Letter K, Kites and Wind, Separating Numbers

by Mamie

Letter K, Kites and Wind, Separating Numbers

9:30 Gathering-Make Baloon Pinwheels

Objective: 

Harness the power of thrust forces to build a rocket pinwheel.

What You Need: 

• Pencil
• Pin
• Balloon
• Flexible Straw
• Tape

To Do and Observe: 

1. Inflate your balloon to stretch it out a bit, and then release the air.2. Slip the end on the balloon over the end of the straw furthest from the bend. Use tape to attach the balloon to the straw.3. Make sure the seal is tight with no leaks by blowing through the straw to inflate the balloon.4. Bend the end of the straw at a right angle.5. Push the pin through the straw, about one inch from the balloon.6. Push the pin (with the straw and balloon) into the eraser of the pencil.7. Spin the straw around a few times to loosen the hole in the straw.8. Your rocket pinwheel is now finished! Blow through the straw to inflate the balloon, then let it go and watch your pinwheel spin!

What's Going On: 

The balloon-powered pinwheel is an example of Newton ’s Third Law of Motion, which states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. If you’ve ever blown up a balloon and let it go you’ve experienced this law by watching the balloon fly around as the air comes out. Air has mass, it is made of molecules. The air molecules that are pushed out of the balloon push against the molecules in the atmosphere creating a reaction force called thrust that acts on the balloon. Thrust acts on the balloon with equal force, and in the opposite direction as the air that is squeezed out. Rockets are launched using the same principle: Rocket boosters are full of combustible fuel. Rocket fuel is mixed with an oxidizer in the combustion chamber and the gases quickly expand and rush out through the exhaust nozzle. This air creates thrust powerful enough to propel the rocket upward out of the earth’s atmosphere. In the case of our rocket pinwheel the balloon forces air out through the straw. Thrust causes the balloon to spin around in a circular motion.

Parent/Teacher Tips: 

What do you notice about the direction of the spinning straw and the direction of the air coming out of the straw? How does bending the straw affect the motion of the pinwheel? Would the motion change if the straw were straight? Try this by taking out the pin and straightening the straw, or by using a non-bending straw.

9:40-Welcome Time

-Song:  Blow, Blow, Blow the Wind, Sung to “Row Row Row Your Boat”

Blow, Blow, Blow the wind

Gently through the trees.

Blow and blow and blow and blow

How I like a breeze.

Blow, Blow, Blow the clouds,

Blow them through the sky.

Blow and blow and blow and blow

Watch the clouds roll by!

Who is here?

What day is today on the calendar?

Read aloud-The Night Before Kindergarten

9:50 Literacy Activity-Kindergarten Kit from SEEL wesite

10:05 Math-Seperating Numbers-I never wrote down what I did.  Probably came up with it on the spot.

10:20 Break/Snack-The snack here will be simple.  It’s the beverage we will focus on. Some kids will have milk, others will get juice, and some MAY want water?  This is the one time they get to blow bubbles in their drink, but I will make sure to tell them this is not ok at home.  Sorry moms! We will discuss what beverages have the must bubbles, and why, stuff like that.

10:40 Science/ Social Studies--Basic discussion about wind.  What wind is and how it is and can be made, where it comes from, what it dies.  Run a couple of experiments so they can see what wind can do. Here are some options:

Balloon Rockets-Tie a length of string from one end of an area to another.  Leave one end untied. Blow up a balloon and tape a straw to the balloon. Lace the loose end of the strong through the straw, blow up the balloon and hold the loose end of the string while the air releases from the balloon and it flies to the end.  Before letting I go, ask them what they think will happen. Talk about what actually happened. Try blowing the balloon up to different sizes. Maybe try turning the balloon around. Hold the strong up high so the balloon goes down. Hold the string down so the balloon has to go up.

Will the wind blow it?  Gather some objects from around the house, varying in size and weight.  Also, get a fan. I have a fan that will blow in either direction, so I am going to try and show them what happens when air blows either way.  Make predictions about what will blow in the wind and what will not. Perhaps we might even make a chart and sort the items into categories. Discuss afterwards the results.

Find objects that the kids can blow across the room.  Before they blow them, have them predict how many breaths it will take to get the object across the room.  Then compare them to what really happened. Record their answers.

Have a weather vane made that can show them which way the wind is blowing.

11:05-Choosing Time  

Balloon Pinwheels, let kids play with theirs and learn how they work.

Will the Wind blow it?  Let them play with different objects in front of the fan.

Blow objects across the room.  Have races, but make sure they aren’t blowing so much that they pass out.