After recess we continued working on getting our counting by 2's practice finished and did some more races with our counting by 5's cards. After we had finished both our 2's practice and our 5's races were were invited to try some new math games on the computers. They were from this website: http://www.abcya.com/. We are noticing that we are getting much faster at our counting patterns thanks to our practice.
Home Challenge: What would the counting by 5's pattern look like if you started at a different number like 3 or 4 or 6? Do you notice a pattern in the numbers that repeats? Write out the pattern and bring it in to share.
After lunch we did a science experiment.
Our questions: What happens when we add salt to ice?
Our predictions: (1) The ice would make the salt sticky. (2) The salt would make the ice melt faster. (3) The salt would stick to the ice. (4) The salt would make the ice expand.
Our predictions were based on things we already know about ice and salt. We talked about how scientists use the things they already know to make smart predictions.
Our procedure:
(1) We each had 2 ice cubes on a paper towel. When Ms. Boyer said "go" we each sprinkled salt on one ice cube. Then we drew a picture of the 2 ice cubes.
(2) After 5 minutes of observing Ms. Boyer said "record" and we drew a new picture of the ice cubes showing the changes we observed.
(3) We repeated these 5 minute observations two more times and made two more recordings.
(4) We came together to share our observations and compare them to our predictions.
Our observations:
(1) The salt made cavities in the ice.
(2) The salt made the surface rough.
(3) The salt made the ice melt faster.
(4) The salt made the surface less wet.
(5) Some of the salt stuck to the ice.
(6) The salt started to dissolve in the melted water.
We were excited that many of our predictions were correct but we also know that it is ok that some of our predictions didn't happen. Real scientists make lots of predictions that don't turn out to be true, but that's part of science! The important thing is to make sure our predictions make sense and are based on the things we already know and that our experiments are honest, even if that means our predictions don't end up being true.
Tomorrow is Fresh Air Friday. We are going to be doing another science experiment outside AND our big buddies are going to take us snowshoeing!!! Please make sure to wear snowpants and good winter boots.
Our helper on Monday is: Lily
