Our Own Space Mobiles!!

Yesterday the Haifas started one last space project. We have been working very hard on learning the names and order of the planets in our solar system, and so yesterday, we started to create our own mobiles! Each student got their own bag of eight different sized styrofoam balls, and were told they could decorate them however they wanted. We first started with oil pastels, and then realized that they were missing something important...GLITTER!!

Here Zack and Sadie are getting messy with glitter and oil pastels!

Tomorrow we are going to create the rings of Saturn on one ball. We were inspired by Sadie's project that she shared with the class, in which she made Saturn at home! She shared with us how she made the planet, and we are going to try to replicate it!

Keep an eye out for a glittery solar system heading your way soon!!

-Alison

Space Has Taken Over!

The Haifa class has transformed a lot this year. First there was the dinosaur classroom, and now, we have transformed into space. Our classroom is filled with books about planets and stars and the solar system, our art projects have us making our studies come alive, and our circle time is filled with discussions of anything from planet names to the idea of gravity. Here are a few photos to give you an inside look into outer space, formerly known as the Haifa class.

Sara indulges in one of our many easy-read space books! Complete with a globe of Earth, there are books on almost every planet and rock floating around in space.

At the rug, our blocks become a physical way for our students to interact with our studies. Today, Ryan, Leo, and Avram made several rockets and eventually created a space station for them to land at.

At the art table, we used paper plates and puffy paint to decorate what will become planets that will hang from our ceiling! We'll have to be careful not to bump our heads!

A Solar What??

The Haifa class is so lucky! What are the chances that while we are studying space there would be the biggest solar flare in seven years?! Today at circle, we talked about the sun and the solar flare. The children surprised Sauci and me with their extensive knowledge about the sun; ranging from it being a star to the fact that it never goes to sleep! We watched a few clips from YouTube about the solar flare that happened a few days ago, and we thought we would share the favorite with you guys! Just be careful, the sound is a little loud, but the dramatic music makes it great!

-Alison and Sauci

Will it Float or Fall?

In the Haifa class today, we furthered our questioning and knowledge about space. Yesterday we established that there are lots of things that are different between Earth that we live on, and space. Space doesn't have animals, schools, toys, water, or people, but Earth does. Today, we talked about a little thing called gravity. The kids knew that things float in space, but had never really thought about why before. So today, we had a lot of fun talking about whether things would float or fall on Earth and in space. We tested our theory of gravity on Earth by dropping different things to the ground. While we thought a heavier object would fall faster, we realized that the objects fell at the same time! We spent the rest of the day going through choice time figuring out if the things we were using would float or fall in space!

-Alison and Sauci