Both the First and Second Grade classes have been learning about electricity and experimenting with circuits. If your child has really taken a shine to this unit and wants to do experimenting outside of school, consider Snap Circuits. Snap Circuits are a safe, fun and easy way to explore power and electricity. (All wires are contained within small plastic discs that snap together.) For more info check out this website: http://www.snapcircuits.net/
Posted in First Grade Science , General , Second Grade Science May 7, 2010
Garlic Mustard is an invasive plant that can quickly invade and dominate American forests. Infestations of garlic mustard displace native plants and out competes tree seedlings – which can affect forest regeneration over time. The presence of the weed also alters habitat quality for birds, salamanders and butterflies. It can choke out native spring beauties like trilliums and trout lilies.
Today the Second Graders got to work defending our BCD soil and happily spent 30 minutes yanking the weeds out by their roots with gleeful voraciousness.
If your child would have fun doing this consider going to the following: (Info taken from a local list serve.)
Garlic Mustard Grapple
Saturday, May 15
9:30-12:00 or 1:30-3:30
Steven’s Glen Recreational Area
West Stockbridge
Join us for the morning or afternoon for some easy weeding! Garlic mustard is a non-native species that competes against our native wildflowers and sapling trees. By volunteering a few hours of your time, you can help restore the natural habitat at Stevens Glen. Learn how to identify and eradicate an invasive plant that may exist on your property!
Morning refreshments, delicious garlic mustard snacks, goodie bags, and raffle prizes will be awarded. An afternoon hike will occur during the lunch hour, and will involve a 1.2 mile walk to a beautiful gorge cut by cascading falls.
This event will be hosted by the Berkshire Natural Resources Council and Student Conservation Association. For more information or directions, visit www.bnrc.net, find us on Facebook, or check out our flyer!
Contact Emily at 413-499-0596 or ricefellows@bnrc.net.
Posted in General , Second Grade Science April 30, 2010
Yesterday the Kindergarteners went out on Mike’s Trail and harvested a few fiddlehead ferns. Today we steamed them up, added a little butter and salt and ate them. They were a big hit!
Last night I took a few home and ate them with my dinner. I survived the night so I figured it was alright to serve them! I also did some internet research and showed them to a friend with extensive botanical knowledge in order to confirm that they were indeed fiddlehead ferns. Fiddleheads grow out of a tough central root – its texture reminds me of a pineapple. They are usually covered with a light brown chaff that can be blown off before cleaning. Fiddleheads are a great source of Vitamins A and C.
Posted in General , Kindergarten Science April 23, 2010
Today in the First Grade Science classes we talked about recycling and I mentioned the Nike Reuse-A-Shoe program. Nike will take any brand of old sneakers and recycle them into new things. The students asked if I could post the information, so here it is!
Go to the website for more info:
www.nikereuseashoe.com
Or, send your old sneakers to:
Nike Recycling Center
c/o Reuse-A-Shoe
26755 SW 95th Ave.
Wilsonville, OR 97070
You can also drop off your old sneakers at the Nike Factory Store at the Prime Outlets in Lee.
Happy Recycling!
Posted in First Grade Science , General April 21, 2010
Posted in First Grade Science , General April 15, 2010
Frankenstein’s lab? Alien testing? Despite the dramatic faces seen below, no children were harmed in the making of these photos! This was simply another fun experiment on the topic of electricity. This week the second graders learned about energy generated by chemical reaction. The acids in the lemon react with the metal in the wires. When the wires are touched lightly to the tongue, a very small electrical spark can be felt. It is very subtle and results in a mild tingling sensation. Many students were able to feel it; some were not. Either way, the experiment generated a lot of excitement!
Posted in General , Second Grade Science April 15, 2010
The weather has been beautiful lately and I’ve been taking the students out for nature walks. When I take groups of children out into the woods I like to give the experience some structure, but also allow for moments of serendipity. Before each walk I decide on a theme or a task for us to focus on. A few weeks ago students looked for signs of spring; this week students drew pictures of all the wildflowers we encountered. Next week the focus may be on birds. But, if we stumble across something really cool, I throw the theme out the window and go with the flow. Last week I brought a group of first graders out into the woods behind the campus and handed out paintchips from the hardware store in various shades of green and brown. I asked students to find something in the woods that matched the paintchip. As the children were searching, they stumbled upon the old farm dump. We found old glass bottles, rusting milk pails and cooking pots. This was much more interesting to the students than the paintchips so I put those away and we went off exploring! We found old china dinner plates and the occasional spoon. I guessed that these objects were somewhere between 40 -100 years old. It felt like we were on an archaeological dig and our imaginations were tickled. This discovery also prompted discussions about how people handled their trash in the past and why we handle ours the way we do now.
On every walk we talk about the right way to behave out in nature. We follow the “leave only footprints, take only pictures” philosophy. This means that we leave flowers for other people to discover. We try to leave things the same way we found them. If we come across birds or animals we speak softly and walk slowly. If we find trash we pick it up and bring it back with us.
The fun thing about nature walks is that everyone contributes knowledge. I could identify skunk cabbage, but it was Roberto who knew why it was called skunk cabbage (ohh the smell!). Harrison spotted the white wildflowers and it was Oliver who knew that they were Bloodroot flowers. Colby was the first to hear the woodpecker; Cesca was the one who spotted it and saw that it had red feathers. The walks have a nice sense of collegiality.
Posted in First Grade Science , General , Kindergarten Science , Second Grade Science April 14, 2010
The topic of today’s kindergarten lesson was…….
In this experiment, the children pushed dry paper towels into the bottoms of plastic cups. They submerged the cups, face down, in a container of water. When they pulled the cups out, the paper towels were – gasp! – still dry! How is this possible? Because there was actually two things in the cup – the paper towel and AIR.
Posted in General , Kindergarten Science April 1, 2010
The first graders spent time today talking about – and making – static electricity. It was hair raising fun!
"Charging" up the balloons
Posted in First Grade Science , General March 31, 2010
Posted in General , Second Grade Science March 31, 2010
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