Kindergarten Magic

Kindergarten Magic

Our class has discovered that everything around us is magic!

For each of the letters that are celebrated we perform a science experiment and experience that magic.

We begin our wonderful exploration of science with two "Can you believe it?" experiments. We blow up a balloon and talk about what will happen when we stick a pin in the balloon. Our experiment proves that our hypothesis is true - it POPS! Then we blow up another balloon and stick the pin in the balloon opposite the knot. Surprise! Nothing happens!

Our second MAGICAL experiment for "Can you believe it?" also uses balloons. We put a balloon over the top of a soda bottle which had vinegar in it. Nothing happened. We used another balloon that had baking soda inside it. When we put it over the top of the bottle, the soda fell into the vinegar and the reaction blew up the balloon.

SCIENCE IS MAGIC!

Triangles

Our next experiment comes at the end of our shapes unit. Mrs. Munter stands an index card on its edge and tells the class that she can balance a block on the edge of the card. We try it several times and each time the block falls off the card. Then, Mrs. Munter folds the card like a fan and stands it on its side. She puts the block on top and "WOW!" - the block balances perfectly on the "triangles". We discuss where else we might see triangles working to strengthen a structure.

As we celebrate the letter Cc we are also working on a Monarch Butterfly unit. We collect several caterpillars and watch them eat and grow, and eat and grow, etc. We follow the process of metamorphosis to its completion - ending with all of us waving goodbye to a beautiful butterfly as we free it from the cage.

Amazing Kindergarten Magic -

Our experiment for the letter O showed us that a flame needs oxygen in order to burn. We turned a small jar upside down and put it over a small candle which had been lit. We tried this same experiment with three more jars - each one bigger than the last. Before we covered the candle each time, we estimated how many counts it would take for the candle to go out. Oxygen is MAGIC!

For the letter G we experimented with gravity. We watched what happened when we turned a jar with water in it upside down. The water went to what became the bottom each time. Then, we tried the same experiment with popcorn and with feathers. Each time gravity pulled the contents of the jar to the bottom.

Then, we hypothesized which would hit the floor first when dropped from the same height at the same time - an orange or a grape. We found that they hit the floor at the same time. Gravity is MAGIC!

Absorption was our experiment for the letter A. We used an eye dropper to put drops of water on several different surfaces - a sponge, waxed paper, a plastic bag, a cotton ball, etc. We hypothesized which would absorb water. We talked about which things were porous and which things were not. Absorption is MAGIC!

Density is demonstrated in an experiment using water, cooking oil and honey. We stirred up the three liquids and then watched as they separated. These liquids are immiscible, which means they do not mix.

Our S experiment had to do with sound and vibration. We filled six bottles with different amounts of water and blew over the tops to make notes. We played Mary Had a Little Lamb and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. We found that the bottle the had the least water in it made the lowest sound and the bottle with the most water in it made the highest sound. We also looked at several instruments that Mrs. Munter has which show how vibration makes sound.

For our L experiment we studied light science. We tried shining a flashlight through several objects to find out if they were transparent. Then we put several folded index cards on the floor in a row. Each one had a hole cut in it and we lined the holes up. Then we turned on the flashlight to see if the light would go through the holes to the wall beyond. Light travels in a straight line so we could see the light on the wall. Then we moved one of the cards and found that the light would not bend and we couldn't see it on the wall. The last experiment we did was to put a prism on top of two straws which were laying on the floor. It looked like the straws were bent. Then, we put the straws in a glass of water and again it looked like they were bent.

Inertia was our kindergarten magic for the letter Ii.

First, we put a can of soda on a piece of paper and then quickly snapped the paper out from under the can. Inertia made the can stay where it was because it was not connected to the paper.

Then, we put several books on Mrs. Munter's rolling chair. We pushed the chair and stopped it quickly and the books fell off of the chair. Inertia in the books caused them to keep going because they were not attached to the chair.

Our last experiment was to put a ruler at an angle from a book. We put a marker perpendicular to the ruler about four inches from the end of the ruler. We put a car on the ruler and let it go. We found that the marker stopped the car. Then, we put a playdoh snowman on top of the car and tried the experiment again. When the car hit the marker and stopped, the snowman kept going. Inertia is the resistance of an object to any change in motion.

With the study of the letter Tt our Kindergarten Magic had to do with surface TENSION. We tried several experiments to help us understand that the surface of water is held together by a strong force called surface tension which acts like skin on the water.

First, we put a penny on a tray. Using a dropper, very slowly, one by one, we dropped water onto the top of the coin. We counted how many drops it took to break the surface tension.

Next we did a curving water experiment. We filled a glass with water. With a dropper we added more water until the water was above the glass. We found that surface tension held the water together even though it was above the rim of the glass.

Our next experiment was to stick our fingers into the water and then flick water from our fingers onto waxed paper. We found that surface tension caused the water fo form water balls. We could move the waxed paper around and make the balls touch each other to make a large ball. We put one drop of soap onto the drop. The soap broke the surface tension and the water was no longer a ball shape.

The last experiment was done with a pan of water. We made a boat and floater it on the water. When we put a drop of liquid soap in the water behind the boat the boat shot forward.

Our Ff experiment was to determine which items floated in on water and which items sank. We tried several objects - pencil, penny, rubber band, paper clip, and rock. We recorded our results. Later we took turns trying other objects we could find in the classroom.

Exciting electricity was our Kindergarten Magic for the letter Ee. We used batteries, motors, different kinds of lightbulbs and wires to learn how electricity flows in a circuit and that when it flows, it flows in a circuit. We experimented with several different items to see if electricity flowed through them. Things that current flows through are called conductors. Things that current cannot flow through are called insulators. Mrs. Munter put the electricity experiment in the Investigation Station for two whole weeks!

We made HELICOPTERS for our letter Hh Kindergarten Magic. We discussed what makes the helicopter go up and come down. The spinning of the helicopter blades creates lift. We made a paper helicopter and attached it to a toothpick which was stuck down into a straw. We blew on the other end and made our helicopters go way up high. We watched what happened.

Our experiment for Uu was UP and DOWN. Using a triangular block as a fulcrum, we made a seesaw out of a piece of wood. We hypothesized about what would happen when we placed the fulcrum at different places under the wood. We put various items at eac end of the seesaw and compared this to putting chldren on each end of a seesaw. We learned that weight determines which end of the seesaw is up and which end is down.

Letter Bb Kindergarten Magic was BALANCE. As a follow up to the Up and Down experiment for the letter Uu, we began with the seesaw idea and then expanded the balance idea. We used a bucket scale and put different objects in the bucket. We hypothesized about how many blocks would need to go into the other bucket to balance the object. We tried the experiment with each object and recorded our results.

We talked about how we could balance on a balance beam or high wire. We discussed that balance is a sense and involves the brain. Then we walked n a tiny line on the carpet trying to balance.

Each child was then given a paper bear to color and cut out. We took turns trying to make our bear balance on a dowel rod. After several times of not succeeding, we taped a penny to each of the bear's back feet and tried

For the letter Rr we made RAIN! We poured boiling water in the bottm of a jar. Then, we put Saran Wrap over the top of the jar and let it hang down inside the jar. We put a rubber band around the top of the jar to hold the Saran Wrap in place. We put ice cubes in the Saran Wrap that was hanging down inside the jar. It started to RAIN inside the jar!

Any substance that has mass and takes up space is matter. The smallest building blocks of matter are called atoms. The center of each atom is called the nucleus. Our Kindergarten Magic for Nn has to do with the nucleus of an atom.

We learned about yes pieces (protons) and I don't care pieces (neutrons) which are in the nucleus of the atom. Spinning outside the yes pieces there are no pieces (electrons). We blew up a balloon and tied it. Then Mrs. Munter rubbed it on someone's hair that was clean and not oily. When the balloon rubbed the hair, the no pieces from the hair got on the balloon. Then it had too many no pieces, because it had the balloon's no pieces AND its own no pieces. When this happens, you get static electricity.

Then Mrs. Munter rubbed the balloon on someone's hair and put the balloon next to a little stream of water from the faucet. The yes pieces in the water liked the no pieces on the balloon so the water went toward the balloon. It actually bent the stream of water.

MAGNETS are all around us - our Kindergarten Magic for the letter Mm was Magnetism.

We put several items to the test to see if the magnet would "attract" them. We recorded our findings.

Then we put magnets on top of two toy cars and put rubberbands around each one to hold the magnet in place. We used magnets that had an S on one end for the south pole of the magnet and and N on the other end for the north pole of the magnet. We checked to see what happened when we lined them up different ways. We learned what the word "attract" and "repel" mean. Then Mrs. Munter put a whole bunch of magnet stuff in the Investigation Station for us to try.

A pulley is a simple machine that is made of a wheel, usually grooved, that holds a cord. The PULLEY was our Kindergarten Magic for the letter Pp.

We asked our custodian, Mr. Hufford, to set up a pulley attached to the framework in our ceiling. Then we tried to lift a huge bucket of soap with our hands. We could barely move it. When we attached it to the pulley, every one of us could lift it really high.

Mr. Hufford moved the pulley to the Investigation Station for us and we had a whole week to experiment with it.

A volcano is an opening in the Earth where hot, liquid rock, called magma, bursts out. When a volcano explodes, it is called an eruption. When magma reaches the surface it is called lava.

Mrs. Munter put baking soda in a cup inside a plastic mountain. Then she poured vinegar (which had food coloring in it to make it look like hot lava) into the mountain and the volcano began to erupt. We talked about how the magma inside got gas bubbles in it and that pressure built up. We took a bottle of soda outside and shook it up. Then we opened it and saw what happened because of the pressure.

We experimented with WAVES for our Kindergarten Magic for the letter Ww. We stretched a Slinky (carefully) on the floor between two "scientists". One end was held still and the other was moved gently back and forth. We found that waves were made in the Slinky. We also found that while the waves moved in the Slinky, it stayed in relatively the same space. We hypothesized about what would happen if we changed the speed of the back and forth motion.

KINETIC energy was our Kindergarten Magic for letter Kk (and QUICK is our Qq part of the experiment).

We poured cold water into one clear plastic cup and then put ice cubes into the water. Then we put warm water into another clear plastic cup. We labeled each cup. Then we dropped an antacid tablet into each of the cups at the same time. We did not stir. We watched to see which one dissolved first.

In order for a chemical reaction to occur, the molecules of water must combine with the molecules on the surface of the antacid tablet. This happens when the water molecules bump into the molecules on the antacid tablets.

All particles of matter, such as the antacid tablets and the water, have kinetic energy (energy in motion). Kinetic energy increases with temperature. This means the water molecules in the glass of warm water are moving around faster than those in the cold water. So, there is more bumping in the warm water than there is in the cold. This is why the tablet dissolves more QUICKLY in warm water than in cold.

For the letter Jj our Kindergarten magic had to do with how a jack works and with the comparison between a jack and the pulley we used for an earlier experiment.

Our terrific custodian, Mr. Hufford, built us a fun "Kinderlift" for this experiment. Using a hydraulic jack he constructed a seat could be raised by pushing on a handle. Each child took a turn sitting on the seat and either pushing the handle or having Mr. Hufford push the handle to make the seat go up. Then, Mr. Hufford turned a bolt and the seat went down. What a FUN time!!!

Then we discussed how the pulley we had used earlier lifted something from above while the jack lifted us from below. We talked about how they were both used to lift things but in different ways.

We experimented with YEAST for our XY experiment. First Mrs. Munter opened a package of yeast and poured it into a cup of lukewarm water. we learned that lukewarm means that if you put your finger in the water it doesn't feel cold and it doesn't feel hot.

We learned that the yeast is "asleep" when it is in the package, but when we poured it in the water it "woke up" and became active.

Then Mrs. Munter put a mixture of flour, sugar, salt and shortening into a big bowl. We added the yeast mixture and an egg and stirred it all up. It was sticky so Mrs. Munter used a little more flour. Then, she kneaded it for a little bit and we left it in the bowl to check on it later.

When we came back we found that the bread dough was about two times the size it had been. Mrs. Munter told us that the yeast uses the sugar in the mixture and makes two things out of it - carbon dioxide gas and ethanol. the carbon dioxide gas causes the dough to get bigger. That is what makes our bread light and fluffy. We found out that if we did not use yeast in bread dough, our bread would be kind of like crackers.

Mrs. Munter punched the dough down and we watched it rise again. Then she took the dough home and made rolls out of it. The next day we ate them - YUM!

Our letter Zz Kindergarten Magic had to do with the ZENITH of an object. The zenith of an object is the point in the sky directly above the object. We also talked about the point directly below the object which is called the nadir.

We tied a string to the end of a ruler. we also put a piece of tape about an inch from the string on the same end of the ruler. We drew an arrow with marker pointing to the string. On the other end of the ruler, we put another piece of tape with an arrow pointing away from the string.

We held the ruler up and watched what happened. The end with the arrow pointing toward the string pointed up to the sky. we talked about the fact that gravity pulled the hanging ruler toward the center of the earth. So, the bottom of the ruler pointed straight down and the top of the ruler pointed straight up.

We learned that no two objects can have the same zenith at the same time because no two objects can occupy the same space at the same time.

KINDERGARTEN MAGIC IS GREAT FUN!