Month: October 2022

Do pumpkins sink or float?  During our Science Lab on Wednesday we decided to tackle this question and make predictions about what we thought.  Before we made our guesses we talked a little about what we thought a scientist’s job was.  Theo said “They figure stuff out and they know stuff we don’t know.”  Jason  said “Scientists create stuff”.  Vivaan added that “Scientists work very hard!”  And Ana said “Scientists can make stuff we don’t know how to make.”  We decided that scientists know a lot but we also discussed how they make guesses or “predictions” to prove their hypothesis.  Division 24 went to work making their guesses about whether or not our pumpkins would sink or float in the water table.  As we chatted, we soon discovered that we really had two predictions:

1. The big pumpkin will sink

2. The little pumpkin will float.

We used the water table to test our predictions.  Most of the class thought that the bigger pumpkin would sink and the small one would float.  Many children said that small things float so the smaller pumpkin should float too.  Pablo said “The big pumpkin will sink because it is heavy and bigger” and most of the class seemed to agree with this idea. There was a lot of excitement and surprise when we put the pumpkins in the water table! What do you think happened?  Scroll through the pictures to see what the children discovered!

Division 24 had a successful first field trip to the Laity Pumpkin Patch today!  We had so much fun exploring the pumpkin patch.  We were able to pet animals in the petting zoo and “milk” some cows, go through two corn mazes and a fun tractor ride.  We visited a magical forest that had garden gnomes, Goldie Locks and the 3 Bears, fairies  and even some dinosaurs, among other things.  The class had some exciting fun bouncing in the play area, playing tug of war and fishing!  We ended our day by picking pumpkins in the fields.  When we came back to class, Division 24 shared some of their favourite moments of the day.  Some highlights of the day were: going on the school bus, bouncing in the play area, petting the animals and of course picking pumpkins!  Ask your child to tell you about their favourite part of the field trip.

During Math Workshop we have been exploring and learning about patterns.  The children have learned that a pattern is something that repeats.  We have been using manipulatives in the classroom to create patterns but on Wednesday we decided to go outside and see if we could find any patterns.  The class noticed patterns all around us.  We saw patterns on the fencing, patterns on the music room ramp and even patterns on the playground.  Division 24 practiced being Mathematicians and recorded what they saw.  We made our way over to the “Magic Forest” and made patterns using the natural elements in the forest.  Can you see the patterns uncovered in the forest?