Adventures in Learning
In Pre-K, the students are exploring shapes, so they made their own pipe cleaner bubble wands in their favorite shapes!
Our kindergarten engineers are learning all about solar ovens and green technology! We read our intro story for this unit called Lerato Cooks Up a Plan, and then we completed a series of different experiments to learn all about thermal energy! We tested different materials to see which were thermal insulators and which were thermal conductors, so we would know which materials would be best to use to build our own solar ovens! We are excited to start planning out our blueprints for our designs this week!
Our first-grade engineers are starting to explore the world of magnetic forces and magnetic levitation! We read our intro story for this unit called Hikaru's Toy Troubles, and we worked on all different design projects to try to help some of the characters in the story. However, the main focus of this story was a cool maglev train that the characters designed to help attract customers to their family-owned toy store. After the story, we started conducting our own experiments with magnets so that we could investigate their properties. The students are going to use all of our findings from their research to design their own maglev vehicles!
Our second grade environmental engineers are learning all about oil spill cleanup processes. We read our intro story for this unit called Tehya's Pollution Solution, and we learned about many real life oil spills and the work that Dawn has done through their "Dawn Helps Save Wildlife" initiative in the aftermath of these oil spills.
Our third grade industrial engineers are becoming experts in using simple machines to make work easier. We read our intro story for this unit called Aisha Makes Work Easier, and the students were introduced to the six main types of simple machines: wheels and axles, levers, pulleys, wedges, inclined planes, and screws. The students went on a scavenger hunt all through the school to find some real-life examples of each type of simple machine. Then, the students got to build their own prototypes of improvements to those machines that would make them more efficient and useful at school! The students' ideas were so creative!
Electrical engineering has sparked the interest of our fourth grade engineers! We read our intro story for this unit called A Reminder for Emily, and the students began to investigate all different types of closed circuits! They even went on a scavenger hunt around the school looking for real-life examples of electricity in action! The students are excited to start blueprinting their own circuit designs!
Our students are working hard, and I know they will keep going strong as we approach the end of the year!
