We had a wonderful day celebrating scientists and science today. First of all, thank you for your time and support of this project. The children love science! They have an open, questioning mind about the subject and an understanding of how diverse it is because of this project. The children know that “mad scientists” are fiction and, they have a strong sense of what scientists do to solve problems and to continually ask questions to lead to further discoveries. They know that one question, leads to another, and another after that.
In between Scientist Reveals we conducted several experiments. This allowed everyone to think through all of the step of the scientific process. Our first experiment asked: What happens when we put raisins in ginger ale? Our second experiment wondered: What will happen to food coloring when a drop of soap is added? And our third experiment asked: What happens when you put skittles in water?
As we conducted the experiments it was interesting to see the differences among the tables. Each group had the exact same supplies and followed the exact same procedures – and yet, each group was different. Why? That made us wonder…What would happen if we used popcorn kernels, almonds or Craisin instead of raisins? Would our experiment be the same or different? Would the colors react differently in the Tie Dye milk if we added more color… if we added more soap? In our final experiment, what would happen if we added more Skittles? What about blowing on the Skittles…flipping the Skittles?
The great thing about asking questions is the more you wonder, the more you wonder, and the more you discover.
We had fun using physics to create catapults and plan optical illusions. There is so much more in science for us to explore. 3E is a fan of science. Your children are on an exciting path of discovery! Happy Experimenting!
Mowgli welcomed us to Camp Lincoln at the picnic tables. We followed him to the sports field. He had us make a big circle with our entire grade. We played a game about well we listen. He also taught us a game called Knee Tag. In Knee Tag you are safe if you put your hands on your knees. When your hands are on your knees you can’t move. Mowgli and Riptide also led us in the Clap, Jump, Spin and Run game. It was lots of fun too.
After the games we went on a nature walk with Wolf. First, we visited the farm animals. We saw chickens, ducks, goats and sheep. Then, we found plants we could eat. We found wintergreen and Indian cucumbers. The wintergreen tasted and smelled like root beer!. To find an Indian cucumber, look near water. Be careful when looking for the Indian cucumber. Dig around the stem and you will find a white root! Clean it off and taste it! It tasted like a carrot! After that, we made 
Nature Tea. We used hot water, wintergreen leaves, and pine needles. Some of us thought it was delicious, and some of us through it was yucky! Finally, we reached the Point. There were trees that had been struck by lightning. They had stripes and broken branches. We had lots of fun on our nature walk. “AROOH!!!”
For the third part of our day, we began playing a game like Red Light, Green Light to steal a counselor, Riptide’s keys. Once we got his keys we “drove” to the “zoo.” We crossed a rickety-rockety bridge over a swamp to get there. Once we got to the “zoo” we sorted out our animal names by size: small, medium, and large. We didn’t like the orders at the zoo, so we ran away. We (the animals) had to cross over a “peanut butter pit,” but first we had to get the rope. We made a lasso out of our sweatshirts to reach it. When we had the rope we had to swing across to escape the zookeepers. There was only one tiny boat for all of us to fit on. We swung across one at a time. We huddled together like penguins on the boat so everyone was safe. Our escape was a success. And our adventure was lots of fun!
Suggestions of how to build each type of float along with the following criteria will be sent home on Monday, April 16.
The float obviously represents your state and shows its uniqueness.
It is a fun project and such an exciting celebration of our country and a year of learning! We can’t wait to see you on Thursday, May 24!
Thanks to your kind generosity our Animal Awesomeness event was able to raise $700.09. We will send this money to the World Wildlife Fund to support threatened and endangered animals.
Our first major study of the year is an integrated exploration of habitats and animals. We traveled to a zoo and then created our own classroom zoo. In the middle of the research process the students began to realize many, many of the animals they were learning about were threatened or endangered. They discovered that the loss of one animal – no matter how large or small – changes the world forever. And they realized this change is never good. They decided they wanted to do something to make a difference. But what?
From those first November talks they ideas began to take shape. They decided they would invent games and activities with an animal theme and invite the school community to an event. Every time someone played a game, they’d get at least one ticket for a raffle. They met with the principal to share their plans and got the okay. They created fliers about the event to send home and post around the school.
They planned and created The Sloth Lounge – for parents to rest in after a long day, Animal Safari, Pin-the-Tail on the Wildebeest, Red Panda Pie Face, Animal Chairs, Cotton-topped Tamarin Bowling, a Feed the Animals Obstacle Course and Toss The Poison Dart Frog. When the games were done they created animal-themed journals for the raffle and decorations for walls.
At last, after four months of planning and making, they set up Animal Awesomeness in the gymnasium and hoped people would come. They did! For an hour the gym was filled with families playing games, winning tickets, taking chances in the raffle and most importantly helping the Good Deed Club change the world!
We had a wonderful day celebrating International Dot Day. This is a day focusing on creativity, building confidence and sharing this important message with the world. Here’s how we made our mark.
I hope you’ll be able to stop in too.
I hope you’ve heard about the eclipse. It’ll be here in 17 days, 3 hours, 34 minutes and 25 seconds – well that time changes quickly, but you can check out the exact time by clicking on 
The total solar eclipse is a real big deal. It only happens once in a life time and the last time a eclipse like this moved across the United States like this was in 1918! We aren’t going to see the full eclipse but even in New Hampshire it will look as through a bite has been taken out of the sun.
There are a couple of thing you can do to see the eclipse if you don’t have glasses. There are some direction on the Exploratorium link above. Mystery Science has some directions for a pinhole projector that I’ve 
The next total eclipse will be in 2023. You’ll have to travel to see evidence of that one.
