We are going to have a lot of fun this semester! My thoughts for this class are to start each day by reading a book from the Magic School Bus series by Joanna Cole. We are going to try one book/theme a week, but if it seems to be too much, we can carry topics over by adding additional weeks and cutting out a few books. Each day we will read together, discuss the theme and related vocabulary, do an activity or experiment, and record our findings in a science notebook (I am providing these). Here is our tentative schedule:

January 19- Who is Ms. Frizzle? What is the Magic School Bus? What makes a good scientist? Start Science Notebooks

January 26- The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System (Activity: Mapping out/drawing planets in our solar system)

February 2- The Magic School Bus: On the Ocean Floor (Experiment: Density of water- salt vs. fresh water & warm vs. cold water)

February 9 No School

February 16- The Magic School Bus: At the Waterworks and/or The Magic School Bus: Wet All Over (Experiment: The water cycle- making rain)

February 23- The Magic School Bus: Inside a Hurricane (Activity: Types of clouds)

March 1- The Magic School Bus: Inside the Earth (Activity: Play-Doh models of Earth’s layers)

March 8 Invention Convention

March 15- The Magic School Bus: Blows its Top (Experiment: Volcanoes in action)

March 22 No School

March 29- The Magic School Bus: Inside the Human Body (Activity: Where does our food go? The digestive system)

April 5- The Magic School Bus: Explore the Senses (Experiment: Sound and vision- seeing sounds)

April 12 Eggonauts

April 19- The Magic School Bus: Inside a Beehive (Activity: Honeybee Bop- how do bees communicate?)

April 26- The Magic School Bus: In the Time of Dinosaurs (Activity: Making/identifying fossils)

May 3- The Magic School Bus: The Electric Fieldtrip (Experiments: Balloons and static electricty)

May 10 Field Day

This is the tentative scedule for Storytime with Art

Week 1: THE SNOWY DAY---we will make snowflakes

Week 2: SNOWMEN AT NIGHT--- chalkart snowman

Week 3: MY HEART IS LIKE A ZOO--- heart shaped lion

Week 4: Goodnight Moon---window looking at the moon

Week 5: THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLER--- egg carton caterpillers

Week 6: HORTON THE ELEPHANT SITS ON A NEST--- paper nest with egg

Week 7: THE EASTER EGG---egg wreath 

Week 8: CORDUROY--- Corduroy paper plate

Week 9: THE RAINBOW FISH---celery stamping (I will be using celery sticks, so if this is an issue let me know)

Week 10: (I'm looking at a few options for Earth Day/recycling books). Our art project will be something to repurpose.

Week 11: ELMER ELEPHANT---sponge painted Elmer

Week 12: GUESS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU---Sorry not gonna tell, it's a Mother's day surprise

This week we will be talking about the Central and Peripheral nervous systems. Check out the https://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/words.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Stroop Test  with your kiddo for some laughs. Since we only have one class left I will most likely send our personal persons to be completed at home. I would like our last class to review what we've learned this semester. I've had a blast with your kiddos. Thanks for letting me borrow them!

Lesson 4 Muscles

1. What do muscles do?

a. They help us move.

b. They enable us to breath.

c. They pump blood.

2. Muscle facts

a. The smallest muscle in the body is in the middle ear.

b. The largest muscle is the Gluteus Maximus.

c. The strongest muscle is the masseter that closes your mouth.

3. Kinds of muscle

a. Skeletal Muscle

i. Most skeletal muscle is attached to your bones and enable movement.

ii. Muscles never push!

iii. When they pull they contract, they tighten and get shorter and fatter.

iv. They are voluntary, that means you can move them by thinking about moving them.

b. Cardiac Muscle

i. Cardiac refers to the heart and that is the only place you will find this type of muscle.

ii. Contracts and relaxes without you thinking about it, involuntary.

iii. You can hear this muscle in action by listening to your heart beat.

c. Smooth Muscle

i. This muscle is found in your blood vessels, intestines, and bladder.

ii. Involuntary.

iii. We will learn more about these organs later.

Take Home Activity:

Building Muscle

Supplies:

Clothes Pin

Timer

Pencil

Paper

1. Guess how many times you will be able to open and close the clothes pin in one minute. Write down your prediction.

2. Now set your timer for one minute and count to see how many times you can do it. Record this.

3. Were your muscles tired? Where does your hand hurt?

4. Try the same thing with your other hand.

5. What do you think would happen if you did this every other day for two whole weeks? Make your prediction.

6. Do this exercise with your dominant hand (the one you write with) every other day for two weeks and record the results.

7. You should have eight results to record. What do you notice about the numbers? Do they get bigger or smaller? What do you think that means?

8. Bring your results to class to share!

What a great groups of Creators!

Last week (week 1), we spent some time reviewing basic map skills by making a mini book together. We talked about the seven continents, five oceans, latitude and longitude, and cardinal directions/the compass rose.

This week (week 2), we watched a video/song: Tour of the Uited States ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E2CNZIlVIg ), and we read The Scrambled States of America by Laurie Keller. We started an art project on the five regions in the United States (West, Southwest, Midwest, Southeast, and Northeast). Some students did not finish, but they are welcome to finish it up at home! Extra supplies should be in a ziploc bag  

Regions of the US map project

Directions:

1) Tear up colored strips into small pieces (5 colors)

2) Glue one color on each region of the map provided

3) Label regions/map

For the rest of this semester, we will dive into each of the 5 regions. We will learn the state capitals, abbreviations, locations, and other fun information about state symbols, landforms, and landmarks as we have time!

Here is a basic outline of class topics:

Week 1 (8/18) Map Skills review- Continents/Oceans/Globe/Compass Rose Mini Book

Week 2 (8/25) United States Map activity (5 regions); Read: Scrambled States of America

Week 3 (9/1) Region 1: Southeast States and Capitals Activities

Week 4 (9/15) Regions/States Review and Landmarks/Landforms of The Southeast

Week 5 (9/22) Region 2: Northeast States and Capitals Activities

Week 6 (9/29) Regions/States Review and Landmarks/Landforms of The Northeast

Week 7 (10/20) Region 3: Midwest States and Capitals Activities

Week 8 (10/27) Regions/States Review and Landmarks/Landforms of The Midwest

Week 9 (11/3) Region 4: Southwest States and Capitals Activities

Week 10 (11/10) Regions/States Review and Landmarks/Landforms of Southwest

Week 11 (11/17) Region 5: West States and Capitals Activities

Week 12 (12/1) Regions/States Review and Landmarks/Landforms of The West

Here is our lesson plan for this week. Please remember to send me a head shot of your creator, about 2-3 inches high would be great!

A suggested at home activity is included below.

Lesson 2

The Skeletal System

1. Review Cell Anatomy

2. Boneless Body activity

3. What do bones do?

a. Support and give shape

b. Protect organs

c. Make blood cells (red bone marrow)

d. Store lipids (fats) and minerals

e. Movement – joints

4. Bone anatomy

a. Outside layer is a thin, tough membrane called the periosteum.

i. nerves that sense pain.

ii. Blood vessels that take in nutrients and take out trash.

iii. Helps build new bone.

b. Thick, hard layer called compact bone.

i. When you see bones at the museum this is what you are looking at!

ii. It is smooth and hard.

iii. Made of calcium rich minerals and tough fiber called collagen.

iv. Very few things on earth are as strong as bone.

c. Spongy bone

i. Pores and tunnels interconnected in a pattern that makes bone strong and resilient (able to bounce back after being compressed.)

d. Hollowed-out cavity with fluid inside (bone marrow)

i. Red bone marrow is where blood cells are made.

ii. Yellow bone marrow stores lipids (fats).

Activity Idea for at home study:

Analyze a chicken bone.

Chicken bones are similar to our bones!

Supplies:

Cooked chicken wing

Gloves

Parent with a knife

Put on your gloves and remove all the meat from the bone (mom or dad might need to help with a knife for this part). Be observant. Do you see anything besides meat? Meat is muscle but bones are connected with ligaments and there is cartilage at the end of bones.

Look at the bones. There is one thick, long bone that connects to two thinner long bones. This is like your arm bones. Cut or break the largest bone in half and look inside. What do you see? That red stuff is the red bone marrow where the blood cells were made!

Draw a picture of what the bones look like. Use different colors to draw any ligaments or cartilage you might have found. See if you can remember the names of the bones in your arm. Bring your picture to class to share!

We will try to cover major body systems except the reproductive system but the schedule is tentative. I want to make sure we leave time to focus on things the students really enjoy. I will leave a post for each system we cover with ideas for at home projects, book suggestions, or coloring/worksheets. Please especially make note of all items in red.

Week 1:

What is Anatomy and Physiology?

Cells, the building blocks of the body. Take home activity: Edible Cell

Week 2: I need a headshot of each child by this date.

Begin building our human body pictures.

The skeletal system. Take home activity: Check out a chicken bone.

Week 3:

The skeletal system continued.

Week 4:

The muscular system.

Take home activity: Building muscle.

Week 5:

The digestive system

Focus on the mouth, teeth, and tongue.

We may use disclosing tablets this week. Let me know if you would prefer for your student not to do this so I can plan something else.

We will also be testing foods for starch using iodine.

Week 6:

The digestive system continued.

Week 7:

Review

Week 8:

The respiratory system.

Week 9:

The cardiovascular system.

Week 10:

The nervous system.

Week 11:

Focus on the five senses.

Week 12:

The integumentary system.

Week 13:

Review.

Week 14:

Complete human body picture.