Teddy Bear Crimes:Studying DNA

 

 

Look at this bad bunch of suspects! They committed crimes all around our classroom. The students set the scenes, wrote about them with descriptive details, and then got busy solving a slew of crimes. They questioned, measured paw prints, analyzed fur, and looked for DNA matches. A fun and creative way to learn about how we each are unique.

Into the Forest We Go!

 

We started a unit on forest habitats this week.  Seems fitting since we are in the midst of fall around here.  We'll be learning about critters that live in the tree tops, on the ground, and even those that make their homes in the warm and cozy underground.  Monday we pretended to be raccoons going to a restaurant.  Students created a menu that consisted of invertebrates, vertebrates, and plants.  Did you know that raccoons have been known to wash their food before eating it?  Our little raccoons also washed fruits and vegetables, played a squirrel strategy game, and more.

Pumpkins, monsters, and science oh my!

It's always fun to mix learning with holidays.  This combination captures my creativity, and my students' attention.  We started off the week in Creative Academics with a morning of pumpkin science with my first graders.  We worked with our science buddies, to weigh, measure, and see if a pumpkin sinks or floats.  We learned about the life cycle of a pumpkin, which of course ends with pumpkin pie!  Many of my little pumpkins had never eaten pumpkin pie, and they were the first to say, "Can we have seconds?!"

 

 

By Wednesday or Cottage Classroom was in full Halloween spirit.  My third grade students filled their day with a Monster Mash.  They learned about mixtures and solutions as they made Monster Mix and Pumpkin Punch.

 

 

They visited the Monster Laboratory to make observations about noodle brains, grape eyeballs, and pumpkin guts.

 

 

Then they were off to the Monster Beauty Parlor with Beautician Ervin.

 

 

They used their creativity to make monsters out of recyclables. 

 

They painted pumkins, played monster design games, wrote about spooky poitions and more.  A day full of fun and learning, just what Creative Academics is all about!

 

Congratulations to all the Famous Pumpkin Contest participants.  You did a FABULOUS job!

 

Thank you families for sending in so many donations to make this a great day for the children!

 

Plant Cells

 

We've learned a lot about animal cells, but today we kicked off our exploration of plant cells by making a model.  Students were able to choose items from candy, to yarn, to rice to represent different organelles within a plant cell.  It was great to see their creativity at work.  I especially loved that no two student's plant cells looked the same.  They diagramed them, and justified their choices.  Fun with science!

Bats and Soil Samples

With Halloween just around the corner we went a little batty today!  We talked about fact vs. opinion when it came to bats.  Did you know that bats are the only mammal that can fly?  Our class brainstormed facts that we knew, and watched a video to learn some more.  We also discussed if we thought bats were cute or creepy.  Overwhelming our class opinion was cute.  What??  Owen and I were not persuaded, and we said creepy!  Students then analyzed and graphed the data.  We also practiced some oral direction skills, tracing to make double, and cutting.  Little things that will help us with projects throughout the year. 

 

Since we are still in the midst of our Living and Non-Living Things unit, we also talked about non-living things that make up ecosystems.  Today we focused on soil.  My soil scientists collected six samples from around school.  We charted and labeled the samples so that we could talk about similarities and differences.  Students decided that the soil from the vegetable garden would be the best for growing plants, and that the soil from the baseball field would be the worst!

Our Terrariums

On this lovely fall morning we headed outside to make our very own terrariums.  I love teaching about living and non-living things through these pint sized ecosystems.  I also love my pint sized scientists! 

 

They carefully filled their terrariums with living and non-living things like soil, rocks, plants, and oxygen. 

 

Oh and of course a dinosaur or two!

A Science Lesson in Compassion

 

My 3rd graders have been learning a lot about using their observation skills.  We've been using our sense of touch, hearing, taste, smell, and seeing through many science experiments over the last several weeks.  Last week we put our sense of touch and kindness to the test.  My sweet students made a touch and feel book for a very special little girl.  Baby Nora is almost 8 months old and was born with Trisomy 13.  A chromosonial disorder that has presented her with many challenges from her heart, to her motor skills, to being blind.  But she is one tough cookie!!  She has already beaten so many odds, and is a tremendous blessing to her mommy, daddy, extended family and friends.  Through Nora we've learned to count our blessings, be thankful for how each of us were created in unique and glorious ways, and to fight and good fight.  She's is one of a kind and so are each of my students.  I'm proud of them for creating this special book just for her!