Can You Break a Glass With Your Voice?

It turns out that I can NOT break a glass with my voice!  I tried...boy, did I try!  At the end of our science unit about sound, I told the class we could try breaking a glass!  They were really excited and this weekend I bought 2 glasses at Christmas Tree Shops...2 different sizes to try.  And in a funny turn of events I did break them...at home...by dropping the bag!  So, Monday night I went back to the store and bought 2 more!  Then I brought them to school...and we broke one...when it got knocked over!  (Seriously!)  So, with the one glass left I tried to break it with just my voice...and I was loud!  I was REALLY loud!  Ask your child!

Mrs. Lasher asked if her class could join us and since she was there, she offered to add some hot air to see if we could break the glass together!  But we still couldn't break the glass!

(Teamwork!!)

Mr. O'Hara and Ms. Miller came to watch and both tried to break the glass...no luck!  But stay tuned, because once I get my voice back, I plan to try again...I might go and buy glass number FIVE to see if that's the magic number!

Tooth Fairy Visits

On Friday the Tooth Fairy came to visit our classroom!  Actually, it was Mrs. Thorburn, our school's tooth tutor.  Every Friday Mrs. Thorburn is here at HCS to provide instruction in good dental habits.

Mrs. Thorburn led a discussion about proper brushing and flossing habits.  She shared her mouth model (I think she calls it Mr. Big Mouth) and used it as her model for brushing and flossing routines.

She also showed them Mr. Yucky Mouth...a model with advanced tooth decay!  It was REALLY  yucky!  Lots of cavities and gum disease!

Your child brought home a new toothbrush on Friday!  I hope it's being put to good use so no one ends up with a Mr. Yucky Mouth!!!

More Happenings on the 100th Day!

Today we had a visit from VEEP!  That stands for Vermont Energy Education Program.  Our visit was led by VEEP teacher Laura.  Here is Laura with some students as she explains the engineering task they are going to solve.

The engineering task was to create a sail that would move a boat across a string track.  She gave them some options for the type of paper that could be used to make the sail.  Children could choose either a 3X5 index card or plain copy paper in the same size.  They were allowed to leave them in the original shape or cut them to any other shape or size.  They had to attach the sail to a straw and connect it to the "boat"-a styrofoam tray-with clay and/or tape.

Once the sails were designed and boats were built, everyone gathered to see the sails and predict which designs were likely to move the boats.

Then it was time to test their creations and collect data to show which sail designs were able to move the boats across the track.

A fan was our source of wind and each boat and sail was tested.   Ask your child to tell you which sails worked the best!
(Hint: It had as much to do with the size and shape of the sail as it did the rigidity of the mast.  The boats that made it all the way across the track had sails securely attached to the boat with a sail that did NOT bend in the wind.  The masts that bent in the wind allowed the wind to pass over the sail rather than "catch" the wind in order to move the boat.)

Happy Hundredth Day!

Today was the 100th day of school!  I'm sure you already knew that because your children brought such fun and creative projects to school!  Thanks for helping out with those!  Here's a sample of some of the projects we saw with 100 of...something!

Later in the day, each child made a portrait...showing what each will look like at 100-years-old!  Each wrote a "bucket list" of things they plan to do before turning 100...

Some future plans include:

Before I am 100 I will...

go to college

be a teacher

get a car

go on an airplane

get married

have a kid

have a husband!

Before I am 100 I will...

be a race car driver

I will go to college

I will be in the graveyard (!)

I will be president

I will get a car

ride a bike.

Before I am 100 I will...

I will have a house

I will have a child

build a tree house

I will work at a school

I will get married

I will learn cursive

I will be awesome

I will win a race

I will have an awesome life

I will work at a zoo.

Before I am 100 I will...

be an inventor

I will have white shoes

I will have a wife

I will be in a cemetary

I will have a ring

I will be half bald

I will be ancient!

Before I am 100 I will...

I will be married

I will be a skier

I will be a scientist

I will go to college.

I love the order and variety of the hopes and dreams for their future selves!  Let's hope all their dreams come true!!!

Global Play Day a Success!

Wow!  What a great afternoon!  Global Play Day was a huge success!  The kids were so incredibly creative, well-behaved, and joyous, and the afternoon was so much fun!!!

Everyone brought something in and they didn't even get to use much of it.  They used things like the sheets I brought to transform the furniture in our room into groundhog tunnels:

Someone brought a disguise kit and someone else brought dress up clothing...

There were some over sized Lego type blocks and lots of board games!

One friend brought in her bead kit and lots and lots of bracelets and necklaces were made!

Kids played Twister and used some homemade play-doh.

The kids had a great time and said it was the "best day ever"!!!