We got involved in making boats out of popsicle sticks, corks, and sails. Friends loved this project and said they wanted to try them out to see if they would float or sink. This opened up a lot of discussion on the science of sinking and floating.
Friends creating and gluing their boats...
Adding a sail...
After the boats dried, we experimented with them the next day...we took out a small pool and filled it with river rocks to get a natural feel :)
Friends also added animals...
Time to try out our boats...
Here are the results: some boats floated, some sank. We soon learned that the corks used for the base were great. They floated! However, the glue washed off in the water and the boats started to come apart. Additionally, some boats were not symmetrical. They were heavier on one side than the other, perhaps because the sails were not quite centered. Also, the sails got wet and our boats sank, leaving only the corks to float. So friends used the corks as rafts and gave the animals a floating ride :)
K checking if the corks will hold the frog and still float or not. She was very happy to conclude that the raft was the best floating vehicle!
After our popsicle boats sank in water, friends wanted to build a Titanic. Some friends had no idea what theTitanic was, so we started from scratch. We saw a few videos that gave us enough knowledge about the ship. It was great to revisit these historical archives and learn so much from them. We also watched animations of how the ship cracked and how it sank to the ocean floor. The iceberg part was the most fascinating! We spoke about the scientist who discovered the remains of the half of the boat. Friends had amazing questions as to why they didn't pull it up, what was all the messy stuff on it, what was this part and that part. We talked about each question and together had so much fun exploring a big moment in history!
We printed a few pictures of how the Titanic sank. Here friends are talking to each other about the entire event step by step!
The next step was creating the Titanic...
We gave them tons of open ended materials and they collected what they wanted to build their Titanics. At the same time, they were thinking of how they were going to use and attach their collected materials and design their ships!
M collecting his supplies...
All the friends gathered their chosen materials at the table and started to create their ships. Each time they picked something they kept checking with a teacher and asking, "Will this float?"
We helped them hot glue their designs...
L chose the yarn to make electrical wires that ran all through the Titanic...
P busy creating his design...
He also made a rescue boat just in case his ship sank...
Other creations...
A made people out of model clay and added them to her ship...
A's titanic..well, this is just one fourth of it...she made a huge ship and connected the compartments together in a unique way :)
Soon we set out to see if our Titanics will float, or crack and fill up with water, or break apart...
To our surprise, not even one sank! All the friends chose perfect materials that kept their huge boats/ ships afloat :) This was one proud moment to boast about!
Friends also created Titanics with magna tiles...
They pretended to steer the ship and creatively found materials outside and put them together into a ship...hats off to their imaginations!
We drew with our fingers on the table covered with sand...
Our Titanic project really helped each of us understand the concept of sinking and floating and finding ways to modify things that sank after the trial and error stage.
With our children's interests and minds on the go 24/7, such child driven projects are always the priority of our emergent curriculum!
Keep seeing you around!
Hugs,
Teacher Rashida
