Science

Week 34& 35:

We have been gardening machines. Mr. Wirth set up great structures for our garden, and we just planted the cucumbers, tomatoes, and watermelons. The students have been making observations on the plant growth. We've already got a couple watermelon seeds beginning to sprout. 

Week 33: 

This week we updated our frog habitat and we also learned about migration. I had the students play a game where they were migrating monarchs. We compared migration to taking a long road trip. I asked the students to imagine what would happen in they couldn't stop for gas, food, or to use the bathroom. The students got to experience how an animal would feel if their resting habitat started to disappear. 

Week 32: 

We continued our Monarch observations and also got to get into the garden to harvest our lettuce, carrots and kale. 

Week 31: Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle

This week we learned about the life cycle of the monarch butterfly. The students also learned about the Monarch's habitat and the foods that help the monarch to grow and migrate.  

Week 30:

We had an amazing opportunity to study animals in various habitats at Tree Hill. 

Week 29:

This week we studied amphibians and continued our habitat studies. Some students decided to create an animal habitat/shelter. In it you will find all the essentials. 

Week 28:

This week was all about Habitat. We studied birds in their natural habitat and talked about what they needed in their environment. 

Week 27:

What sinks and what floats? This week was all about learning what sinks and what floats. We used our observations to help us add things to our boats. 

Week 26: 

Does it float? This week we began our boat construction.

Week 25:

We are starting a unit on habitat. Students studied guinea pigs this week and researched many different things. We also had a wonderful opportunity to visit Mrs. Peters second grade class and see the habitat studies they have been working on. We were VERY impressed. 

Week 24:

This week we're moving our focus from rocks and minerals to animals. We're learning about observing animals in their natural habitat.

Week 23:

Our observations of mineral crystals continued this week, and students were able to bring home their salt mineral crystals. It was really exciting watching the water evaporate and seeing the crystals form.

Week 22:

What's more exciting than learning about crystals and minerals? Growing your own! This week students learned about salt crystals. We are hoping to observe them this approaching week. Students are being very scientific about their observations. 

Week 21:

This week was all about measuring and protecting the garden from the freezing temperatures. We talked briefly about water freezing and we left some water in a bucket outside to see if it would freeze. While we didn't quite get the winter wonderland we were hoping for, the students were excited to see the ice crystals. 

Week 17:

This week was a mix of studying trees, plants, and gravity. In case you noticed your child speaking with an Italian accent and calling everything a meatball, I may be to blame. We learned about Galileo and his famous experiment at the Leaning Tower of Pisa...capice?

Here students replicate Galileo's experiment by dropping objects with different weights from high places. 

This arborist here owns 100 acres of land in upstate New York and told us all about the various evergreens that were shipped down to Rockaway. In the picture above he is showing the students how to count the age of the tree based on the number of rings/ circles it has on it's trunk. 

Week 16:

This week we continued the conversation about living and non-living, and we also have been working on sorting. When we went to the beach students picked up 10 objects and had to sort them when we returned to the class. 

Week 14:

This week we talked about the way we classify living and non-living things. We discussed that in order for something to be living it needs to show all 7 signs of life (movement, growth, breathe, feeding, sensitivity, adaptation and excretion). 

Week 13: 

Now that we're able to describe the world around us, the students were able to use all the scientific terms to describe the baby chicks. Here we are studying the chicks during science class. 

We had another abundant harvest from our garden this week. Each child was able to bring home 8 beans!

Week 12:

This week we learned more ways to describe the world around us. The students now know the scientific terms shape, texture, size, color, and weight. This week the students learned how to discuss and describe the motion of an object. Here we have one group presenting their "secret" object using our scientific terms, the rest of the class has to guess what the object is. 

Check out our second harvest from the garden!

Week 11: 

We continued to make scientific observations this week using our vocabulary works. At the Farm students picked an animal or object to describe, then the next day in class the groups presented their objects without identifying the name. They used the classification terms to describe what they saw, and the rest of the class had to guess what it was. 

Our baby chick eggs are continuing to grow and should be hatching the week of the 11th! 

Also, our class garden is blowing up! We harvested the beans this week. I told the students they could either eat them or bring them home, but I think most of them didn't last very long. I showed the students how to gently pick the beans, and explained that we never pull on the bean, as that could damage the plant. If you find yourself near the bean plant and would like to pick a couple with your child, please gently enter the garden. Be careful not to step on any kale or carrot seed, and take a couple beans. They are delicious!

Week 10:

Making scientific observations using terms like "texture," "size," "weight" and "shape" was the main focus of science this week. We're hoping to use these observation skills when we go to the farm. We have also been learning about chicken eggs, and what they need in order to hatch. 

Week 9: Sea Turtle observations

This week we read about sea turtles and created these beautiful sea turtle collages. Some students were interested by the Loggerheads, while others were interested in the Hawksbills, Leatherbacks, and Kemp's Ridley's. We even had a couple who drew Archelons- how cool! 

Week 8: Soil Sort and transition to Sea Turtles

This week we mostly studied soil, and talked about how soil holds nutrients for plants. 

Here the students are doing a "soil sort" activity, where they determine where their soil came from, what they think it is, and which one they think is holds the most nutrients. 

After talking about nutrients and how good garden soil stays moist, we conducted another research experiment. This time we timed the garden soil and the sand to see which one would drain faster. We talked about how it's not always the best to drain fast, and how moist soil helps protect the plant. 

The week of the 14th we'll be talking about Sea Turtles! How serendipitous was this visit from the Beaches Sea Turtle Patrol. If you look closely you can see the baby sea turtle. Oddly enough, we were building a giant loggerhead in the sand right as they approached. 

Week 7: Oct. 1

A special thanks to Mrs. Girardi, Lucas' mom, for coordinating the delivery of the soil! At first the students were a little grossed out by the smell of the manure, but after a talk about nutrients and our trip to Rockaway, the students understand how important rich soil is. Our beans are just about ready to start producing!

Week 6: September 23

It's very difficult to believe we just planted these beans at the beginning of the month! We took our measuring sticks out to the garden and learned how to measure. Inside the class we talked more about seeds and specifically how they grow. The seeds that are growing on our window sill started sprouting. We learned more about the seed coat, the roots and the stems. The students are also learning the difference between moist and wet, and we learned that wet seeds will not survive, just as dry seeds will not survive. The water level needs to be just right. 

Week 5: September 16

This week we started to dive more into what really makes a seed grow. As we get ready to plant more crops we thought it would be helpful for the students to learn a bit more about seeds and what makes them tick. This time we are paying careful attention to what makes a seed grow. 

We already know seeds need to be moist and they also need sun. Many students also agree that our seeds need love. Some students decided to kiss their seeds, some are singing to their seeds, and some are making sure their seeds are in beautiful cups. We are going to observe our seeds and see what encourages some seeds to grow faster than others. This week we mostly observed the seed coat absorbing water and some seeds started to grow roots. 

Also, the next time you find yourself at the school, make sure you check out our magnificent pole bean structure. We made bright colorful signs for the garden plants to give them more love, and the pole beans are starting to climb up the obstacle course we built. 

Week 3: Sept. 2

This week we worked on building supports for our beans and we also learned about and observed ants. Check out some of the things we read about:

This is a scary Fire Ant: color is one of the best indicators of a Fire Ant

Here we have a more playful interpretation of the "Queen Ant." Notice the detail of the wings and the crown!

A protector ant attacks another insect in order to defend it's colony. We also learned that ants have larvae they care for.

Students hard at work learning about ants

Here we are creating supports for our pole beans

Here is the progression of our bean development. Note the young scientists carefully recorded the time, date, and what they observed.

Starts as a bean seed

Some students started to see roots here, others saw nothing

Finally! The bean sprouts

Week 2: August 26

We read Jack and Beanstalk this week, and growing pole beans seemed like the next logical jump for Science class. We have personal seeds we are growing in the classroom, and we planted our beans in the garden. I was telling the class about the three things plants need to survive, soil, water, and light, when I was reminded by the class that plants also need love and air. We have given our plants tons of love, and hope to have a garden full of vegetables soon! 

Week 1: August 19

This week in Science we talked about the power of observation. As you can see, our young scientists are busy at work, making detailed observations in the field. 

Later in the week we had a chance to get into the garden. Before we planted anything- we really needed to weed. Here we are, cleaning the beds. You can see how careful our gardeners are to pull out the whole weed, including the roots. The last thing we need are weeds sucking vital nutrients from our soil.