Stupendous Thursday!

Thursday June 6th, 2013

Our classroom had more visitors today than we have had all year! Everyone brought a snuggly friend with them to school and our classroom was filled with happy friends sharing their favorite lovies with one another.

After morning meeting, we began our day with another classroom visitor. Lilly had brought with her not only her gigantic elephant lovey, but her mom, Alix, as well! Alix is a type of scientist called a geologist, and she brought with her a fun activity to share with the children some of her knowledge. She showed everyone some of the tools a geologist might need including a tool called a hand lens which is a tiny magnifying glass which she uses to look at rocks up close. Alix not only studies rocks found here on earth, but also what can be found on other planets. She brought a book with her to share with the children about the moon, and we talked about how we study other planets in our solar system. She even showed us a picture of Mars that she herself took by sending a message from her computer to a rover that was visiting the planet!

The experiment she brought to share with us looked at how craters are created. Alix explained that there are many many rocks in space that come from other planets, sometimes from craters making other craters, or from when our solar system was formed. These rocks sometimes run into planets or moons, and this makes craters. Alix brought an activity with flour covered in a layer of green sand. Taking turns, everyone was allowed to choose a ball of different sizes and weights and dropped them into the sand and flour as if they were rocks hitting a planet out of space. After dropping the "space rocks" the children discussed what they observed with Alix.

                                                                       

Our scientific Thursday continued with a visit to our middle school friends in Violet's mom, Kristin's science class.  We enjoyed the wonderful invitation from the Middle School to experience volcanic eruptions. They walked us through this hands-on process and interacted beautifully with the children as chemical reactions were created mixing together baking soda, vinegar and food coloring. The Middle School Science class even sculpted their very own volcanoes using modeling dough and shared with us their idea of giving them to our class as gifts so the Cardinals can try out this new experiment at home. Look for the volcanoes and a letter coming from the our Middle School friends in days ahead!                                                                  

Tomorrow is our Spring Concert - "I Dream A World of Blue". We will be having a full rehearsal with the lower school tomorrow morning and the performance and art exhibit will take place in the afternoon. Please see below for details:

I Dream A World Of Blue
An AFS Early Childhood and Lower School Spring Program

Friday, June 7, 2013
1:30 p.m.
Abington Friends School Muller Auditorium

~ Spring Program Performance Attire ~
All lower school students should dress in black shirts and long, black pants.  Students are welcome to add a blue accessory as a way to connect to our program theme (a blue bowtie, blue hair accessory, a blue scarf, etc.)  We encourage students to be creative with this choice!  Students are welcome to bring their concert attire clothing to school onThursday, June 6, 2013.  All students will be given the opportunity to change at schoolon Friday morning prior to the performance.  
Please note that all students will be involved in movement activities on stage and should wear pants and comfortable shoes (no heels, sandals or flip flops please).
We look forward to celebrating our accomplishments with you on Friday, June 7th in the AFS Muller Auditorium beginning at 1:30 p.m.

Thank you for all the support and help that the Cardinal Families have provided us this year. We look forward to the next few days and the special events that will be taking place.