Magnets

Magnets are something everyone in the class is familiar with.  The children see magnets at home all the time.  We took time this week to get to know magnets more and learn a bit more about how they work.

What does it mean to attract?  A simple experiment was done to show how a paperclip on a string can interact with a magnet wand.  At a certain point, the paperclip moves toward the wand.  We talked briefly about the force of a magnet and how it is invisible.

In doing this, the children could feel the effect of the magnet on the paperclip.  They couldn't see the force of the magnetic field, but they could sense it was there.  We talked about the word "attract" and experienced it in person!

Here are the children's drawings of their experience.

How have you used magnets at home?  

Eyedroppers and an experiment

This week the children did their first experiment.  I introduced the eyedropper tool and let the children test them out.  This was helpful for the next step.

How many drops of water can fit on a penny?

The children made quick guesses before they went in the hallway for a quiet area to test.

Do you have a guess?  This is an average representation of the results from the students.

Magnifying glasses

Last week I asked the children what they thought about scientists.  I was impressed by a general understanding that scientists are learners of the world.  By the end of these investigations the children will have different answers and ideas.  

In order to be a scientist you will need specific tools.  We looked at a variety of tools and the children signed a safety contract.  After that, they were ready to start using tools for their purpose.

I started out by showing the children some video clips of a few entomologists at work.  What does a "bug scientist" need to do their job?  Why would they need those tools?  In fact, what is their job?  How can using tools make their job easier?

One of the students mentioned a magnifying glass so we started talking about it.  We talked about how an entomologist could use a magnifying glass.  I then provided some guided activities for the students to get used to the tool and use it scientifically.

The first activity was a letter search.  What letter did they see?

I noticed how most of the children held the magnifying glass right up to their face.  We talked about how that actually makes things more blurry.  The children then were asked to find an item in the room that they would like to see up close.  They examined it and shared their findings.

If you'd like to see what your child did, come in the classroom and ask for their science notebooks!