September 9th - Today we went over the course work for science and social studies.  They students seemed to be pretty excited about many of the topics and I have my work cut out to make the rest just as thrilling.

Hopefully, your child will remember... How come Mars is red?  We spent a few minutes in class on this question.  I had the students think about this and apply their knowledge base to come up with an answer.  If you are not sure, ask your kid... I am sure they will have something to tell you.

We revisited our old friend... Scientific Method.  We used this to answer the question - Why is hot water hot?  After a discussion on molecules, the students we able to come up with a good answer, but how to prove it?  We agreed that we couldn't "see" the water molecules, but we could use hot and cold water to explain the phenomenon.  A drop of food dye was added to each glass and the students recorded their observations, analyzed the data and checked their hypothesis.  The students had fun with the experiment and learned a little more about the world around them.

September 8th - The first day of school was a success!!!  Every student I spoke to said they were coming back tomorrow, so we must have done something right.

In science/social studies, we spent a good deal of the class getting reacquainted, sorting our supplies and getting a better understanding of what is expected in 5th grade. 

We also had a team building project (literally building).  The students worked in groups and had to come up with things that they had in common.  The common thing was written on a note card.  The note cards were than used to build the tallest structure possible and support their roll of tape (they could use as much tape as needed).  It was great to see the students try different methods, discuss what wasn't working and attempt a new strategy.  The tallest structure across the three classes was 45" and they used no tape!!!

Don't worry, the real work will begin tomorrow...