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We began our last unit of the year, The Great Outdoors, learning about the Night Sky. The children brainstormed about everything that they see when they look up into the sky at night. Since Space is a favorite topic for many of the friends, it was no surprise that they already knew so many interesting facts. We started with the largest thing, the Moon. We talked about the phases of the moon, the surface of the moon and the creatures that have visited.

During our brainstorming session, the children mentioned the spooky shadows they see at night. Mrs. Armbruster explored shadows with the children. She set up a bright light against one wall, added building blocks to the table in the center of the room and hung butcher paper on the opposite wall. The children watched their shadow buildings being built. Mrs. Armbruster then asked them to strike a pose with their shadow. She traced the outline of their bodies on the butcher paper. The children painted and added detail to their shadow portraits.

RemindersMay 18th

-Kindergarten Graduation 10:00am-11:00am

-Whole School Celebration 11:00am-1:00pm

Emilia, Conor and Dash working on this week’s activities.

Mrs. Armbruster tracing Leo’s shadow.

The Great Outdoors KINDERNEWS

Sydnee and Josie exploring slime. Yuval and Max exploring moon sand.

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During our discussion of the night sky, several children mentioned the animals that would be flying at night, particularly owls, bats and lightning bugs. Mrs. Blizman took the lead and explored these animals with the children.

When learning about any subject, one of the best ways to build understanding is through hands-on exploration. The kindergarten friends were very eager to explore what they called “One of our best science experiments this year”-dissecting owl pellets. Owls, like many other birds, eat their food whole. Since birds do not have teeth, they can’t chew their food. Therefore, they use their strong and sharp beaks to rip their prey apart and then swallow large chunks whole. The owl

slowly digests its meal by separating the softer materials (meat) from the harder materials (bones). It then regurgitates the harder materials along with indigestible items such, as feathers and fur, in the form of a pellet. The children enjoyed the process of dissecting the pellets, using a chart to sort and identify their findings.

We already knew that bats use echolocation to hunt for food and that they live together in huge colonies. What we did not know was that bats use smell to locate their family members in the colony. Each mother bat has a unique smell that she shares with her offspring. We simulated this activity by giving the children a “baby bat” that had a specific smell on it (lavender, peppermint, lemon and evergreen). Momma bats were scattered around the room. The baby bats had to find their mothers by matching their scents.

The children also enjoyed watching a video about the synchronized lighting bugs that are found in the Great Smoky Mountains.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCWkzQqO7Ro)

OWLS, BATS, AND LIGHTNING BUGS

Continuing our study of the night sky, we switched our focus to the stars. The children watched a NASA video showing the birth of a star, gas and particles rotating at an extremely high speed to create pressure and heat. Creating spin art with the children was our way of simulating a star’s birth. The children were also interested in creating their own constellations.

Julia trying to find her momma bat by smell.

Evren beginning a star.

STARS

Amelie exploring an owl pellet.

Yerick exploring an owl pellet.

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Rocks and minerals are everywhere. The most interesting part is that every rock you find was once a piece of the Earth. During the second week of our unit, the kindergarten friends learned that there are three main types of rocks: Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic. Each of these types of rocks are formed in different ways and each type of rock can be changed into each of the other types. Geologists call this process the Rock Cycle, essentially the process that makes and recycles rocks. The children quickly discovered that rocks are constantly changing, although it takes millions of years for a change to occur.

Igneous rock, meaning “full of fire”, are formed from the heat of a volcano. Inside the Earth, it is so hot that rocks melt. The melted rock is called magma. When the magma cools and becomes hard, it forms igneous rocks. Melted rock from inside the Earth sometimes pours out of a volcano as lava. When the streaming river of lava cools, it forms new rocks. The most common rock that comes from volcanoes is basalt. Sometimes magma turns

to rock when it is still underground, forming granite. The kindergartners replicated the formation of an igneous rock (hard to cool to hard again) by using chocolate bars (the molten rock), simulating heat with the microwave, and the cooling process by placing the melted chocolate onto cold ice cream. Over the years, water and wind gradually wear down igneous rocks. The rocks break up into small pieces, called sediments, which are carried down rivers into the sea. The

pieces come to rest deep under the sea, along with soil, sand and plant or animal material, forming sedimentary layers. There is enormous pressure from the weight of the water on the sea bed. Under this pressure, the sediments lower down in the sandwich layers are compressed and harden into new rocks, called sedimentary rocks, taking millions of years to form. To replicate the formation of sedimentary rocks, the friends first added pieces of sediments into a plastic bag. Rice Krispies for sand, chocolate for rocks, gummy bears representing plant and animal material and marshmallows to represent the cementation of the sediments. Next, the friends added pressure using their hands to compress the layers and sediments together.

The third group of rocks is created when existing igneous and sedimentary rocks are subjected to great heat and pressure. Such rocks are called metamorphic rocks, because their mineral ingredients have been changed. Gneiss is a metamorphic rock that was once granite. Quartzite was once sandstone, and marble comes from limestone. Replicating metamorphic rocks might have been the kindergarteners’ favorite activity of the unit! The friends first constructed sedimentary layers (using graham crackers, chocolate bars and marshmallows). In-between the layers, the friends added gummy bears, representing plant and animal material that are often found in a sedimentary rock. Next, the friends (with the assistance of a teacher) heated the rock in the microwave, then added pressure (representing the chemical changes). With the heat and pressure, the sedimentary rock was changed into a delicious metamorphic rock.

ROCKS

Dean creating a metamorphic rock.

Alia, Amelie and Chudi create

sedimentary rocks.

Eli creates an igneous rock.

Yerick creates with loose parts.

Siobhan explores rocks

with the zoomy.

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Friends also enjoyed exploring rocks in unique ways. They painted, decorated and named their very own pet rock. They explored how rocks can balance using just gravity and instantly became inspired by balancing stone artist Michael Grab, creating their own rock

sculptures using glue.

TREES

UNIQUE ROCKS

The children loved studying about trees. We learned the difference between Deciduous (trees that shed their leaves all at once) and Confer (evergreen) trees. We took walk to Schenley Park and discovered that the park was mainly deciduous trees. Learning that trees grow in width as well as height, we measured the age of trees by encircling them with our arms. The next day, we spent an entire work time learning about pinecones, the seed cases for pine trees. The children were amazed to watch the cone unfurl and release the seeds within.

Amelie

Dash, Harris and Aubri paint with pinecones and pine needles. Yerick, Julia and Leo hug a tree. The friends go on a nature walk.

Yerick, Sydnee, Conor, Siobhan, Emilia, Josie, Chudi and Julia explore rocks in the classroom.

Adrian and Evren drawing trees. Emery and Alia exploring a pinecone. Yuval and Chudi feeling the bark of a tree.

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PARK AND POND EXPLORATION

This month the kindergarten friends enjoyed taking a sneak

peek at the CMU Carnival buggies, a field trip to the

Carnegie Library for a puppet show, “Leaping Beauty”, and

eating lunch outside.

The friends explore Schenley park.

EXTRA FUN!

Sydnee, Lillian, Emery and Eli eat lunch outside in the Reflection Garden.

Friends visit the buggies and the library.

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Mrs. Blizman gave the children one egg each and asked them to design and build a protective case that would cushion the egg from becoming “scrambled” when dropped. We scoured the art closet and found a variety of materials to use for the cases. Foam, styrofoam, plastic containers, packing peanuts, cardboard boxes, fabric and bubble wrap were the popular choices.

After one day of designing and building, we were ready for the big drop. Friends dropped their designs from the second floor of our building into the parking lot. After each friend had dropped their eggs, we opened the containers to check the eggs. We were surprised how many hadn’t survived the first round. Friends quickly began brainstorming the best ways rebuild (what worked and what didn’t) and rethink their container during our work time the next day. The children discovered that the ones that broke first were the ones that had very little padding (protection). After the first round, the children were motivated and wanted to continue building egg cases using a technique that worked, adding new ideas and materials. Our building motto became “cushy, cushy so the egg doesn’t go squishy.” The second round resulted in seven eggs surviving the first drop and two eggs surviving the final fall from the fourth floor.

HUMPTY DUMPTY EGG DROP

First round egg drop!

Adrian and Siobhan design their egg drop containers.

Lillian, Dean, Yerick and Evren brainstorm and build their egg drop containers.

Watching the second round of egg drops.

Reviewing our first egg drop.

Dash and Josie’s

containers survive the

fourth floor.

Egg drop round two survivors.