Our study of soils and rocks continues. The children wrote their friendly letters to request a soil sample from a friend or family member. Addressing envelopes with second graders is a test of patience, but my kiddos did pretty well. I shared with them that I had been dreading the task. They couldn't understand why I would be dreading helping students to write addresses on a tiny space with their large handwriting! Nevertheless, they were complete and mailed away. Next on the list is to make our Great American Soil Project booklets, so that we can record our observations between our local soil and the soil we receive.
While we wait for our soil samples to arrive, we've moved on to a study of rocks. What is it about rocks that kids love? In all honesty, I have a thing for rocks, too. I'm sure I inherited it from my father. Before he retired, he'd bring home interesting rocks to give to me. I suppose I come by it honestly. But, I digress...
We had some great rocks and minerals to examine, sort and classify! Next week, we'll learn a little about Mohs Scale of Hardness by doing a scratch test on some rocks and mineral samples. We'll round out the four-day week (Hooray for Good Friday!) with a study of fossils. I'm sure fossils will yield even more excitement than rocks!
Yes, that's right. Our Friday snack was dirt. It was dirt of the chocolate pudding, Cool Whip, crushed Oreo cookies, and gummy worm type. We topped off our week with a little soil celebration to connect the consistencies and properties of real soil to those of the pudding and crumbled Oreo treat. The children weathered (crushed) the Oreos to mimic the effects of weathering of rocks and other components found in soil. We connected the treat our compost bags by adding a gummy worm to the creation.We had some great moms to send in supplies and more who came to lend a helping hand. It was such a fun time that one sweet kiddo asked if he could lick the spoon. (I said no.)
Can you tell the treat from the real thing? :)
Here's a cute song that my students loved to sing along to while we were digging in the dirt:
One of our lessons focused on the reaction of water with different types of soil. So, we made mud balls. Talk about a fun mess! Here are some pictures of our mud balls before placing them into our Mud Ball Museum.
The kids had a blast making compost bags. I thought I'd amuse them with a little joke, so, in my most serious face, I said, "Boys and girls, I have a confession. (long pause) I have worms." Their response? Shrieks and cheers. Apparently, and thank goodness, my kiddos have no idea of the other meaning of having worms. So, the joke was on me.
After a good hand scrubbing to protect the critters, partners observed our new friends. I wanted the children to feel the setae on the bottom of them. They're tickly and fun, and also an important adaptation for these invertebrates. We wrapped it up with adding the earthworms, soil that the students brought from their backyards, a few bits of leftovers from lunch, and some objects like a paper clip, a stubby pencil, a penny and an eraser. We'll compare our 'with worms' bags to one that has no worms to see how earthworms turn soil, make tunnels, and nibble on decomposing organic matter.
It's the time of year when I start to regret not doing some things, and I feel the pressure to squeeze in as many fun and meaningful learning activities as possible. With less than 40 days of school left, I am in full fun-and-meaningful-activity mode. Those year-end assessments are days away.They can wait. Right? We still have time for as many hands-on, exciting learning activities as I can squeeze into our remaining days! We're just beginning our study of soils, rocks, and renewable and non-renewable resources. First up: Soils! The children brought a sample of soil from their yard, and we've been examining the soil's properties. We'll soon be making a Mud Ball Museum, which is always messy fun. The children don't know this, but earthworms will be arriving this week. We're making compost bags. They are going to burst with excitement when I unveil the earthworms. (My class loves critters!) The exciting part of this study is that we're starting The Great American Soil Project. We'll be writing letters to friends and family members to request a soil sample from their area. We'll be mailing friendly letters to these friends and family members who live across America. The excitement level is going to skyrocket when the children's soil packages begin arriving. I've been doing this project with my classes for ten years, and I get just as excited as they do!
We just finished a fun measurement project. The children partnered up and traced one another on butcher paper. Then, we measured legs, arms, and all sorts of combinations to use addition and subtraction with 100 to measure lengths. Several district math coaches visited our school to observe math lessons in our school. The children worked with a partner to solve story problems related to this standard, and the they were terrific in giving academic feedback, using varying strategies to solve the problem and explaining their thinking.
I think this one has an Egyptian flair!
Such a dapper kid with his necktie!
I will leave you with a joke that was from a book that one of my students shared this week. He wrote an entire book of jokes. Knock! Knock! Who's there? Tank. Tank who? You're welcome! Cracks me up every time! How is your week going?
