Monthly Archives: October 2013

First Grade Sound Videos

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Dear Parents,

Our first graders are studying sound and all the ways that they can use their sense of hearing to understand the world.  As a culminating activity, the first grade students will plan and engineer their own instrument.  Mr. Whalen is very excited about this unit as you can imagine.  To help support the first grade teachers, I am embedding some videos in this post for them to use during their teaching.  Feel free to watch them on your own as well.

-Mr. Reed-Swale

What happens when you use sound and technology to make taking the stairs fun?  Watch to find out!

Can a road be musical?  With a little science and engineering, anything is possible.

The final commercial after Honda engineers designed the grooves for the “Musical Road”

*Please note, this is not an endorsement of Honda.  I’m sure they make great cars, I just love the science here.

 

Can a guitar be used as a percussion instrument and a stringed instrument at the same time?


Can you use your voice to add percussion to cello music?

Can glasses be tuned to make music?

 

STEM Night Schedule

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Dear Parents,

As you know, STEM Night is on November 7th, 2013.  We have finalized the schedule for the evening.  Please do your best to be on time and to let other waves arrive.  Since we don’t have enough parking for everyone at the same time, it will help if everyone works together to make the evening run smoothly.

Families with last names: A-F are invited from 5:00 – 5:45
Families with last names: G-P are invited from 5:45 – 6:30
Families with last names: Q-Z are invited from 6:30 – 7:15

Have a great afternoon.  We look forward to seeing you all on November 7th.

-Mr. Reed-Swale

Science All Around Us!

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Dear Parents,

Our students are immersed in some amazing inquiry work right now.  In our Pre-K classes, students are building structures and exploring the properties of water.  In Kindergarten, students are exploring the weather and writing about it.  In first grade, students are exploring everything sound related.  And in second grade, students are investigating the properties of matter (solid, liquid, and gas).  Each room is deep in exploration, learning with activities that engage both their minds and their senses.  I’ve included a few pictures to illustrate the different scientific investigations from our day.

Have a great afternoon!

-Mr. Reed-Swale

Discovery Academy’s Social Media Connections

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Dear Parents,

We’re dipping a toe into the digital waters of social media.  In an effort to better connect you with our school, we have set up a Facebook page and a Twitter feed.  Please like and follow both so that you can get the most up to date information and news about Discovery Academy.  And spread the word.  The more people who connect, the more we can use this as a way to get you information and share stories.

Have a great end to this wonderful long weekend.

-Mr. Reed-Swale

Wild Krats

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You know how “There’s never anything good on TV for kids today!” comes into your lexicon from time to time.  I know that I feel this way when my son wants to watch xyz program of superheros fighting bad guys and animals running over others in the Roadrunner style of show.  It seems like there is nothing well produced for kids that also ties into science.  Not so!

We have a streaming subscription to Netflix which is where I found this show, but you can find it on PBS as well.  The show is called The Wild Kratts and it follows two brothers who learn about animals and their creature features as they work through some dramatized issues.  The brothers Chris and Martin Kratt are both animated characters and real life environmentalists.  I can’t recommend this show any higher.  My son loves it and I now cite the Wild Kratts when he wants to keep that bug or salamander he found in the yard overnight.

I’ve included an episode from their YouTube channel for you to preview.  The show is available to view on YouTube, is broadcast on PBS, and has back episodes on Netflix.  I hope your children get as hooked as mine are on this amazing and educational show.

-Mr. Reed-Swale

What is THAT?!?

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Parents,

I’m sure you’ve experienced this situation before:  You’re out walking with your child, they stumble upon a bug/animal/leaf/plant and say, “Mom, Dad, what is that?”  You delay as you have no clue what it is they have found (All those beetles look really similar).  So you say something like, “Let’s look it up when we get home!” secretly hoping that they’ll forget so you won’t have to spend a half hour searching through Google Images to find it.

Maybe I’m the only one who has experienced this.  But if you are like me and would like to know more of what you’re looking at, there are two great mobile field guide apps that can help you go from mild mannered parent to instant Science Genius in about 20 seconds.

The first app is called Project Noah and it’s a  field guide where you snap a picture of the plant/creature you’ve found and upload it.  Users on the site can then log on and post information about your find based on their knowledge.  It may take a little while for some feedback, but you can even create a collection of animals and plants from around your house.

The second app is called Leaf Snap.  Leaf snap is similar to Project Noah, but is specific to plants found in the united states.  They are listed alphabetical and you can snap pictures too.  The thing that I like about Leaf Snap is that it shows you multiple versions of the plant leaf and flowers that you might be looking at.

Field guides used to be heavy and cumbersome to use unless you were an expert.  Now you and your student can become nature experts together.

Happy bug and leaf hunting,

-Mr. Reed-Swale

Grade Level Blogs Are Here!

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Dear Parents,

I’m watching the statistics for our STEM Blog increase as I’m posting more frequently and as word seems to be spreading throughout the Discovery Academy community.  But did you know that your student’s teachers are posting their own articles to their own grade-level blogs?  These amazing professionals have jumped in head first and are taking on their blogs with enthusiasm.  I’ve included links to all of their blogs below.

Discovery Academy’s Pre-K Blog

Discovery Academy’s Kindergarten Blog

Discovery Academy’s First Grade Blog

Discovery Academy’s Second Grade Blog

These blogs are a great way to get a peak into your child’s classroom and daily lives.  I hope you check back often with them as your Discovery Academy teachers are working hard to include useful links, newsletters, pictures, and even videos for you to enjoy.

-Mr. Reed-Swale

How to Subscribe to our STEM Blog

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Dear Parents,

If you are reading the STEM blog and would like to know when I publish posts and more to the blog, you can subscribe to our STEM Blog.  To do this, it’s quite easy.  All you need to do is put your email in the “Subscribe” text box to the right of this post.  When you click “Click for STEM Updates” you will be sent a confirmation email.  Once you confirm your email address, you will receive a notification when I post a new article to the blog.  As a disclaimer, I want you to know that I don’t send out batch emails to the subscribers.  The only way you will receive an email is if I post to the blog.  It’s an easy way for you to get updates right when I post.

I hope you continue to read and enjoy our STEM blog.  Please feel free to leave any comments or suggestions on the blog whenever you feel we could do something better or if you’re interested in anything STEM related that I haven’t posted about yet.

-Mr. Reed-Swale

STEM Night

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Dear Discovery Families,

I am proud to announce that our STEM Night is scheduled for November 7th.  We will have many engaging hands-on activities for you and your students to explore.  As we plan out the whole evening and determine the best way to have everyone enjoy the event while being mindful of space and parking, we will share a more detailed schedule.  Check back often as I will be updating this post with more information regarding STEM Night.

As a little preview I can tell you now that it will involve:

  • Structures
  • Senses
  • Instruments
  • Take Apart
  • More…

I can’t wait to see you all on November 7th.

-Mr. Reed-Swale

 

Discovery Academy to Participate in the Connecticut Invention Convention.

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Dear Parents,

This past Saturday, I spent the day at the Talcott Mountain Science Center working with other science teachers from across the state.  We came together for the day to discuss our schools’ participation in the Connecticut Invention Convention (CIC).   Now in it’s 30th year, the CIC is a state-wide program that guides students through the engineering process as they work to solve real world problems.

This year, our second grade students will participate in the CIC process.  As a former CIC participant (yes you will see my “Immovable Bowl” video), I am excited to bring such a rewarding program to our students. Our program will kick off with an engaging take apart activity at STEM Night on November 7th.  We will work toward our local invention convention at Discovery Academy in early April.  The culminating event will be held at UConn on May 3rd where we will send several of our students as representative inventors with all other second graders as their support network.

As we move forward, I want to emphasize that the goal of the program is NOT the invention.  The goal is to teach students the engineering process as they work toward an invention.  With a maximum budget of $25, we are not developing the perfect gadget made out of titanium.  Instead, we will use developmentally appropriate materials so that students can spend more of their effort on the process of improving their idea and the way to solve their chosen problem.

I will post more about this program and how we will develop it at Discovery Academy in the near future.  If you would like to learn more about the program in general, you can access a story that NPR published this morning.

-Mr. Reed-Swale