Magnet Mania!



Hey Science Friends,

Let's just say we have had fun with magnets and our unit on Force and Motion. I guess by the looks of it we had just tons of fun and little time to put things away...properly! And before I got upset I realized that at least we were investigating and learning along the way.

We have investigated here and there but it was tons of fun on the playground just as we had expected. This year the children had a lot of prior knowledge about things that are magnetic so predictions were fun for this investigation. So we headed outside for some real field investigations and we were on the hunt for things that nobody had predicted.

We were all able to participate at the same time because we all had Magnet Investigation Tools that I made last year. With a lot of use these have been the best tools for Kindergarten Scientists. I love these because we all can participate at the same time and they are affordable to make. I got my supplies at WalMart and glued them with hot glue in no time at all.

We were up, under and all around.

Investigating with magnets on the playground!

YIKES!

And we finally found a lunchbox that was magnetic because someone left it behind...

Being a Scientist is way too much fun! This sure brought a smile to her face on a rainy day... After all of the lessons have been taught we leave the materials out so that independent investigations can take place.

Because sometimes we need or want to test our own predictions again and again. And then with a little time...

As she set up her own independent investigation she discovered that some magnets are stronger than others and that they can move objects even if the magnet is under the table. And wouldn't you know that everyone thought that was amazing! And then we all wanted to set up our own investigations too!

And before all the excitement was over our Investigation Box was all put back into place. There it is all tidy and cleaned up by five year olds who always knew how to do it! At least it is organized...until next time!

 



Kick the Can Ice Cream Fun!

 



Hey Science Friends,

I had a special request for this activity re post and I was happy to write about it considering that we just finished our unit on Force and Motion. One of my favorite culminating activities for this unit has been Kick the Can! The Kick the Can activity is the perfect activity to review Force and Motion and Position and Location terms with developing young scientists. All of the items needed for this activity can be found at any local store.

I used the recipe above for one batch of ice cream. I added extract to flavor the ice cream and when we were finished we added candies on top. The candy and extract are optional. As a special note... I have made this recipe several times with Kinder kids but just simply due to time and everything else in the classroom I also make a few batches of ice cream in a small ice cream maker to take to class. The only reason I have done this is because one or two batches of ice cream in the cans is just not enough ice cream for the entire class. I have found that making one batch and tasting it as soon as it is ready works great but the ice cream is soooo good we always want a little more. That is the only reason I make a little ahead of time. The science in this activity is the activity itself and the children need to be involved in it.

 

 

After the cans were prepared we were able to keep the cans moving while using Positional terms such as above, below, behind, in front of, beside, inside, outside, between, right and left. To review Paths of Motion we kept our cans moving in a straight line, zigzag, up and down, back and forth, round and round and fast and slow. We had such a good time with this! This would also be a perfect activity to discuss freezing and melting because the can does get cold and forms crystals that are wonderful for investigating with magnifying glasses! Oh and think of the notebooking...

 

 

This is what the mixture will look like as it freezes. Your freezing time will vary based on your ice and rock salt mixture. This is one reason why I suggest a batch or two made ahead of time because you may need to freeze this soft serve mixture in the freezer and who wants to wait to taste it after all that work? Another tip... get your cream and milk as cold as possible before you start. I added mine to the freezer before we used them.

And here was our Kick the Can ice cream. It was soooo good and now you know why we wanted more! I hope you and your class have fun with this just like we did. And if you are looking for more fun with Force and Motion...

Have fun investigating Science friends!

 



Magnets On The Playground!

 

Hello Science Friends,

Well you can't blame us. We had a little extra time the other day and we remembered that we had not completed one of our Magnet Investigations so out the door we ran with Magnet Investigation Tools in hand to investigate the playground. Since we actually have finished our unit the children ran quickly to something they knew would be magnetic.

 

 

I was able to hear a ton of scientific discussions going on as they were running around discovering new things magnetic. I heard lots of academic vocabulary and we had a lot of fun with this investigation. It was the perfect investigation on a day when we needed to get out a little of that extra energy.

 

 



 

Since we have had so much hands on investigations with magnets I have to say I was super proud of our class discussions and notebooking at the end of this unit. We are all kind of sad that we have completed everything in the unit. We decided that we would add our magnet box to our investigation boxes as a choice activity because we just can't seem to get our hands off that stuff!

 



Magnet Mania!



 

 

Hey Science Friends,

We have been busy and have been finishing up fun with Force and Motion. We have discovered a lot of things with magnets over the last couple of weeks. We have had some kind of fun with our magnet box and we are turning out to be some keen investigators. But just as our unit winds down it seems the exciting part comes last... Now we get to use the materials totally independently and set up our own investigations. And we are looking forward to some investigations at home with our new investigation tools.

 

 

Throughout our investigations we have discovered a few books that we used in the unit.

 

 

This was a great book to use for predictions about what is magnetic. The text is simple just pictures and the words yes and no. It is a perfect addition to a Kinder Science Center.

 

 

This book has some great information but needs a little modification for Kinder.

 

And we liked this one which required just a little modification.

 

 

Hands-on Science is just so much fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can imagine the magnet box is quite popular and who could blame anyone for wanting to explore what is inside? And we have gotten pretty good at predictions!

 

 

 

 

 

 



Force and Motion!

 

Hello Science Friends,

It has been a busy week of investigating fun. We have been able to get outside and explore and investigate while the weather is still pleasant and the sun is still shining. We have learned a lot about force and motion in the past few weeks. It is always fun when you can add toys and playground equipment as necessary tools for Science investigations.

 

 

On of my favorite things about our Force and Motion Unit has been this predictable chart. Any amount of time it took to make it has paid off a million times over. We have been able to accomplish a lot with just one chart.



 

Reading/Beginning Reading Skills/Print Awareness

We have been able to use this chart for:

 Recognizing that spoken words can be represented by print for communication.

Demonstrating one-to-one correspondence between a spoken word and a printed word in text.

Recognizing that sentences are comprised of words separated by spaces and to demonstrate the awareness of word boundaries.

Identify that a sentence is made up of a group of words.

Science

This has been used as a visual aid to learn the terms needed for force and motion investigations. 



And to help us describe the ways that objects can move such as in a straight line, zigzag, up and down, back and forth, round and round, and fast and slow.

 

 

I always try to incorporate books into any unit study in Science and sometimes that can be challenging. The two books above could be used for K-2 Science with just a little modification for Kindergarten.

 

 

 

 

As you can imagine balls were some of our favorite objects to investigate!

 

 

For more Force and Motion Fun! This unit includes:

Table of Contents:

13 Different Hands-On Independent  Field and Indoor Investigations with Recording Pages/2 Conceptual Big Books/3 Conceptual Emergent Readers and so much more!  Options for building your own unique journals/notebooks to fit your classroom needs!

2 Versions of My Force and Motion Notebook/Journal backline printables

Magnets Vocabulary Poster colored printable

Magnet Safety Rules Poster colored printable

2 Versions of My Magnet Investigation Notebook/Journal backline printables

Safety Magnet Investigation Recording Page backline printable

10 Is It Magnetic? Investigation Recording Pages backline printables

Directions and pictures of Magnet Investigation Tools

My Magnet Investigation At Home backline printable

What Is Magnetic On The Playground Investigation Recording Page backline printable

Magnetic/Non Magnetic Sorting Headers backline printable

Magnetic/Non Magnetic Sorting Pictures backline printable

Magnetic/Non Magnetic Sorting Headers colored printable

Is It Magnetic Emergent Reader backline printable

Magnet Book Suggestions

Objects Can Move Vocabulary Poster colored printable

Objects Can Move Vocabulary Chant colored printable

Objects On The Move Teacher Big Book colored printable

Pictures and Directions for Objects On The Move Predictable Chart

2 Versions of Emergent Reader Objects Can Move backline printable

Force and Motion Investigation Recording Page backline printable

2 Versions of 5 Objects On The Playground Investigation Recording Pages backline printables

Objects On The Go Compare Fast/Slow Investigation backline printable

Where Is Hooty? Colored Props printable

Where Is Hooty? Teacher Big Book colored printable

 



Don't Be Mad!

I had to share this with you. I was in my neighbor teacher's room and I looked down on the bookshelf. I saw some books I have never seen before. The titles instantly made me think of Science. First, I apologize for two book related posts but these were too good to pass up. And I know I might get an email or two telling me that they have already ordered my last book selections and now I have posted more... 

I teach Science daily. I teach Kindergarten Science. I struggle in some areas to find a good resource that is age appropriate and that fits a true Science objective. Now when I do find something that fits, I am on top of the moon...literally. 

Earlier in the year we were talking about Force and Motion and part of those objectives included sound. I have searched the world over for something to go with these objectives. So I guess today was my lucky day when I discovered these...

These books are just perfect for so many sound discussions. I love the combination of fiction and non fiction books combined with any Science topic. And even though our time for these objectives have passed, I am sneaking them in... Shhh, don't tell.