Building a structure to block the sun

Structures were made!  When it came time to build after planning, everyone seemed to start with their initial plan and materials.  After putting together the materials, some changes were made but most were a version of the original idea.  

It took a couple days for the sun to cooperate and make shadows, but as soon as the sun came out, we rushed outside!  I brought the dollhouse person with us for the children to test with.  

...and it worked for everyone!

While scrolling, keep in mind that the dollhouse person is often inside of a structure and unable to be seen.  It seems that the children really wanted to be sure that the sun didn't touch him.

Making shade plans

After charting local weather and discussing extreme weather around the world, we've moved on.  I gave the children a task to create a structure to block the sun.  To do this, I grabbed a familiar toy and told them to build a structure with familiar materials.  We chose legos.  

They were given a flashlight, a small person, and legos.  Here is some of their initial thinking:

The next day I brought out recycled materials to use a different medium.  This was more of a challenge.  The children worked with materials like paper towel tubes, foam trays, fabric, and pipe cleaners.  Their structures had to be strong enough to stay together in the wind and tall enough to fit the man.  The children tested out ideas and then drew plans.

The next steps the children will make are to follow their plans, build their structure, and test it out on a sunny day!

What do we know about weather?

Now that the weather seems to be cooperating finally, it is time to start a new project.  I started by getting to know what the children knew.  I asked them what they knew about weather.  

• The weather can change during the day
• It can snow
• The weather can be hot, cold, warm, or cool
• The sky can change color (like pink) if there is going to be a tornado
• This is when the focus changed to extreme weather
• If you're at a party outside and a storm comes, you need to go inside
• Sirens warn you about tornados
• If the wind is strong it can blow dust to make a sand tornado

One of the things we will be doing this week and next week is keeping a record of the weather.  I will chart their responses to view the data and look for any patterns.

I'll keep you posted on how we will be using this information to help learn more about Earth's systems.

David Shannon by Junior Explorers

This blog post was written entirely by the Junior Explorers.  They decided on the words, edited them, typed them, and chose a picture to go with their words.  Here are the students who chose David Shannon.  I provided translations at the bottom of the page to help in your reading.  Enjoy!


Fergus is fune. David shannon  is fune.

He owas maks crasey tef. David shannon owas rats boks siley ad he owas rats his boks crasey.

He dez bad fegs.  He hid frgus.

He  lics  to put  him in his books. He pus frgis in ten  uv his books.

Furgis liks to hide in david shannons books.

l like his books.

He pants.

He hids frgis. david dus bad things.

Fergus is funny.  David Shannon is funny.

He always makes crazy teeth.  David Shannon always writes books silly and he always writes his books crazy.

He does bad things.  He hides Fergus.

He likes to put him (himself) in his books.  He hide Fergus.

He likes to put him (himself) in his books.  He puts Fergus in ten of his books.

Fergus likes to hide in David Shannon's books.  I like his books.

He paints.

He hides Fergus.  David does bad things.

Dr. Seuss by Junior Explorers

This blog post was written entirely by the Junior Explorers.  They decided on the words, edited them, typed them, and chose a picture to go with their words.  Here are the students who chose Dr. Seuss.  I provided translations at the bottom of the page to help in your reading.  Enjoy!




Dr seuss rims.

Dr. seuss macs rimen wrz.

He dos karkds. Dr seuss  pus pkshrs.

Dr. Seuss rhymes.
Dr. Seuss makes rhyming words.
He does characters. Dr. Seuss paints pictures.

Mo Willems by Junior Explorers

This blog post was written entirely by the Junior Explorers.  They decided on the words, edited them, typed them, and chose a picture to go with their words.  Here are the students who chose Mo Willems.  I provided translations at the bottom of the page to help in your reading.  Enjoy!


Mo willems mac itre     ths.

He lic tu hid the crwctrz.

He mas lft pegs.

Mo Willems makes interesting things.
He likes to hide the characters.
He makes elephant piggie.

Eric Carle by Junior Explorers

This blog post was written entirely by the Junior Explorers.  They decided on the words, edited them, typed them, and chose a picture to go with their words.  Here are the students who chose Eric Carle.  I provided translations at the bottom of the page to help in your reading.  Enjoy!



Eric carl ps a sashl then n hs bks.

3-D web

clear page

He mac colwozs. He pus sesho thing in hiz bos.

He       maks  hz boox         clrfl.

He       maks   hz boox         colu.

He rits.

Eric Carle puts a special thing in his books.
He makes collages. He puts special thing in his books.
He makes his books colorful. He makes his books cool.
He writes.