Dancing Raisins!

On Monday we conducted a Science Experiment where we tried to get raisins to dance.  No, not like the California Raisins (although this joke was lost on the kids)...but real raisins.

What you need:
Clear soda
raisins
clear glass cup
corn kernels
pinto beans

First we filled the glass with soda.  Then we dropped in the pinto beans, most sunk, some floated. 
Then we tried the corn kernels - they bounced around.
Lastly, we got our dancing raisins - when plopped in the soda, the raisins are surrounded by the carbon dioxide in the soda (carbonation) and it causes the raisins to rise to the top, then the bubbles pop and the raisin sinks again - then back up.  And we had out Dancing Raisins!

Readers' Theater! Looking to the Future...

Yet another Readers' Theater showcasing the wealth of personalities, creativity and dramatic skills in Third Grade!

This week's Readers' Theater was all about the future - from dogs to traveling to family-life.

The Robodogs of Greenville



Family 3000

Anywhere Anytime Travel Agency

Blobs in a Bottle!

On Thursday we conducted a Science experiment that not only looked at what happens when oil and water are mixed together...but then what happens when we had some food coloring (for affect) and antacid tablets (like Alka Seltzer)
The results were...our very own, home-made lava lamps!

What you need:
Water
Oil
Food Coloring
Antacid Tables
Clear Bottle with lid

First we poured the water in the bottle.   Then before we added oil we wrote hypotheses about what each of us thought would happen.  Then we poured the oil in and observed.  Everyone was shocked at how the water and oil just did NOT want to mix.  But WHY?  That IS the question.

Ask your kids...hint...oil is less dense than water...

But as cool as that was to see then we added food coloring.  We hypothesized what would happen...and we were more educated this time after watching the oil and water.  And yet...still in awe that the food coloring did not color the oil - JUST the water!

Finally we hypothesized what would happen if we added Alka Seltzer tablets (antacids) to the mix.  When we added them...we got our lava lamp!  But WHY?  Again - that IS the question.  The citric acid in the antacid tablet reacts with the water and it releases carbon dioxide gas (carbonation) which rise to the top taking the colored liquid along for the ride!

I hope the kids showed you this with their mix and tablets they took home!

The Chicks have Hatched!

Third Grade with the chicks!

Each year Ms. Julie organizes the hatching of chicks for our school.  Each day we read a different fact about chicks and their development - or other birds and how long they take to hatch.

The children have the opportunity to see the eggs in the incubator.  They also get to take part in "egg candling," where they use a light to illuminate the inside of the egg to see how the chicks are doing.  The kids get to see a lot of movement and the embryo.

Finally, after a much awaited 21 days the chicks hatch and each classroom has the opportunity to hold and examine the baby chicks.  Here are some pictures of the kids with the chicks. 

It was hard to say good-bye to the chicks, but they are now living happy on a farm with many other chicks and chickens.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

To celebrate St. Patrick's Day, I always like to share a favorite Irish legend that a friend broke back from Ireland with her for my husband and me.  "The Salmon of Knowledge," is a myth about an old wise man who sought the Salmon of Knowledge his whole life.  If a man was to catch and eat this fish he would be filled with all the wisdom in the world.  Unfortunately for the elder, his young apprentice, whom he made catch and cook the fish accidentally tasted a drop of the Salmon and inherited all the wisdom.  I like to jest with the kids that because my last name is Salmon - I am filled with this wisdom :)

In addition, the school enjoyed an assembly in which Ms. Scanlon and Ms. Eileen shared their memories of Ireland as well as bits of Irish history.  Mrs. McCormac also shared with the school the history behind St. Patrick's Day and why people wear green, orange and white.  She also shared some true-Irish traditions, such as girls wearing the colored ribbons in their hair.

Following the presentations we had some very special performers - Irish Dancers - and they were our own OSM students, including Mary and Jane from our class!  They were awesome.  Check out the videos of the different dances they shared with the school.

Cheers to the dancers for an awesome show!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Live!

WONKA!  2nd and 3rd Graders waiting outside the theater for the show!



The 2nd and 3rd Graders took a trip to Green Emerald Theater to catch the play version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  It was great for the kids to see yet another version of the famous and popular story by Roald Dahl.