Magnets

Benjamin who is trying to magnetise his iron nail using the stroke method.

Nicholas managed to magnetise his iron nail and used it to attract a paper clip.

Unlike poles attract...

Like poles repel...

In the teaching of Magnets, each kid received an experiment box that allowed them to conduct several experiments on Magnets so as to help them remember the characteristics of magnets.

Please click here to see the kids in action.

Which animals lay eggs?

Does platypus lay eggs?

Searching for the correct egg.

Can you identify those animals that lay eggs?

The kids had a revision game on which animals lay eggs. They were supposed to search through the box of eggs and identify the Easter egg that has the name of the animal that lays egg. If they identify the eggs correctly, they could keep the eggs as a reward.

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Observing a fungus

The kids were squeamish when they saw the mould on the oranges.

Where will mould grow? On the toasted bread or the moist bread?

The kids predicted whether mould would grow on the moist bread and toasted bread and wrote down their observations in a table. They also got the chance to observe the mould that grew on the mandarin oranges.

Science Experiments

Let me lift the gills cover...

I spy with my big magnifying glass...

The kids had the experience of running their fingers over the body of the fish from head to tail and vice versa. They also used a magnifying glass to examine the gills. Even though the fishy smell lingered in the class for quite some time, the kids had a great time.

Getting ready to grow our seeds...

Getting ready to grow our seeds too...

The kids' observation, communication and inference skills were put to a test where they had to do an experiment between the uncooked seeds and cooked seeds. They had to observe what happened to the seeds over a few days and then record their observations in a table.

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Classifying Animals and Plants

Can I "snap" with the picture of a bird and a spider?

Peng Yu is all ready to "snap".

Great minds think alike.

Smiling in front of the camera before we get ready to battle it out.

The kids had a great time playing Snap with their friends as they learnt how to classify various animals and plants according to their characteristics.

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Science Update

My apologies for this late sharing. I would like to keep you updated on what has been done during your child's Science lessons. The topic covered during the first few weeks was Diversity. The pupils learnt how to classify items into living and non-living things.

The pupils played games to get them to understand the concept and importance of classification. Through these games the pupils realize that they should look out for similarities when classifying. Pupils also learnt the difference between good and bad classification. One way of reinforcing the lesson at home is bring your child around the house and show them how things are classified in the kitchen cabinet and drawers, wardrobe or even your collection of CDs and DVDs. You might also want to explain to them why they are organize in such a manner.

In the next coming weeks, the pupils will be learning more about the different types of living things. I have shared with them slides on the topic and have informed them that there are nature trails around Singapore that they could go to in order to observe nature and look out for the animals, plant or even fungi. Places like Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve or Chek Jawa on Pulau Ubin are excellent places to observe these living things in their natural setting. You might want to consider bringing your family there for an exciting as well as educational outing. If the places mentioned are too far, a visit to the Singapore Botanical Gardens will also do. Throw in a picnic basket filled with sandwiches and it just might be a relaxing afternoon that the whole family can enjoy.

To better get the pupils acquainted with plants, for one of their activity, I brought them out to the Eco-Garden. They were to choose 3 different plants and draw them in their Activity Book. To view pictures from this activity, please follow the link below.

http://picasaweb.google.com/p3collage/AVisitToEcoGarden