Hello KITE Families, The curious minds of your

Hello KITE Families, The curious minds of your

 2013
Hello K.I.T.E. Families, The curious minds of your wonderful children have been moving at full speed this week. There has been so much learning going on you would be astonished. The week swung into action with a presentation by Peter Bloom, domino physicist who discussed the principles of gravity, potential and kinetic energy. The children bounded with enthusiasm as they watched the results of their construction: a mega domino chain that ran from the top of a wall, down the floor where it zigzagged all around the gym ending with a very large Jenga type domino tower in the middle that finally collapsed!!! All this allowed for great follow up discussions and application in the classroom. The week for the Rollercoasters started by solving cryptogram codes to reveal interesting facts about rollercoasters and a visit to the computer lab to play a game on how to use potential and kinetic energy to build a rollercoaster. Then it was on to experiments that demonstrate Newton’s Laws of Motion. With all this new knowledge, they started construction on their own paper rollercoasters, experimenting with design change to get the most momentum. The Carousels room was actively involved in a variety of activities that integrate creativity and scientific theories. They were thinking outside the box by using empty cartons to create their own projects. The energy flowed as they designed their own virtual world or exhibit to show understanding of energy, force and the laws of motion. There was a lot of movement in the Ferris Wheels class. They spun their bodies around to act out the earth’s rotation and revolution around the sun, and then created their own models of the Earth. They conducted experiments to see which car would travel the furthest, by placing different materials at the end of the ramp to see which materials would create the most friction. It isn’t often that you are allowed to bounce a ball off a classroom wall, but that was the case for the Star Blasters as they tested how much force was needed to make it roll fast enough to bounce back to them. There was also poetry in motion as they wrote poems inspired by collages they created of things that move. There will be great fun as they create space crafts or machines that will move and explode! Freefalls used skits to explain the principles in Laws of Motion and then they demonstrated equal-­‐opposite reaction by building balloon cars to test the law. You will see many Rube Goldberg inventions (chain reaction) as these students designed rides with Kinex to illustrate all they have learned. Scramblers have been creative, performing charades featuring things and animals that move. They discussed air and water as forces causing motion by making rockets, cup/ball games and researching on the computer. Most impressive are the amusement park rides made from cardboard, tubes and egg cartons. Try playing one of the amusement park game boards they created. The Tilt-­‐a-­‐Whirls have been busy prepping for their play of “King Thrushbeard” reading it aloud with parts, making puppets, designing sets, and arranging a Google Presentation as a background for the play. There has also been lots of work creating games with the concept of motion while some of the filmmakers practice their skill making I-­‐Movies of week-­‐long experiments so they will be prepared to film the final production! Each morning the Bumper Cars’ day began by putting their brains into motion by creating comic strips, poems and even explaining why they have to place their body in a certain manner to move. There was much discussion about the term “intangibles” as one of the categories as they sorted their data of “things that move” and finally decided that it was a good place for light, gravity and air. It will be interesting to see their final projects based on motion on earth and motion in space. Fascinating things have been happening in SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS in the K.I.T.E. halls as well.!!! The Mathercise group was busy moving their bodies and working their brains! They were determined to increase both their math skills and heart stamina!! They learned about mean, median and mode by working with data from their timed running, they calculated jumps by measuring and computing the totals, and incorporated exercise and math by joining yoga and geometry In Physical Science, paper airplanes and hoop gliders were used to demonstrate Bernoulli’s Principle, while marshmallow launchers and the infamous “egg drop” demonstrated concepts in physics like velocity, acceleration, inertia, and kinetic energy. There was lots of excitement as the groups made lava lamps to discuss hydrophobic vs. hydrophilic molecules. The Minds in Motion had fun interacting with their peers and trying to stump each other using different math games, one of which had them using all their skills of computation to get the highest score. They acted out math logic puzzles, using teamwork, brainstorming and many tries to do so following all the rules. Getting the last of the three green frogs to the other side was not easy! The young artists in Exploration of Art began the week with a ‘progressive collage’ art project where each person contributed one shape to all the others resulting in some very unique pieces of art. They continued on into the week with crayon resist, bead work jewelry and clay sculptures. The Tech Talks became engineers on the computer by using a variety of websites to create a power point of their favorite amusement park images, and then they used Kidpix to match words to the images. It was great fun to test drive and review different roller coasters. The thespians in Actors’ Theater explored the various elements of stories and plays such as characters, settings, and problems by making ‘character cards’ and ‘plot cards’. After writing dialogue between characters they added personality to these characters with a variety of props, costumes, and settings for some excellent improvisation. In Rocket Science, the young scientists have explored the physics of paper airplanes, balsa wood gliders, balloon rockets, and model rockets with solid propellant engines. On a power point slide show, they traced the earliest aviators, such as the Wright brothers and Lindbergh's solo flight and then compared these to modern aviation's incredible accomplishments. Similarly, they traced a trajectory for the history of modern rocketry. Ni Hao! Every day the Mandarin Express students learned useful phrases in Chinese, and explored a different aspect of Chinese culture. They tried Chinese calligraphy, made clay pandas, solved tangram puzzles, explore how silk is made and painted lanterns. Each day also features stories related to the theme of the day. Books they enjoyed included: Little Panda, Panda Kindergarten, Grandfather Tang's Story, Lin Yi's Lantern, and Cleversticks. The Science in Motion group experimented with rolling things, flying things, floating things, and spinning things. They experimented with how a ball would roll depending on the angle and surface of the ramp. It was a challenge to keep the momentum going around curves and corners! They created flying creations that glided into, floated on, spun around and cut through the air with great success. Finally, the week will end with science of motion in water as they make simple floating devices and design propulsion systems to make them zip through the water. Inspired by wonderful classic children’s literature, paper plates, bowls, pipe cleaners, glitter and glue were transformed into turtles, monkeys, bears, chameleons and monsters by Puppet Connection group. After performing with their puppets on different styles of stages, they discussed which one was best for each character, and then designed their own stage using cereal boxes. You may see their names ‘in lights’ someday! Learning to take care of themselves outdoors by building a shelter was one skill Surviving and Thriving students learned. Having an awareness of the force and direction of the wind helped with their decision making. They also did orienteering using compasses to plot direction and after looking at maps used directionality to make simple maps. It has been an amazing week at K.I.T.E. 2013!! What better way is there to spend a week in the summer than by learning, creating and smiling with a whole class of motivated learners? Thank you for sharing your capable and enthusiastic children with us! ____________________ ___________________ Janis Baron Ethel Coltin