A Cute Tote and Properties of Matter

This sister finally broke down and got a rolling tote. The bag(s) I carry to and from school have been causing my neck and shoulder a lot of grief [not to mention a few other reasons]. So I went on a search and found this really cute rolling tote at Garden Ridge [who would have thought!]. 

Not only is it stylish but it will cut down on my neck problems [fingers crossed]!

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Our classes have been studying properties of matter.  We started by talking about our 5 senses.

We also made a 5 senses mystery book.  The students picked any place they wanted and wrote down clues about the place, illustrated a picture, and then wrote the answer on the back of the page.  We decided [since they turned out so stinkin cute] to bind them into a book for parents to look at during conferences.

Our students are really good at telling the difference between solids, liquids, and gases. I like to think it's not only our teaching skills but also the adorable activities that accompany! hehe  We made a flap book and played a sorting game. Both of these activities can be found here.

We also talked a lot about how we can sort different objects. Here you can see two of our cuties sorting hearts.  I set a Smart Board timer for 1 minute and told the partners to sort the hearts.  They thought it was so easy! So I set the time for 1 minute again and told them to sort the hearts a different way.  By the 5th time I told them to sort them a different way they were really challenged to think of yet another way!  Their brains got quite a work out with this activity. 



 

After they sorted the hearts we made a list, on the Smart Board, of all the different ways. Take a look at the list we came up with...

But by far the favorite lesson was on mixtures. Everyone was asked to bring in a sandwich baggie full of their favorite snack.  We suggested things like pretzels, M&Ms, marshmallows, chocolate chips, peanuts, Chex... We put it all together in a big bowl and made "Trail Mix"ture. 

An educational activity and a yummy snack!

We'd love to hear some of your ideas for teaching properties of matter!