Elementary Quest

Today we had fun with our Maker Lab.  We tested our many, many spin art theories to try and get our spin art to use centrifugal force and push the paint out on the paper.  Some were successful--some were not.  This was a fun open lab time.  Next week, we'll begin working on our personal soccer field (forces and motions). 

For the past two weeks, we've been working on density (sinking/floating, heavier/lighter, etc).  We observed properties of  materials and predicted to see what would float.  Then we discovered the density of various liquids.  This was very cool, as our liquids separated out and were layered one on top of another.  For next week's class, we'll begin our final project, which is a mini-soccer game (the protagonist in our book plays soccer).  Each student will need an old shoe box or empty cereal box to use for the project. 

This week, we worked on lines (horizontal, vertical, diagonal, parallel, and perpendicular, and we transformed those lines and made them move in a cool art project.  We will complete these next week and discuss waves as well.  

Today we experimented with buoyancy and how things float or sink.  Next week, we will work on building rafts out of materials to see which ones have the best floating. 

Today we had a few who still needed to finish up their radial designs, so we had open STEM, which is always super fun.  Groups worked together to complete Roller Coaster designs, Domino Mazes, and Marble Runs. 

Almost everyone has finished up their radial design paper relief.  They look GORGEOUS!!! I have pictures posted on my Instagram, but they are also on display in the church bulletin board!  They really are stunning!  A few need one more week to finish those up! 

We continued working on our radial paper sculptures and boy are they beautiful!  Many of the students are increasing their complexity and design and they are stunning! We will work on these for one more week and then we will begin working on STEM projects that are aligned to the Sisters Grimm :) 

Today we started working on a paper relief sculpture and radial symmetry.  We learned three new types of folds that were pretty challenging!  After everyone learned their patterns, they had fun experimenting and making a fun radial design.  We'll continue working on these for next week.  They are going to be beautiful!  Check out Dr. R's Instagram for in process pics! 

Today we worked on constructing our mazes.  They are starting to come along, but we may not get them finished before the semester is out.  The kiddos can take them home to work on over the break and send me a pic!

We continued to work on our mazes for Green Ember.  If you have any cardboard, glue sticks, or glue guns that you wouldn't mind your kiddo using, that would really help us move quicker on our mazes!  I'm hoping they will be finished by the 11th! 

Today we made our very own Star Seeks and practiced throwing them in the lawn!  We pretended to be Heather and Picket and chased after our stars.  First we had to do a bit of problem solving to determine how best to secure our sticks using on string!  Then we experimented with our design.  Students wondered what would happen if we used smaller sticks, fewer sticks, etc.  So we had some hypothesis creation and testing time! 

Today we built tools to help us pick pumpkins from our pumpkin patch!  There were some very clever designs!  Check out the instagram page to see the tools in action! 

Today we worked on a chromatography experiment to create Maria's garden.  We used markers and water color to create paper flowers.  We then glued those in a three dimensional fashion to poster board and included insects to complete her garden.  They turned out beautifully! 

Today we had a few students finish up their catapults and test them for distance, accuracy, and power.  A few other students worked on solving complex three-dimensional puzzles.  Next week, we'll work on some STEM activities for The Girl Who Drew Butterflies.  

Today we had open Tinker Hour, so we used Magnatile and Dominoes to create Rube Goldberg machines!  It was very fun and we got to briefly discuss words like "momentum," "motion," "forces," and "acceleration."  We'll have another open Tinker Hour in November! 

We had two able to launch today!  If you weren't able to launch today, no worries!  We'll get to it next week.  We'll also start working on The Girl Who Drew Butterflies challenges as well. 

I will be adding pics on Instagram, so make sure you are following! 

Today we started construction on our catapults!  Next week, we'll finish those up and hopefully start testing our designs.  We have at least four different sizes of catapults, so we're all interested to see if the sizes will make a difference.  

Today we had a fun (but messy) experiment about teeth!  Since Raina is at the dentist so often, we wanted to see if toothpaste really does help our teeth.  We used three different kinds of soda (blue, red, and brown) and tested two different kinds of toothpaste.  Here is how the eggs looked after 24 hours. 

We had an awesome day together today!  There were A LOT of laughs with our problem solving activity today!  If you'd like to see it in action, make sure you are following on Instagram @drrowereads

We learned about what STEAM stands for (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) and we talked about why it is important to include "art" in the STEAM process.  Then, we spent time working on a problem solving and communication activity where we all had to have great teamwork!  Then we worked on an art prompt to get us loosened up and get our creativity flowing!  It was a great day!