Week of January 12-16, 2015!

This month is just flying by! As you know, this month we are learning about Inventors/Inventions and this week is electricity week!  Mrs. M has found some really cool stuff for us to experiment with! The children are learning how telephones came to be and how circuits work.  We first discussed telephones, the children explored how well certain sounds pass through a string telephone (i.e. a piece of string with a cup tied on each end).  The experiment included trying different cups, plastic vs. styrofoam vs. tin cans.  We wanted to see of different materials made different sounds, etc.  You will have to ask your child what happened! And if they don't know, you will have to try it at home!

The second half of the week, we introduced the children to Thomas Edison and explored with circuits and batteries (totally safe, we promise!).  Our lesson taught the children that to make a motor work, there must be a connection or a "loop".  With out a loop, the motor will not work.  Mrs. M found this great toy that showed exactly that, it is called an Energy Stick (purchased on the Steve Spangler website).  All 23 children stood in a circle and held hands.  The connection worked when all hands were connected but if the circle was broken, the stick would not light up.  Perfect example of a circuit! The children also explored with a tiny motor to make a fan spin and to make a light bulb light.  Very cool science!

Next week we will wrap up electricity and learn about how popsicles, crayons and toll house cookies came to be! 

Reminders: 
- We will be closed for MLK day on Monday, January 19th.  School we resume as usual on Tuesday.

- Our Monthly gathering is this Sunday, January 18th at 1pm at Collins Bowl-a-drome in Billrica, please RSVP via evite so we know how many children to expect.

- We are collecting non-perishable goods for the Burlington Food Pantry this month.  Please do not forget to bring in items to help our community!

- Lastly, don't forget to tell your friends and neighbors that we are currently enrolling for Fall 2015! If you haven't already done so, please email any schedule changes/additions to Joanna ASAP.  Spots are quickly filling up!

Take a look at all of the fun we had with electricity:

 Some wire explorations at the art tables

 Basic circuit

 Teacher demonstration of using a circuit to make a fan spin

 A student demonstrating how a circuit works with the Energy Stick

 Children working together to make a "loop"

At the science center exploring with the circuit and motor