Happy Saturday! Since I fell asleep on the couch around 7:30 last night, there was no way this was happening on Friday. Lol! I'm in the midst of parent-student-teacher conferences and I'm exhausted! We've got a workday on Monday and I have six more scheduled. In between them, I'll be working on report cards. I'm tired just thinking about it. :)
Aside from conferences, we've had a lot going on this week. Thanks to Doodle Bugs Teaching for hosting this Linky and allowing me to share some of it with you.
This might be why I'm so tired. In the last two weeks, I see the sunrise as I'm driving into work.
By the time I head home, the sun is setting. Anybody else putting in some long hours at work right now?
We made a solar still to study the water cycle this week. I think I was as fascinated as the kids! I got the idea from another teacher at the NCSTA Conference that I attended and presented at last week. It was super easy to make! I just used two cups of sand and two cups of soil mixed. We put an empty cup in the center of the plastic tub and spread the sand/soil mixture around it. We poured 6 ounces of water over the mixture (leaving the cup empty). Then we sealed it with plastic wrap and tape. The students recorded the process and their hypotheses in their science journals. Then, we took the solar still outside and placed it in the sunlight. We put a few small pebbles on top of the plastic wrap over the cup. When we checked it the next day, we could see water droplets on the inside of the still and there was water in the cup! We're going to continue to observe for changes over the next couple of weeks.
I'm not a fan of worksheets or tests, so when it came time to assess my student's understanding of the water cycle, I used a project-based assessment. I did give the students a worksheet with the words and an illustration on it, but they did not follow the cut and paste directions. Instead, I asked them to create a model of the water cycle using a paper plate, the worksheet words, and art supplies. They had a great time creating and I thought the projects turned out well. I love seeing the same information presented in so many different ways!
Were your kids crazy on Friday? Mine sure were. They were so excited about Halloween and (for them) a three-day weekend, I'm amazed we got anything done! We did, of course, not that I got any pictures of anything. We had a blast cutting and de-gutting a pumpkin as we described the outside and the inside of the pumpkin. We also read pumpkin stories and pumpkin poems among other pumpkin-related activities. Next year, I'll have to remember to take pictures of our Pumpkin Day. Until then, I'll leave you with a picture of this adorable alien pumpkin one of my sweet boys made for me.
Happy Halloween!
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