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mooreboyz
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| Posted: Aug 12 2009 at 4:10pm | IP Logged
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Does anyone have a new, bit more advanced take on the "Does it float?" activity? I want to put it out on my 5 year old's shelf for Sept so he can do it outside; but, he has a pretty good grasp on ordinary objects and if they float or not. I fear if I put out the same old thing as the past 2 years he won't even touch it.
How do the Montessori 3-6 year schools handle this? Do they just rotate the same things each year? Or do they offer more advanced versions for the 3rd year students?
Anyone know?
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Jackie
7 boys - 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 15, 17 years
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lapazfarm
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You could offer small pitchers with three different density liquids like colored water, oil (baby oil or vegetable oil), and corn syrup and have him make a density column by pouring the liquids into a mason jar 1 at a time. He could make a picture of his results. Then he could add some typical small objects one at a time and see if they sink, float, or settle into a particular layer. Those results could be recorded also.
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Theresa
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ekbell
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I'm not completely familar with this activity but my first thought is what about a 'can you make it float?' centre?
My darlings love to make boats out of modeling clay (the slightly greasy stuff that doesn't dry out or dissolve in water).
It's neat how the same stuff that sinks when it's in the shape of a ball will float when it's in the shape of a boat. And if you manage to trap air in a pocket of thin modeling clay, sometimes you can float the pocket! And sometimes the air escapes and the pocket sinks. And you can see just how much you can pile on the boat before it sinks.
Another fun thing is to combine magnets and water.
Combining things that float, magnetic/nonmagnetic material and magnets attached to fishing poles is a recipe for hours of fun.
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lapazfarm
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Oh, yes, the previous post reminded me of a fun activity we did from the Think! blog. Make a boat out of a piece of aluminum foil and see how many pennies you can put in before it sinks. Be sure to put out several pieces of foil so ds can try different designs. Lots of fun.
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Theresa
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AndieF
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My children sometimes watch Fetch! on PBS, and they have a number of fun science activities, including a couple variations on "Will It Float?"
http://pbskids.org/fetch/parentsteachers/activities/index.ht ml
Andie, homeschooling mom to dd 9, dd 7, and ds 4.
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mooreboyz
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Perfect! Thanks for the ideas everyone!
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Jackie
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mooreboyz
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| Posted: Aug 18 2009 at 7:12am | IP Logged
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Well I came up with a plan if anyone is interested...
Week 1: Compare what floats in plain water vs what will float in salt water
Week 2: Do this cool crayon floating experiment
crayon floating
Week 3: Observe water, oil, syrup when poured together and then compare these liquids separately as well as others like soda, milk, or whatever he wants to try and see what floats in what. The fetch website has some good printables for this.
Week 4: Boats...Build a tin foil boat and see how many pennies he can add (see think blog). Also try floating a piece of clay and then making it flat so it can float. Then try making other things into boats and see what will carry the most.
I think this will be one he'll work a lot. Thanks for all your help!
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Jackie
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lapazfarm
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Sounds like fun!
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Theresa
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4Real Forums : Nurturing the Years of Wonder
Topic: does it float?
