of mine. Not only does this book have rhyming and great vocabulary, it also has a rebus format, substituting images for words in the text. This helps children read along. Great for pre-reading skills.

I know, I know. They are giving moose muffins and pigs pancakes now, but back in my day, it was If you Give a Mouse a Cookie and I so loved the cute little mousie! This book is perfect for predicting.

This book is good for science. It not only talks about houses for animals and different people, but objects and vehicles too. It makes you think because you don't normally think of all these different things as having a house, but more like a place where it belongs.

This book definitely teachers kindness and patience because I know I wouldn't be sharing my pizza with a bunch of people who wouldn't help me make it, but the little red hen did. A different take on the classic book The Little Red Hen in which she makes pizza instead of bread, this book is nice for doing with a nutrition lesson, writing recipes and sequencing the order of events (or ingredients used for the pizza).

And last, but certainly not least, The Water Hole. This book is a whole lot more than just a counting book. The illustrations of the animals in the rain forest are amazing! It uses onomatopoeia when the animals speak to each other and address the topic of droughts.

So here are my top picks, more exciting story times coming up every Sunday. Most likely I will be discussing books that I will be reading in my classroom for the upcoming week.  

Mystery Box

This is a very simple idea. It's called the mystery box. You can see a photo of ours below, although it can be a simple as a cardboard box with a hole cut in it. It is excellent to use as a starter for circle time. You can place an object inside relating to your topic and have the children try to guess what it is. There are so many ways you can incorporate this in your classroom. Another example is put cut-out foam letters inside and for small group, have the child try to guess what letter they pick up. Then you can have them match their letter to an object that begins with that sound. Whatever you do with it, the children will get excited because of the element of mystery surrounding it. The want to know what's in it so bad, they will try to pull it out, get just a little peek, or look around the back if yours is clear on the back like mine!

For an extension, after you have done it a few times with the kids so they have the hang of it, have one child choose an item to put in and allow the other children to guess. Try things with different textures, so they will have to think about it. You could even put 2 different things in and describe one to see if they can pull out the correct one. Allow them to shake the box so they can see what it sounds to help them if they can't guess at first.