Experimenting Part 2

The day of experimenting finally came!  As soon as the children saw the vials they couldn't stop talking about it.  Each day a group of children carefully took notes as they experimented.  Ms. Amy worked with each group for 45 minutes!  Together they predicted, wrote down ideas, and took turns pouring.  We made it very important to not talk about what happened in the classroom because only one group could work a day.  The other children had to wait until the next day.  It was very hard to keep it quiet, but we did it!  When each group finished they would come in one-by-one into the classroom and walk around with an all-knowing smile on their face and white powder on their hands. They would then walk right up to me and whisper in my ear what they experienced.  They had to tell someone!

Once everybody had the chance to experiment, we got to take a big breath and declare the exciting news... 

It exploded!  

Well, more like fizzed and spilled over, but still exciting.

We also noticed some changes to the other less-exciting substances- like turning to milk, liquids not mixing, and bubbly blue.  Below are some pictures of the first round of experimenting.  For more pictures (and great faces) check out the Snapfish website.

I chose to dye the vinegar because it would be easy to see when it separates from the oil.  And fizzing vinegar and baking soda is a lot more fun when it's blue.  

One very cool side-effect of the mixing was the way corn starch and water react with each other.  When they are the right consistency, it can both be a solid and liquid.  The behavior is different from what we are used to, as it can be stringy, chunky, liquid-y, hard, and squishy.  If you squeeze it you can make a ball, but as soon as you let go, it "melts."

These experiments are an easy (slightly messy) thing to do at home.  Let your children show off what they learned in school!

Experimenting

Your children may have been talking about substances we have been studying in the classroom.  We were preparing for our experiments this week.  Ask about them!  Here is our story…

Two weeks ago I brought in 4 jars labeled “substance 1-4.”  Without naming the substances, we talked about their properties.  The children were dying to know the names and I wouldn't tell them.  It is important to observe before knowing what something new is because it could affect our opinions.  Earlier in the year we worked with our five senses to explore a white substance (sugar).  Before knowing what it was, we said it tasted like candy and strawberries, smelled like food, felt like sand, and moved like snow.  Once we knew it was sugar, we said it tasted like sugar, smelled like sugar, moved like sugar, and smelled like sugar.  I kept the real identities of these substances a secret as we analyzed them.  We drew, discussed, wrote about, and used our 5 senses for each substance.  

Did you figure out what each of them were?

Blue Vinegar

Corn Starch

Baking Soda

Vegetable Oil

We finally made our guesses as to what each substance was.  Some of the children had experiences with these materials before and remembered them enough to give them the correct name.  We talked about them some more, and started comparing.  There are many similarities (especially between corn starch and baking powder) and it took some time to sort them out.  

Check in to see how our experiments went!

Recipes

With the holiday season upon us, we have had a lot to say about families, celebrations, and food.  I brought in a recipe book and wanted to know what the children understood about this concept.  Everybody celebrates differently, but one thing we all know about is food.  From conversations, we all have spent time in the kitchen.  

After separating our classroom books into fiction and non-fiction, we also decided on making a separate section for the books we create as a class.  We have made a "Down by the Bay" book, a book describing our favorite parts in a Junie B. Jones book, and a book about our families.  We needed to make a recipe book!

When we think about recipes, we think of meaningful, literal language.  Books can provide fantastic stories, but also information.  Recipes show us ordering, sequencing, and real-life applications.

Cake

Ingredients

flour

chocolate

cake dough

sugar

jellybeans

yogurt

some pink frosting

Directions

First you pour the cake dough into a bowl and then you put eggs in it and then mix it up and then you put milk in it and then you bake it and then you take it out and you put pink frosting on it.





Brownies

Ingredients
chocolate
sugar
eggs

Directions
Stir it, cook it, and it will turn into brownies.



Brownies

Ingredients
eggs
sugar
flour
chocolate
frosting
microwave

Directions
Put it in the microwave.





Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients
frosting
chocolate chips

Directions
Mix them. Bake them. Eat them.





Pancakes

Ingredients
flour
eggs

Directions
The water is boiling. You put it in the oven. After you put it in the oven, you put the water on so it goes through the oven and it cooks the pancakes. You can make it in the oven or a microwave, but I decided oven.



Casserole

Ingredients
noodles
chicken
milk (so you can eat it with the noodles)

Directions
You put it in a pan with water and boil it for probably an hour or two. You buy the chicken and make it. You grill it in the cooker and season it with pepper- with seasoning. That's it.




Brownie Colorful

When you put the frosting on, different colors come out.

Ingredients
sugar
brown stuff (I don't know what kind)
more sugar
frosting
sprinkles

Directions
I get the brown stuff and put it on. I get the sugar. I think it comes with eggs too. You put the sprinkles on.


Pie

Ingredients
sugar
sprinkles
pepper

Directions
Put it in the stove and when you bring it up, you're gonna eat it. And it's gonna be nighttime.




Brownie Cake

Ingredients
sugar
brownies
frosting
sprinkles

Directions
You need to put it in an oven for 10 minutes. That's all!






Smoothies

Ingredients
ice
strawberries
milk
blender

Directions

The blender mixes it up. It turns pink when you blender it.



Banana Milkshake (with lemon)

Ingredients
bananas
oranges

Directions
Bananas, put it in the blender. Get some oranges, put it in and it's finished. When you put it in the blender, it mixes up and it doesn't turn bitey anymore, it turns squishy.