Sink or Float With An Autumn Theme

Sink or Float is such a popular piece of work at our little yellow school.  While on an Autumn walk around our school grounds, the children collected some items for an Autumn Themed Sink or Float.  (Sometimes the children call this work 'Sink or Swim'.)

Autumn Themed Sink or Float

The children took turns dropping items into the tub of water. There was much discussion over whether the gourd and the pumpkin would float.  Will they?  Scroll down to find out!

Our first student grew the gourd he is dropping into the tub in his own garden!

A gourd grown by this student!  It floats!

A Rock

A Pine Branch

A Small Pumpkin - It floats!

A Stick

A Pinecone

Another Pinecone

The only item that did not float was the rock.  It sank quickly.

Most of our objects floated.  Only the rock sank.

Once we had dropped all our objects into the tub, some children took turns collecting leaves and dropping them into the tub.  The leaves float!

Why do items sink or float?  In the most simplest terms, each item is made up of molecules.  In some items, such as the rock, the molecules are packed together tightly.  In other items, such as the pinecone and stick, molecules are more spread out.  How closely molecules are packed together is called density.  Density determines why some things float and others sink.

In our experiment, most of our objects were less dense than water.  Only the rock was more dense.  Although many children predicted the gourd and pumpkin would sink due to their size, they are hollow inside and filled with air.  This enabled them to float.

Things That Float and Things That Don't by David A. Adler is a great book to further explore this concept.

A Seasonal Treat

Looking for a healthy seasonal snack?  Let the children at our little yellow school show you how to roast pumpkin seeds!

After carving your pumpkin, separate the seeds from the pulp.  Rinse the seeds with water and air dry on wax or parchment paper.

Salt, clean pumpkin seeds and olive oil.

Place dry seeds in a bowl.   Drizzle some olive oil over top.

Drizzle olive oil.

Sprinkle with a tad of salt.

Sprinkle a tad of salt.

Sprinkle a tad of salt.

Stir well to coat the seeds.

Stir.

Stir.

Stir.

Stir.

Transfer the seeds to a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

Ready for the oven.

Bake at 350F for 10 - 15 minutes.  Watch your seeds carefully.  Seeds are ready when they are crisp, light and golden brown.

They're ready!

Enjoy!

Yum!

Delicious!

Our Favourite Halloween Stories For Little Ghouls and Goblins

Halloween is an exciting time at our little yellow school.  The children and teachers enjoy everything about our Halloween celebration - songs, stories, crafts, pumpkin carving, treats for our friends and dressing up for our big party!

At our little yellow school we especially love books!  Here are some of our favourite Halloween stories for the spooky season.  They are not too scary and just perfect for our little ghouls and goblins.

Gustavo The Shy Ghost by Flavia Z. Drago

Gustavo is such an adorable little ghost who loves doing the things that ghosts do.  There is only one problem.  Gustavo is very shy and introverted.  He would like to make friends but he needs to find the courage.

"I have to be brave!  I have to let the other see me!"

Will Gustavo make new friends?  

Stumpkin by Lucy Ruth Cummins

A few days before Halloween, pumpkins were placed on a shelf outside a shop in a big city.  They were happily waiting for someone to take them home and turn them into jack-o-lanterns.  Stumpkin is a practically perfect pumpkin sitting among his friends.

"He was a handsome pumpkin - as orange as a traffic cone.

He was as big as a basketball - and twice as round!"

As Halloween drew nearer, more and more pumpkins left.  Some remained.  Poor Stumpkin began to realize that something was terribly wrong!  He did not have a stem, he only had a stump.  Perhaps someone would prefer a stemless pumpkin.  Will Stumpkin find a new home for Halloween?

The Teeny Tiny Ghost by Kay Winters

It is hard to believe that we have been reading The Teeny Tiny Ghost at our little yellow school since 1999!  It is a Halloween staple and continues to be a favourite year after year.  With delightful text and funny illustrations, this cute Halloween book is one the children cannot get enough of.  The teeny tiny ghost lives with his two teeny tiny black cats.  At night, he goes to school where he is learning to haunt.  Although he howls and he yeowls, all he really does is scare himself!  When he hears some spooky sounds that frighten his teeny tiny cats, can he find the courage to face his fears?  

The adventures of the Teeny Tiny Ghost continue in Whooo's Haunting the Teeny Tiny Ghost?

Five Little Pumpkins  by Dan Yaccarino

In the days leading up to Halloween, this song/fingerplay is our absolute favourite!  We are also partial to singing it any time of the year!  We love those five little pumpkins sitting on a gate.  

"Ooooo-eeee went the wind and out went the light.

And five little pumpkins rolled out of sight."

That is the end of the rhyme, but did you know that Five Little Pumpkins Came Back (by Dan Yaccarino)?!  Don't miss their new adventures!

Other Halloween favourites for 3 to 6 year old ghouls and goblins include:

Little Boo by Stephen Wunderli

Where's My Mummy?  by Carolyn Crimi

If You're Spooky and You Know It by Aly Fronis

Little Halloween - Lots of Fun with Rhyming Riddles 

Happy Halloween!

Math Materials ~ The Small Bead Frame ~ Operations ~ Subtraction

*The second of three blog posts about the Montessori Small Bead Frame.

The Small Bead Frame is an arithmetic material which helps a child move toward an abstract understanding of mathematical operations.  Addition, subtraction and multiplication equations are solved using this material.  

The Small Bead Frame

The Small Bead Frame is introduced at either the end of the Montessori casa program (ages 3 to 6 years) or at the beginning of the Montessori lower elementary program (ages 6 to 9 years).  Work with the Golden Beads Decimal System material 

Solving an Addition Equation with the Golden Bead Decimal Material

and the Stamp Game precede this work.

Solving an Addition Equation with the Stamp Game

How is the Small Bead Frame used to solve subtraction equations?

Subtraction - Static

Let's solve a static (no borrowing) subtraction equation.  

4,693 - 3,251 =

Form the minuend by sliding 3 unit beads, 9 ten beads, 6 hundred beads and 4 thousand beads to the right.

The minuend - 4,693 - is on the right of the Small Bead Frame.

Have the child subtract the subtrahend by sliding the beads to the left.  Slide 1 unit bead to the left.  What is the difference?  Write 2 on the Small Bead Frame paper.  Do the same for the tens, hundreds and thousands.

The difference of the equation - 1,442 - is on the right.

The difference is on the right.  The difference is 1,442.

4,693 - 3,251 = 1,442

Subtraction - Dynamic

Let's solve a dynamic subtraction equation.  Dynamic subtraction equations involve borrowing.  

7,963 - 3,428 =

Form the minuend by sliding 3 unit beads, 6 ten beads, 9 hundred beads and 7 thousand beads to the right.

The minuend - 7,963 - is on the right.

Subtract the subtrahend by sliding the beads to the left.  For the units, begin sliding the unit beads to the left.  We have 3 unit beads and must subtract 8.  Slide the 3 unit beads to the left. 

Three unit beads have been slid over to the left.  We will borrow one ten
by sliding a ten bead from the right to the left.  This will give us ten units
which will be slid to the right.  Continue subtracting.

We need more unit beads.  Where can we find them?  We can borrow 1 ten bead from the tens row by sliding it over to the left.  Slide the ten fresh units over to the right and continue subtracting the minuend.  Your answer is 5 unit beads.  Write the answer on the Small Bead Frame paper.

Continue subtracting the subtrahend.

Continue sliding the beads of the subtrahend to the left.

The difference is 4,535 (on the right).

The difference is on the right.  The difference is 4,535.

7,963 - 3,428 = 4.535

A Blog Post explaining multiplication with the Small Bead Frame will follow.

Note:  This material is introduced to children at 5 1/2 + in a Montessori program (SK - grade 1).  Numbers to the thousands are introduced to children in grade 4 of the Ontario Math Curriculum.  The addition and subtraction of numbers to 1000 is expected by the end of grade 3 of the Ontario Math Curriculum.