On Wednesday, we talked about the planet Jupiter. Then we did a science experiment using baking powder, water, food coloring and vinegar. I created 16 balls (Jupiter's) for each student. Then they got a little vinegar in a cup at their table spot. Each planet was put on a tray in the center of their table. Before we did anything with the "planets" we made some predictions. I asked the kids, "What do you think is going to happen to our planets when you put the vinegar on it?" Their responses: create rainbow colors, get wet, set on fire, rot, explode (3), make different colors, become cold. Then we went over what we needed to do and not do during the experiment for safety. :) I took pictures during the experiment and their reactions were priceless to reaction of the experiment. Then we came back to the carpet and talked about our observations. "What did you observe happening to your planets when they were covered by the vinegar?" Answers: bubbles (planet bubbling, 2), exploded, melted (4), looked like melted ice cream (2), looks like orange soda, boiling, looked hot, gave off some heat, the planet was cracking, vinegar looked like water, gave off a gas (smell of vinegar).
On Thursday we talked about stars and constellations. What are constellations, etc. They are a group of stars that come together creating a pattern or picture. We talked about this, and watched the star video (labeled below). We then were able to create our own constellations on black paper. After their constellations were created we used a glue stick and glitter to create the look of outer space, but also the milky way. Also during centers this week we have been finishing up reviewing our addresses and phone numbers. We used pom-poms to use that muscle memory (movement) to do these things. They are doing really well! As well we have been using more manipulatives during our math center time to work on addition and teaching them how to subtract.
On Friday, we learned about the parts of a rocket and what it eventually looks like when it gets up into space. Then we had a discussion about what we watched. We then created rocket names. The students told me how many letters were in their name and they had to then build from bottom to top their first name using the rocket blocks. Finally they had to add the top, the wings and stars to the scene. They did really well and they are showing their letter formation growth! :)
Sun - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-kzdR93bqw
Earth - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBmZjOHrVJ0
The Moon - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i235Y2HRksA
Stars - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t3aXb3LpWg