Fifth grade has been "diving in" to the destructive and constructive forces of nature. Here we used stream tables to witness erosion from river banks that created oxbo lakes and deltas.
They were all invented by kids! Now it is our turn as 2nd grade dives deeper into the Engineering Design Process than they have ever been. We'll explore properties of matter as we work to design a cooler to keep ice pops frozen for up to an hour.
After...
So excited Green Paws has started back up! This first week we did a lot of weeding and chores to get ready for the fall crop, but we got to finish the day by harvesting and eating some watermelon planted by the summer camp group!
In Kindergarten we are taking something familiar, fairy tales like Jack & The Beanstalk, and using them to introduce something unfamiliar, like principles of engineering. In this case we wanted to see how tall and strong we could build a beanstalk out of pipe cleaners! Below Mrs. Tommasello's and Mrs. Garrett's classes show off their work.
On August 21st at 2:30PM we'll experience a solar eclipse at 98% of totality. CCSD, along with every other county in metro Atlanta, is altering their school day, and we'll be able to watch the eclipse on our active boards in the classrooms here at Tritt. To get an ideal of what the eclipse will look like from anywhere in the US, check out timeanddate.com.
I shared the following video, from one of my favorite channels, SciShow Kids, with grades 1st-3rd. It takes a closer look at the Solar Eclipse that crossed Europe in 2015, and provides an animated version of what we can expect here.
The next video, from Vox, was shared with 4th and 5th grade:
I have been chomping at the bit to get back to school for a few weeks now, so Meet & Greet is a super exciting day for me!
What did you do this summer? I went and saw family in Florida, did the week-long Tritt Summer Camp, led some Project Lead The Way workshops throughout the southeast, spent some time in Texas visiting friends, dropped by the school to tend to the gardens, took the dogs for hikes, and read some books!
Real Talk: I appreciate all of the parents who donate to the Tritt Tiger Foundation allowing me to work with your students. I spent over a decade traveling throughout GA teaching environmental science, and I can truly say there is no place like Tritt. Every hands-on STEM opportunity we can provide is further setting them up for a bright future (and also it is really really fun, right?)!
So thankful to the Green Paws kiddos that have been able to meet me at Tritt this summer in order to harvest our gardens! I'll send out an email next time I'm headed that way!
Is two months too long to go in your life without learning about science? NPR has a new podcast for kids and their families - "Wow in the World". The shows are only 20 minutes-ish, perfect for quick errands or long road trips, and they are super fun. For example, the latest episode is about cow farts and eating crickets - and what they have in common!
Start listening here: http://tinkercast.com/shows/wow-in-the-world/
Green Paws Summer Camp was a blast! We went on hikes, found salamanders in the creek, planted wildflower seeds in the vertical gardens, picked carrots, played games, ate popsicles, planted fruits and veggies, created artwork using rubber worms, and had a great time overall!
Last week Mrs. Blick's class helped release "Yoshi" a Common Snapping Turtle baby. Yoshi spent the school year in Mrs. Blick's room having moved their from the Science Lab the year prior. He enjoyed his time at Tritt, but after consulting with the Chattahoochee Nature Center it was decided that it was time for him to move on. He wish you luck buddy!
He settled in just fine as you can see in the picture below:
Wrapping up our study on plants and animals, 1st grade looked at how animals use plants as shelter. There is no better animal engineer than the beaver, and we thought we'd try and copy some of their work. Students designed their dams and collected the materials. Here Mrs. Hughes' and Mrs. Friend's classes show off their work.
So this is pretty fun: A squirell "borrowed" (it seems placed to me, somehow intentional) this guys GoPro camera and took it for a treetop adventure!
We made model cells out of cookies!
We have been studying plants and animals in 1st grade. When scientists and engineers are inspired by something from nature we call that "biomimicry". We just finished planting sunflower seeds using homemade garden tools that were inspired by a story we read in class.
Thank you to the parent volunteers who came in to operate the hot glue guns!
We have been studying plants and animals in 1st grade. When scientists and engineers are inspired by something from nature we call that "biomimicry". We just finished planting sunflower seeds using homemade garden tools that were inspired by a story we read in class.
Thank you to the parent volunteers who came in to operate the hot glue guns!
We have been studying plants and animals in 1st grade. When scientists and engineers are inspired by something from nature we call that "biomimicry". We just finished planting sunflower seeds using homemade garden tools that were inspired by a story we read in class.
Thank you to the parent volunteers who came in to operate the hot glue guns!
We have been studying plants and animals in 1st grade. When scientists and engineers are inspired by something from nature we call that "biomimicry". We just finished planting sunflower seeds using homemade garden tools that were inspired by a story we read in class.
Thank you to the parent volunteers who came in to operate the hot glue guns! We were dealing with a little bit of rain during the planting, so I apologize for so few action shots!
We have been studying plants and animals in 1st grade. When scientists and engineers are inspired by something from nature we call that "biomimicry". We just finished planting sunflower seeds using homemade garden tools that were inspired by a story we read in class.
Thank you to the parent volunteers who came in to operate the hot glue guns!
We have been studying plants and animals in 1st grade. When scientists and engineers are inspired by something from nature we call that "biomimicry". We just finished planting sunflower seeds using homemade garden tools that were inspired by a story we read in class.
Thank you to the parent volunteers who came in to operate the hot glue guns!
When visiting the Science Lab, Second Grade spent a lot of time this semester studying astronomy. We examined the rotation of the Earth and the affect on seasons; the sun's movement across by tracking shadows; the phases of the moon; the movement of the Big Dipper and other stars; and even learned about exoplanets and Trappist-1.
Our engineering challenge came when we decided to add shade to a model of our playgrounds. Students had to track the sun during their recess time and determine where to add walls/trees/roofs/screens. You can take a look at their creative ideas below!
