Energy

The last chapter for the month covers energy and how it occurs in many forms. Your child will be able to differentiate among forms of energy including light, heat, electrical, and solar.

Parents, after you review the following resources and activities with your child, look around your house and complete a list together of things in your home that uses the different energy sources listed above.

What uses too much energy in your home? Develop a plan to reduce your energy usage.

• Not sure what is an Energy Hog in your home? Follow the link and become and Energy Hog Detective!



• There are words that you may use daily and do not realize that the same word can have an energy meaning. Energy Slang will show you exactly what those words are.



• Another great source is Kidsconnect.com. This website will give a complete overview on electrical energy. This site will be beneficial to your child.

Saving the best for last! The last activity involves heat and solar energy. Parents with your help, you child will be able to create his/her own Pizza Solar Box! This activity is not only fun, but is a great hands on activity to help your child understand heat and solar energy better.

The Natural World

Now, lets take a look at landforms. This week, students should understand how landforms are the result of forces such as deposition of sediment and weathering. Parents, help your kids look around your community to discover the landforms near you!

There are two types of weathering, physical and chemical. Windows to the Universe is a great website that shows examples both types of weathering.

Still need some extra resources? Take a look at these pictures of valleys. Here you can read about how the deposition of sediment can create other landforms.

Kidsgeo.com has many pictures of landforms and also shows the land form process!

Change is Everywhere!

We will be looking at life cycles of plants and animals and comparing the changes that occur in these cycles. Students will be able to describe and compare the two life cycles. Parents, these are only a few of the life cycles that we will learn about. Help your child recognize other animal life cycles.



The first animal we will look at is the frog. The Life Cycle of the Frog gives excellent pictures that show the different stages of the life cycle, beginning with the egg and ending of course with a full grown frog. Did you know that frogs have tails?


Once you have looked over the life cycle of the frog, visit this website to see The Life Cycle of the Butterfly. The butterfly has four stages. Can you see the difference or similarities already between the butterfly and the frog?


Next, take a look at the plant life cycle. The life cycle of a plant is the length of time a plant lives or grows from a seed into a flower. The Great Plant Escape gives examples of different kinds of plants and the parts of a plant as well. Once you reach the end of the website you can take the quiz to test your knowledge.

Think you've got it? If so, test your skills at Funschool.com. Here you can find three games for all three life cycles. All you have to do is put the stages of each in order!

Science Safety!

Welcome Parents and Students,

Thank you so much for stopping by and taking time out to visit my blog. This week we will begin our science activities with science safety.

It is very important that students know how to conduct field and laboratory investigations following home and school safety procedures and environmentally appropriate and ethical practices.

To do this, parents, practice and review with your child the procedures that students should be able to demonstrate. These include, safety practices during field and lab investigations as well as making good choices when disposing or recycling of materials.

The following website will give you a quick checklist of what safety equipment and procedures are acceptable. Science News for Kids

Even though now you are familiar with the safety procedures, you may still not be aware of all the dangerous labels that you can come across even in your own home. Safety and Chemicals is a great source that displays different chemical labels and their meanings, so you know to be cautious of them.

If you are still unsure, view this great video! The Do's and Don'ts of Lab Safety . This video shows all the basic "Do's and Don'ts" that I will be looking for in lab. (Stick around for the ending, there are some funny teacher "bloopers"!)