Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Sunny Tuesday School

We started our school day today with an addition warm-up. (Kiddos always complain that they don't need to review, but I noticed that they were a bit rusty with a few addition facts!) This is a game called "Hamster Run" from Really Good Stuff.


Then they compared numbers in "Get to the Top," from The Mailbox's Mix & Match Math Games. (Yes, those are hamsters climbing the mountain...the kids really liked the hamster game pieces from the first game!)


We learned about Mobius strips today and decided to make some of our own. Take a strip of paper and label the corners A, B, C, and D.


Make a loop, but twist the paper so that B is lined up with C and A is lined up with D. Tape the ends together and you have a Mobius strip!



What happens when you start drawing a line on the inside of the strip?



Hey, wait a second! I started this line on the inside and now I'm on the outside!



And now I'm back where I started from!



What happens if I cut along the line I drew?



Wow, I got a longer Mobius strip!



We made several strips and cut them different ways. We ended up with really curly, intertwined Mobius strips...


...and two connected loops. The kids really enjoyed experimenting with them!



We planted our Christmas amaryllis today as well. When we opened the box, we discovered that our bulb already had a few pale leaves and a bud.



The kids were careful to leave the "neck" of the bulb exposed.



A little water...



...and some sunshine...



...and our amaryllis will be taller than 3.5 inches very soon!




Took a lunch break and enjoyed some very silly Christmas Mad Libs.



I've been waiting for a warm, sunny day to do some measurement practice outdoors.
Gallon Man reminded us how many cups are in a pint, how many pints are in a quart, etc.



The kids measured 16 cups of birdseed into a gallon orange juice container. We compared the orange juice container to our half-gallon of milk and calculated how many cups and pints our milk carton contains.



When we finished practicing our measurements, we made a treat for the birds!



Hope you had a great day, too!

2 comments:

Michelle said...

Oh my gosh! Why didn't someone show me gallon man decades ago??? So cute!

Mad Libs rock. Always. :)

Lots of neat stuff. Sounds like fun over there.

Sparklee said...

I know! That's what I thought when I saw him! There is another useful graphic where you draw a big G and put four Q inside it...look up gallon man images and you'll see it.

Our favorite Mad Libs Christmas Carol: Frosty the Snow-Taxidermist. :-)