The beginning of the year is rife with uncertainty. Will my desk stay organized? Will I be part of a challenging reading group? Will there be a lot of hands-on science featuring a dubious variety of messy materials? Will my teacher allow me to collect insects outdoors if I promise to write a brief lab report? More than anything, though, will it be fun?
The answer to all of those questions, I'm hoping, is yes. Especially that fun part. Popular sentiment on "fun" in the classroom has finally shifted. Now, more than ever, fun is recognized as an essential component of learning. As it should be.
To marry science, math, and fun a bit further, we conducted a simple experiment with tin foil, water, and pennies. The kids were tasked with constructing their own tin foil boats. Concepts such as buoyancy and sturdiness had to be addressed. Size constraints were put in place in order to keep the playing field fun.
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| Austin, Griffin, and Alexa get to work |
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| Celian's got a good plan |
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| Putting on some final touches.. |
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Ana Sofia starts loading the penny cargo. Rather than playing mere witnesses, we tally up the final count on our charts
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Daniel tests his boat on its maiden voyage
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| We're impressed that we have surpassed our predictions! |
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| We use graphs to chart the results of each boat. |
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| Tyler's exceptional boat held 73 pennies! |
It's my hope that learning feels effortless when there is a constant and healthy mix of
fun involved.
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