Rock the Boat, Don't Tip the Boat Over

Dear Parents,

We began our week floating our boats. We used a bin of water, boats, a water wheel, and cups to pour. We only needed to mop the floor a little. After his turn, someone said, “That was fun!” Many asked for another turn, so we decided to do it again the next day. 

During circle on Tuesday we predicted which things would float, and which would sink in a bucket of water. We dropped into the bucket: a plastic boat, two unifix cubes, a quarter, a penny, a rock, (many yelled, “Sink! Sink!”), a rubber band, a pair of scissors, and a pencil. The children noticed that the plastic things floated and metal sank to the bottom. What then would the scissors do, which had plastic handles but metal blades? The class shouted delightedly when their predictions were correct. They wanted to do more. We talked about trying it at home in the bathtub, but asking for parents' help in choosing items. 

On Wednesday we had our last gymnastics class with Casey.  We saw someone balancing on a beam while waving scarves in the air. Casey gave everyone a certificate and a sticker, which produced much excitement.

While friends were balancing in the big room, in the classroom we worked with hole punchers. Our hole punchers took great strength to punch and many struggled, but most kept trying. The holes are shaped like hearts, bears, stars, circles, and butterflies. They may be found in the bottoms of backpacks.

It was a pleasure getting to share with everyone in the conferences.

Have a long, long weekend,

Therese