October/November 2011 Science Activities

Patterns in nature:

“Nature uses only the longest threads to weave her patterns, so that each small piece of her fabric reveals the organization of the entire tapestry.” - Richard P. Feynman, physicist and author

A spiral in a sunflower or a seashell, the symmetry of a leaf, and the synchronous flight of a flock of birds are only a few of the patterns that nature displays.  Nature’s patterns yield both a rich display and a glimpse of the underlying order in our world.

We can learn a great deal about design from studying the patterns found in natural systems.  Also, understanding the concept of patterns, and being able to recognize them, helps us understand such things as the classification of plants and animals.  In solving a problem, understanding patterns lets us see how the various pieces of information relate to each other, and can aid in predicting a solution.

I introduced the concept of patterns in nature by reading “Swirl by Swirl – Spirals in Nature” by Joyce Sidman.  This book is a beautifully illustrated study of patterns in nature, specifically revealing the many spirals in
nature – from sea shells to fern fronds and ocean waves, from a flower bud to a distant galaxy and even inside the ear - and celebrating their beauty and value.

To begin our study of spirals in nature, the children looked at pictures of spirals and then studied spiral patterns in seashells.  We then made a more detailed study of the spiral pattern of sunflowers and learned about the anatomy of the sunflower plant.  The children also practiced drawing spirals.

Seasons:
I introduced our study of Fall by reading “Leaf Man” by Lois Ehlert.  Fall has come, the wind is blowing, and a Leaf Man's got to go where the wind blows.  With illustrations made from actual fall leaves this book celebrates the season and the rich imagination of children.

Signs of fall:

Learning is all around.  Using all five senses we explored the wonders of Fall.  Watching leaves fall from the trees – hearing them crunch under our feet as we walked through them.  We raked them up and smelled their scent - feeling their brittleness - as we added them to the compost bin.  It's time to gather seeds from our garden to be used for planting next year. We watched squirrels gather seeds (acorns) as well and observed birds gathering sunflower seeds from the drooping flower heads.

We noticed how Canadian Geese gather together and begin to fly south in the fall. We looked overhead for their familiar V formation and listened to them honking to each other. What do you think they were saying?  Look at the V shape formed by the geese as they fly. Does this formation help them on their journey?

Activities:

Art activities included pressing leaves onto colorful ink pads and making leaf prints on paper in creative designs.  We also collected leaves and made our own leaf figures inspired by the “Leaf Man” book.

Our science activity was a leaf study in which we compared differences and similarities between leaves and learned which trees they came from.  We also sorted leaves for various attributes (color, symmetry, size) and counted leaves -  graphing the results to see how many of each kind of leaf we had found.

Other books read included:

“In a Nutshell” by Joseph Anthony

Beautiful illustrations and lively text depict the life cycle of an oak – beginning with an acorn - and how it supports life, even after it is gone, when its energy passes into many other life forms.

“A Seed is Sleepy” by Dianna Hutts Aston

This gorgeous and informative book introduces children to a number of seed and plant facts, making it a valuable nature guide that can be read at home or in a classroom reading circle.

“The Tiny Seed” by Eric Carle

A strong wind blows flower seeds high in the air and carries them far across the land.  Many of the seeds are lost but some survive and sprout into plants that grow and flower, producing their own seeds to start the process over again. A wonderful nature lesson, and an inspiring message about the importance of perseverance.

Gardening:
I introduced garden activities by reading “Herman and Marguerite an Earth Story” by Jay O’Callahan.  This is the story of Herman, a shy earthworm, who spends most of his time in the dark earth, eating dead leaves and making tunnels. He doesn’t think what he does is very important.  He meets Marguerite, a “dogapillar,” who lives in the orchard above, where she munches on plants, and waits for the time when she will become a butterfly.


Herman and Marguerite become friends even though they are very different and through their friendship they learn to believe in themselves, and on the way help each other bring life back to a lonely orchard.

Garden activities included:

• Preparation of beds – digging with kids

• Planting with kids – vegetables, bulbs & CA poppies

• Learning plant life cycles – seeds, flowers, etc.

• Studying decomposition in the compost and worm bins

• Learning about insects in the garden – beneficials and ones    that are not; observed a Katydid and heard its song; studied insect body parts

• Observations – kids took digital pictures of their individual gardens

Also read:

“Compost – Growing Gardens from Garbage” by Linda Glaser

In this delightfully illustrated book, a little girl explains how her family turns garbage and garden waste into soil using their compost bin. She helps water the pile, watches her mother turn it, feels the heat of the compost, and helps spread it on the garden for spring planting. 

September 2011 Science Activities

To introduce the children to the Water Cycle, I read  “All the Water in the World” by George Ella Lyon.  The wonderful illustrations and poetic text of this book educate about the water cycle and reinforce the simple, yet profound message: water gives life.

Evaporation, Condensation, Precipitation

Water that falls from the sky today has been around since before the time of the dinosaurs. So how does the earth keep reusing the same water and what is the water cycle?

Discussion:  In the water cycle, water falls to the earth as rain (precipitation).  When rain falls on the ground some is used by plants and animals and some sinks into the dirt and can form underground rivers and streams.  Rain also collects, into lakes, rivers and the oceans where it evaporates into vapor when the sun heats these surfaces.  Plants and animals also lose water to evaporation.  When the water vapor rises high enough into the sky it cools down and condenses as water droplets (clouds) and then returns to the earth as rain or snow.  And the Water Cycle continues on and on….

Using a poster of the water cycle (which they helped put together) reinforced this discussion with the children.

I also did a simple demonstration that illustrated the different steps of the water cycle, and the different states of water (solid, liquid, gas).

I boiled water in a pot with a glass
lid.  As the water heated, droplets of
water condensed on the lid.

Then the children helped with two simple experiments on condensation.  In one experiment each child took a turn breathing onto a mirror to see how their warm breath would condense on a cooler surface.  In another experiment they helped load ice into several large cans and then felt the outside of the can as water droplets formed on the surface.  I posed the question “Where does the water on the can come from?”  We discussed how the water got there as the warm air hit the colder surface of the can and condensed on the outside of the can.

Properties of Water

Objective: To familiarize students with the various properties of water and to study two properties: surface tension of water, water as a solvent.

SURFACE TENSION OF WATER (water has a “skin” and water “loves” water)

Experiment #1

Materials:

         4” X 4” flat piece of plastic

         eyedropper for each child

         small container of water

         small container of dish soap w/several eyedropper in it

Procedure:  Each child used an eyedropper to drop water on a sheet of plastic to observe how the drops added to each other to build one large drop.  Children then introduced a small amount of dish soap to the large drop and watched the drop disperse.

Experiment#2

Materials:

         one nickel & one dime / child

         eyedropper for each child

         small container of water

         small container of dish soap w/several stoppers in it

Procedure:  Each child used an eyedropper to drop water on a coin, first a nickel and then a dime.  As we dropped the water on the coins we counted the drops to see which coin could hold the most drops. Children then introduced a small amount of dish soap to the large drop on each coin and watched the drop disperse.

Explanation: The water molecules are attracted to one another, but not to air molecules. So, as long as they possibly can, the water molecules will stick together rather than dispersing.  This tendency of water molecules to stick together is called "surface tension." A surface tension gives water the appearance of having a "skin".  This is why small droplets of water stay in a round shape rather than spreading out in all directions.  Some animals, like water striders, exploit surface tension to walk on water!  But surface tension can be weakened.

Questions for discussion:  What do children think will happen if they keep adding drops?  Why hasn’t the water spilled over the edge of the coins?  What will it take to make the water spill?

WATER AS A SOLVENT

Ocean in a Bottle

Some liquids mix with water and others don’t. This is because some liquids are denser than others. For example, when oil and water are mixed together the oil always rises to the top because it is less dense than water. By placing both oil and water in a container and adding a few drops of food coloring the color will mix with only the water since it is of the same density and not mix with the oil.

What You'll Need:

Funnel

Clear soda bottle

Water

Cooking oil

Blue food coloring

Step 1: Using a funnel, pour water into a soda bottle until it is about 2/3 full.

Step 2: Using a funnel, pour oil into the same soda bottle almost to the top.  The oil and water do not mix.

Step 3: Add a few drops of blue food coloring and watch as the drops of food coloring pass through the oil layer and only mix with the water.

Step 4: Put the top back on tightly, and gently tilt the bottle back and forth to create an ocean wave effect.

Water

Water flows from high in the mountains

Water runs deep in the Earth

Miraculously, water comes to us,

And sustains all life.

Thich Nhat Hanh (teacher, author, poet and peace activist)

The overall theme for science in the Primaria classroom is the study of Water – what are the different states and properties of water, where does it come from, how is it used, why is it important, and where does it go.  This is accomplished through a two-year study of watershed from the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.  Science activities include: simple, hands-on experiments in class; field trips; investigations of plants and animals; and gardening.

Activities chosen for exploring science concepts are all designed to stimulate the children’s natural curiosity and many can be easily reproduced at home.  Activities will build on early concepts as we move through the school year.  Not only will specific science activities be done, but science will also be integrated into art, Spanish, literacy, social studies, and math.

We started the year by learning about:

•  the water cycle - evaporation, condensation, precipitation

•  the states of water - solid, liquid, gas

•  some properties of water - surface tension “water loves water/water has a skin”; water as a solvent

As an introduction to the garden we:

•  learned about patterns in nature

•  did garden observations, prepared garden beds, planted beds w/vegetables & flowers

•  learned about plant life cycles and about insects in the garden

We also discovered what a watershed is and learned about:

•  salmon and their migration, life cycle…..

•  migration of whales, monarchs and birds (made bird feeders for migrating birds)

•  zonation in the ocean

The next three entries give more details about the activities outlined above.

Why Teach Science in Preschool?

I think that most educators will agree that an integrated curriculum is a good idea at any level of education - everything is connected.

At the early childhood level can science be the organizing framework for integrating the curriculum?  In my experience, a science focus makes it easier to accomplish this goal because of the intense interest children have in learning about the world around them.

One might ask how does this help in developing language and early literacy which is a major focus of preschool?  My answer would be that language and literacy have to be about something, and because children love science, it can be the vehicle for enhancing their language and pre-literacy skills.

 Science Is All Around Us

We actually do a fair amount of science in our everyday lives.  For example, if you consider all the answers to your children’s questions and the observations that they can make everyday, we are learning about science and nature all the time...in the kitchen, the bathroom, the garden, the garage, the playground. and when we are out and about.

With guidance, science and nature study can offer children a deeper relationship with the outdoors and, can form the foundation for scientific thinking.  Taking children on a nature exploration (in the backyard, a local park, or further afield) can build the skills necessary for scientific thought and critical thinking: observation, questioning, and predicting.

If we encourage our children to observe and ask questions about the world around them, most of that will involve science in one way or another. These repeated experiences become the building blocks of knowledge and understanding.  And if we don't know the answer to a question, we can help children learn how to find the answers by using the library, looking things up on the computer, and talking with an expert.  From this shared experience, some great family projects can emerge.

Fun Family Field Trip Ideas

Every season in our area offers something different.  Fall is a great time to venture outside to observe the wonders of the natural world around us.  One of the greatest wonders of this season is the annual migration of waterfowl in the Central Valley, grey whales along the coast, and, in a good year, salmon in our rivers. These are all great opportunities for a fun and educational family field trip.

Back before the Gold Rush, during this time of year, the skies over the Central Valley would darken with millions of migratory waterfowl, and the rivers would hold so many migrating salmon that it looked like you could walk across their backs from one bank to the other.  In some areas it is still possible to get a glimpse of this former glory.  One of these areas is the Cosumnes River Preserve (http://www.cosumnes.org/), located off Interstate 5 between Sacramento and Stockton.  It’s a great place to view migrating waterfowl and sandhill cranes.  Also, check out the Yolo Basin Foundation for tours and programs on migratory waterfowl (http://www.yolobasin.org/).  Along the American River, migrating salmon have often been sighted at the Effie Yeaw Nature Center (http://www.sacnaturecenter.net/) in Carmichael, some even spawn in this area.

Along the coast are various sites where the annual migration of Grey whales can be observed.  In the fall, the whales are southbound, leaving summer feeding grounds in Alaska and arriving at breeding grounds in Baja California. In the spring, the Greys head back to Alaska.  One site I recommend is Pt. Reyes National Seashore.   Find more about viewing opportunities at:

www.nps.gov/pore/planyourvisit/wildlife_viewing_whales.htm

"Migrations speak to us, not just as observers, but as integral parts of nature." 

Excerpt from the Preface to Scott Weidensaul’s book “Living on the Wind: Across the Hemisphere with Migratory Birds”

Curiosity

Young children are curious about the world around them. Activities in science and nature study give children the opportunity to raise questions about the world, learn through hands-on activities, and seek answers through observation and exploration.  Whether observing plants and animals in the neighborhood, experiencing the seasonal cycles of a place, visiting a local natural area, planting in the garden, or cooking in the kitchen, the child is engaged in finding out how the world works.

Teachers and parents should be curious too.  Your curiosity and enthusiasm will encourage children’s natural desire to question and seek answers.  Adults acting as mentors and guides will allow children the space for that unfolding of inquisitiveness and exploration to experience the wonder of nature and the world around them, in order to preserve the innate creative potential in every child.

This blog will describe the science and nature study activities that Primaria students take part in, through the school year.  Comments and suggestions are always welcome.

Recommended reading for parents:

The Sense of Wonder, by Rachel Carson