The Oobleck Experiment

As a finale to our science unit on Matter, Mrs. Lott and I thought we could have a little fun with The Oobleck Experiment.

Oobleck in a non-newtonian fluid. That is, it acts like a liquid when being poured, but like a solid when a force is acting on it. You can grab it and then it will ooze out of your hands. This concept forced students to think long and hard before classifying it as a liquid, solid, or both! After experimenting with Oobleck, the students were then encouraged to use their creativity to create their own "strange matter".

Oobleck gets its name from the Dr. Seuss book Bartholomew and the Oobleck, where a gooey green substance, Oobleck, fell from the sky and wreaked havoc in the kingdom.

 Mrs. Lott read Bartholomew and the Oobleck, by Dr. Seuss - Copyright 1943!!

Mixing Our "Mystery" Substance with Water
We didn't tell the students it was cornstarch until AFTER the experiment :) 

Manipulating the Oobleck
We opted for the 'cleaner' version by doing it in Ziplock Bags! 

Thinking long and hard...solid? liquid? both? 

Creating Their Own Mystery Matter

Ta Da!! 

Want to make Oobleck at home? It's EASY! 

1 1/2 Cups of cornstarch + 1 Cup Water + a few drops of food coloring (*Any color) = OOBLECK! 

Happy Valentine's Day!

From the minute I walked in the door, I could feel the love in the room! I have never been greeted with such big hugs, smiling faces, chocolates, cards and candies. I am SUCH a lucky teacher!! But lucky for my class, I had some surprises in store for them too :)

Waiting for each of them, on their desks, were boxes of Sweetheart Candy Conversation Hearts. YUM! The only catch was that they weren't allowed to eat them until they picked their TOP 10 favorite sayings, put them in alphabetical order, and then write a story that included those sayings. Hee hee. Treats always taste better when you have to work for them!

After lunch, Mrs. Nicely and Mrs. Herbert joined us for our valentine exchange. The students enjoyed decorated their own mailboxes and stuffing them full of love. They were also excited to hand deliver letters that they had written to their "secret" people. *During the week prior to Valentine's Day, students had drawn names out of a hat to see who they would write a letter to. All letters needed to include a compliment, a question and a story. This writing tied into the letter format of our story that week, "Dear Mr. Blueberry".

All in all, it was a day where everyone had fun and left feeling loved!

Happy Valentine's Day From Eliza & Ann Catherine!

Sledding Into the New Year!

One month into the new year, and we haven't had a full week of school yet! Take a look at the FUN we had this month, in-between all of the unexpected snow days, illnesses, three day weekends, mid-year assessments and benchmark testing. PHEW! I'm tired just thinking about it!! 

Math Rotations

Practicing Our Facts!! 

Kalani, Wyatt and Andrew Playing Fraction Cookies
Who will be the first to "build" ALL of their Cookies using halves, thirds, and sixths?!

Sasha and Jackson playing Fraction Cookies 

 Fun Times with Mrs. Lott!!

As an intro to our upcoming science lesson on Matter and the Water Cycle, Mrs. Lott challenged the students to create a story about a raindrop that travelled around the world through the different stages of the water cycle: evaporation, condensation and precipitation. It was great to see what creative adventures their drops went on!
She finished up the lesson by reading the book "A Drop Around the World". 

Teaching us about a Triple Venn Diagram and how to use it to compare THREE things! 

We compared 4 different tools used in our Weather unit!
Anemometer, Rain Gauge, Thermometer, & Weather Vane

Weather Centers
Brainstorming Lists of Hurricane Names
in Alphabetical Order!!

Recess Ruckus! 

No need to adjust your calendars...it really was warm enough to wear short sleeves OUTSIDE! You have to love Virginia, where one week you're in snow boots, the next... flip-flops! 

Unfortunately, it's not always so warm this time of year, and the cold forces us to stay inside. Take a look at our indoor recess video!! 

Project Fit! Even if we can't get outside we are still exercising our bodies and our brains! 

CONGRATULATIONS 

to this nine weeks' Good Citizenship Award Winners: Myles and Breelan 

 

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