Apple Week!

Each student brought in an apple and boy did we have fun with it! They graphed the color apple that they brought and then we did a taste test to see what was the favorite. They each picked the color that was their favorite and they got to build the graph to show the data with a paper apple. The funny thing was that only one kiddo brought a yellow apple and it ended up almost being the favorite!

What did we do next, well we made applesauce of course!! I peeled all the apples and cut them into quarters. Each kiddo was given some apple that they cut up (plastic knifes) and added to the pot. Each group added the sugar, cinnamon and water. It cooked the whole day and made our classroom smell amazing! They were able to do a taste test at the end of the day, yummy.

We also did an apple investigation that was fantastic!

You can find this over at http://www.2teachingmommies.com/2011/09/apple-science.html.

I read them the story Little Apple: A Book of Thanks by Brigitte Weninger. They loved it and they are still talking about the star inside the apples they have at lunch! 

We also did a version of this apple star activity. We were also focusing on the letter A, so I just copied the poem and had them highlight all the letter a's they could find in the poem. and they glued it onto a cutout apple. You can find it at http://theverybusykindergarten.blogspot.com/2011/09/apples-week.html

We also did this little book that you can find at www.oopseydaisyblog.com. We colored it and added the red apples to the tree as we worked through the book together.

We also read a few stories about Johnny Appleseed and talked about what he did. We finished up with this worksheet that I found at whattheteacherwants.blogspot.com 

In math I used color apple cutouts that they created patterns with.

Habitat Fun

These are so much fun to make! I did them with a summer camp group of kids that are 2nd grade and up. The moisture from the aquarium will water the grass seed and the plants provide the oxygen for all the animals.

This is what they look like when they are finished

This is the aquarium layer

This is the terrarium layer

Materials:
Three 2 liter bottles
Aquarium rock
Aquarium plants (not too many)
3 guppies
3 snails
Soil
A few earthworms
A cricket
Some potato bugs
Grass seed
A potato
Rubber band
A pair of pantyhose
Packing Tape


Step 1. Cut the top off of one of the bottles. Add the gravel and the plant to the bottom. Fill with water and add the guppies and snails.

Step 2. Cut the bottom off the second bottle. Place a small section of the pantyhose over the top part of the bottle and rubber band it on. Tip it upside down so that the spout with the pantyhose over it is upside down. Fill it 1/3 of the way with soil and add the grass seed to soil. Next, add the earth worms, potato bugs and the cricket. Add a piece of the potato for the critters to munch on. We also added some leaf litter and a few small rocks/sticks.

Step 3. Cut the top and bottom off another bottle. You will make a coupler with this chunk.

Step 4. Tape the coupler to the outside of the aquarium layer and then add the terrarium layer to the top of it and tape it on as well. The last step is to tape the bottom part of the bottle back on. There you have it, hope you have as much fun with it as we did!!

Picture Dictionary

I created a picture dictionary for one of my ELL students last year. Head on over to my TPT store and get a free copy of it. It is also great for students who need help with spelling.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Great-Picture-Dictionary-for-your-classroom

 

Lava in a cup

We had a great week of science camp. We did all the usual experiments, but I found a few new fun ideas as well! I have listed some of them below...enjoy!

This is a new twist to the lava experiment. We used the small cups you see above and filled them 1/2 of the way full of water and 1/4 of the way with water. They added a few drops of food coloring and crushed some Alka-Selzer into 4-6 pieces. They dropped one piece in at a time and watched what happens.

* Another fun twist you can find at http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/bubbling-lava-lamp. It involves using a flashlight for the old school lava lamp effect!