Kindergarten
In Kindergarten this week (10/3), we read The Five Little Pumpkins by Iris Van Rynbach. Students then designed and built a fence to hold five pumpkin candies. However, we didn't stop at five - our record was 40 pumpkins!
This week (11/14), Kindergarten students were challenged to create a gear system in which ALL gears would turn when using a single key. We had some super awesome, creative designs!
We kicked off December reading Mooseltoe by Margie Palatini. Students were challenged to use five pipe cleaners and ten beads to build a tree that stands upright around their moose! We discussed balance and weight and how our tree should start wide and become narrow with most of its weight at the bottom. Check out some of our trees below.
We read The Polar Express and discussed sound, which is caused by vibrations! Students were then challenged to STOP a jingle bell from ringing. Their available materials included: a container, a jingle bell, cotton balls, tissue paper, and crinkle paper. We discussed which items may do a better job of silencing the bell, as well as, where their bell should be located so their design would work best. We had a few successful (and silent) jingle bells!
As Kindergartners, we spend time talking about design thinking and what it means to be creative! We used our design thinking skills to design and build our very own houses - some short and wide, and some skinny and tall. Then we were able to design the inside of our houses as well, with furniture, people, stairs, you name it!
Design thinking and engineering skills -- two things so important to foster from an early age! Check out Kindergarten's LEGO bridge project. They had to design and build a bridge that would reach across the "river" with their partner.
Humpty Dumpty sat on wall...
Students followed directions and built their very own humpty dumpty. Then they collaborated with a partner to construct a wall for humpty to sit on - the taller, the better!
The Floor is Lava!
Students had to save counting bears from the lava last week (3/13). During round one, they were allowed to use three cups and five popsicle sticks to build their structure. We recorded our number of bears saved, then during round two, students could add one index card to their toolbox. Our goal was to save more bears during round two. After we counted, we compared our round one numbers to round two - we had lots of successful engineers!
Birds are engineers too!
We read Do You See Birds? and This is the Nest that Robin Built and discussed how birds are engineers too! They use tools and lots of different materials to create their nests for their young. Students then became bird engineers themselves--they had various materials to use and a partner to bounce ideas off of. They tried to create the strongest bird nest they could using the materials available. We all decided that birds are pretty impressive engineers!
Wishy Washy! Wishy Washy!
Mrs. Wishy Washy couldn't seem to find her animals on bath day. We worked together to identify the problem: all of the animals ran away and hid. This problem led to a challenge: build a fence to keep the animals in so they could get a bath. Students collaborated to build two types of fences - one made from popsicle sticks and clay and another, larger fence made from straw builders.
