(FIRST YEAR) Discovery Garden - through time

Our discovery garden has been a joy to tend to and watch grow.  The children planted perennial bulbs in the fall that grew bright and beautiful this spring.  Miss Marion planted cabbage, lettuce, and chives that grew all through the fall and winter and are thriving now in the spring.  We had lilies donated to our garden and various, heirloom lettuces that are doing well too!  The garden teaches the children about the lifecycle of a plant, the difference between annual and perennial flowers, and what a garden needs to grow healthy vegetables and plants.

Here are photos of our garden from fall to spring!

(FIRST YEAR) Solids, Liquids, Gases, AND Chemical Reactions (for fun!)

For our last, full week of Discovery, we discussed three states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas.  We used the example of ice (solid), water (liquid), and water vapor (gas).  We discussed that solids have a specific shape and size.  The children named many examples of solids in the world around them.  Then we discussed that liquids have a specific volume (the space they take up) but not a specific shape - because they take the shape of whatever is holding them.  We talked about water, juice, milk, gasoline, blood, and other examples of liquids.  We talked about gases and that was a more complicated topic.  I explained that gases doesn't have a defined shape OR volume but fill the space they have like air, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and helium.  

To demonstrate the presence of a gas (despite not being able to see the actual gas), I blew up a balloon and explained that there is carbon dioxide in the balloon, stretching the fabric of the balloon and making it big!  I also did a demonstration creating a chemical reaction (where two substance mix and create a change, in this case - a gas is formed) when I mixed vinegar (our liquid) and baking soda (our solid, powdery but still a solid) to create carbon dioxide (our gas) in a balloon.  The kids loved seeing this demonstration!!

 

The younger scientists also got to explore all around the room as it was their last week with me!

Books to read with your kids about solids, liquids, and gasses:

What is the World Made of by Kathleen Zoehfeld

What is a Solid by Jennifer Boothroyd

What is a Liquid by Jennifer Boothroyd

What is a Gas by Jennifer Boothroyd

Solids, Liquids, and Gases by Ginger Garrett

(FIRST YEAR) Life cycles - Frogs and Butterflies

We started this week talking about the life cycle of a frog (egg to tadpole to froglet to frog).  We talked about what it means to go through such big changes: it's a METAMORPHOSIS.  We also discussed how a frog goes from water (tadpole) to land (adult) and that's called being an AMPHIBIAN.  We read The Teeny Weeny Tadpole and discussed all the changes a frog must go through to become a frog.  

During centers, we created a frog with a long tongue that catches flies!  We also sorted the life cycle into the correct order, and explored other fun frog-related stations.

The next week, we discussed the life cycle of a butterfly and the metamorphosis it goes through to become a beautiful butterfly (egg - larva - caterpillar - chrysalis - butterfly).  We talked about what a chrysalis is and how it differs slightly from a cocoon.