Mud Water!

After conducting an experiment on "dry mud" (aka dirt!), we had to try out the "mud water" Hendrix told us about!

We talked about how we can make mud.  The children said that when it rains, dirt turns into mud.

The students went out back to collect some dirt for our experiment....

Our hard workers were shoveling as much dirt as possible!

After putting all the dirt in one big container, we sat around outside to double check our first science experiment with "dry mud".

The children recreated the Arboretum using clay and trees.  The clay dried and became hard.  This held the trees in place, and no matter how hard we blew air on them, they didn't fall.  We even tried to push them down with our hands and the trees stood up.  This helped the children see that the trees use firm ground to keep them standing straight up in the ground.

The children made sure none of the trees fell out! ;o)

We tugged as hard as we could....but they didn't budge!

Next we asked the children what we could use to turn the dirt into mud?

"WATER!", they responded right away!

Sooo, we all took turns pouring just the right amount...

While some of us had sticks to stir the mud and water together...

the rest of us went to search for more....

We all returned with a stick of our own and worked together to make the mixture!

We loved seeing MUD WATER! It looked so interesting to us....

Finally it was time to put the trees in!

So as the children tried, and saw it couldn't stand up...we discussed how the mud water was too wet and was not strong enough for the tree to stand up....

We still tried a couple of times more to make sure!! ;-)

The students went to draw the conclusion to this science experiment...

Here were some of their responses to the tree being on the ground:

"If it gets muddy, the roots go." - Kylie

"If the wind blows and mud is under the tree and the water in the sky make it fall." -Bishop

"The rain comes and the the mud makes it fall." -Sam

"Fell down!" (the trees fell down.) 

We can't wait to show you all the other things we have been working on from this field trip!!

A Rhino knocked the tree down!

The day after we returned back to school from our field trip, we had so much to talk about and see!

The teachers got all the pictures developed from our field trip...

We all gathered around the table to talk about what we saw from the pictures...

We had a lot to share! :o)

" I liked seeing the worms!"

"I saw an ant stump that was sharp!"

                           "I found a caterpillar with my mom!"      " I like being with my friends!"

" It's all my friends!"

 After sharing all our thoughts about that day, we picked a picture and described what we like most about our day at the Arboretum, Please check out our work displayed in the hallway!

One very interesting detail that caught the children's eyes was a tree that was on the ground. Bishop shouted to everyone, " A rhino knocked it over!"

So of course we thought this would be a great opportunity to do a science project when we came back to class...

The children were asked why the tree fell? They responded by telling me different things:

"Some one cut it." -Bishop

Some one ripped it.-Kylie

We discussed that dirt keeps the tree in the ground.

We asked the children what happens when it rains? "It gets muddy and turns soft."

This is when the children began understanding that when it rains the roots begin to get loose because the wet mud  is no longer strong enough to support the tree, and the wind blowing increases the chances of the tree falling.

Hendrix hollered, "The mud made it fall down in to the mud water!"

The children showed me how the tree gets knocked over by creating their own demonstrations!

"Watch how the wind knocks the tree over!"

"Wait wait, watch this!"

The children began drawing their illustrations of how the trees get knocked over from the muddy water.

"The wind blew hard and the tree fell down into the mud."

We tested out our theory by using some clay and trees we bought from the store. We covered our whole ground with mud (clay) and put in a few trees..and after a few days of it hardening we all tested it out to see if the tree would fall over with so much support and no water!

We were excited to see they were all still standing tall!

Stayed tuned to for our second part of the project where we will test our trees out in muddy water! =)

A Visit to the Arboretum!

As we began to pull out different maps to learn about landmass and legends, the children began to notice all the different animals on the map.

"Walruses live in Greenland? Did you see the beaver in Canada? Whoa! Look at that alligator in Mississippi!"

As the students continued to look at the maps, they realized that there are many animals that live in specific areas. We than discussed what a habitat is and how each animals needs a home and food.

We thought, “Wouldn’t it be perfect for the students to see this first hand?” We ventured to the Houston Arboretum: A place where trees and animals are protected for the purpose of studying animals in the natural setting. There the students were asked to make specific observations. They were asked to note anything they touched, smelled, heard, saw, and tasted. From these observations, the students were able to identify the animals and the habitats that they lived in!

The children were responsible for their own documentation and photography! 

(Our little scientists in the making!) ;0)

Here is a slide show of all the amazing pictures taken from our field trip! ;o)

Make a Free Flash Slideshow
As we returned back the children were so excited to talk about all the things we saw there! We took out our worksheets that we filled out at the Arboretum.  We wrote down and drew things we heard, saw, touched, and smelled.  We also wrote and drew about the signs we found that helped us know what animals lived there.  The children have been looking at the pictures from our trip to help them deepen our learning that took place there. 

The photos are helping us discuss and understand more about this habitat and the animals that live there.

" I see an Armadillo like on the field trip!"

We are now looking at more books and pictures to help us learn about the animals that live at the Arboretum.  So many ideas have stirred up after visiting the Arboretum! ......stay tuned for updates on our project work!