Pre-K, Kindergarten, and 1st grade explore Science!

Science Month has started with a bang... or should I say a drop!  Our youngest students learned about forces.  Specifically they learned about Push, Pull, Gravity, and Friction as they explored with ramps.  We are lucky enough to have the help of Dr. Bob Williams ("Dr. Bob" to the kids) who came and led this hands on experiment.  He started the lesson explaining to the kids that they are scientists and today they would be exploring and experimenting.  He showed them the materials and a few guidelines and then set them off to discover!  It was so fun to watch them try new things, make mistakes, try again, and finally get their ramps to work according to their plan.  After they finished we gathered in a circle to discuss what actually happened.  Dr. Bob taught them the terms: gravity, ramps, friction, push, and pull.  They know hand motions to demonstrate each term as well.  Feel free to ask them!  Because we did the exact same activity with all 3 grade levels, we got to see how each age group handled the challenge.  It was interesting to watch the differences among each of the three grades.  It was really fun for me to take a second seat in leading an activity and to watch Dr. Bob work with the students.  Here's a video of the cards the students made to show what they learned.

Here are some photos of the process of learning:

Kindergarten:

Pre-K

1st grade:

Pre-K: