2022/2023: Week 3

Everyone say, "chEEEEEEEEEEEEEse!"

Welcome to Week 3!

Our letter of the week was E and our learning centered around engineering, exploration, and the end of summer.

For week 3, we painted Elmer elephants and experimented with oats and water. Students engineered floating Lego contraptions and built railways for steam engines. To build strength and dexterity we "cracked eggs", snipped leaves, and moved loads of rock with an excavator.

On Monday, students made observations about eggs. They documented the size, shape, and weight, and told us everything they knew about eggs. What animals lay eggs, how they hatch, and even different ways we use them. We then wondered, "What happens if we drop an egg?" Students made predictions and then we went outside to test our theories. After the explosion, we went back inside and thought about ways we could protect an egg from cracking when dropped. We documented designs and ideas and on Wednesday, students were given tools and an opportunity to design "egg protectors". Some of the ideas and designs include:

• Laying down cushions for the egg to land on.

• Wrapping the egg up

• Making a basket with a parachute

• One person dropping and another person catching

We tested each design and found that three of the four worked!

Our budding engineers were ecstatic to see that their designs worked!

Another fun experiment this week was making elephant toothpaste!

We used our senses to predict, test, and observe and were delighted to watch the peroxide, yeast, and dish soap bubble, fizz, and foam!

Fine Arts studies involved watercolor and acrylic on canvas. Students were introduced to sculpture and inspiration artist Edgar Degas. We sculpted with aluminum foil in the Art Center and used our bodies as clay in the Wiggle Room!

During Circle Time we introduce a new classroom tool: our map! We talked about exploration and what it means to go out and explore. We talked about places we have already gone exploring and places we would like to visit.

A Note to Families:

Thourghout this school year, if your family goes exploring, students are welcome to bring in a photo, postcard, or any other small item that we can attach to our large classroom map. We love documenting our discoveries and adventures and students enjoy sharing their stories. Whether it's a trip to the beach or a visit to a new city, we would love to add your explorations to our map!