Next week we will start our "Mold Garden". We will explore the perfect conditions for growing mold on both a piece of apple and a piece of bread. Jars will be "seeded" and various ingredients will be added - salt, water, vinegar and dish detergent. The jars will also be placed in either the sunlight or the dark. Children will discover that the things we added and where the jars were left make a difference in how much mold grows. This will give a wonderful opportunity to practice the Scientific Method, and will encompass a few weeks of observation and documentation.
I also found a chapter book that will be the perfect read-along companion to this experiment. It is called Phineas L. MacGuire Gets Slimed!
From Amazon.com review:
The second in a series called From the Highly Scientific Notebooks of Phineas L. MacGuire, this book picks up where the first (Phineas L. MacGuire . . . Erupts, 2006) left off. Mac, as our hero prefers to be called, still aspires to be the best fourth-grade scientist ever. He has turned from volcanoes, however, to mold, which sounds like an even less-auspicious project to the grown-ups in his life. Speaking in a chatty, wry tone, Mac relates his newest challenges, which include adults with an aversion to mold, a best friend who wants Mac to devote his time to classroom politics, and a babysitter he has dubbed "the Teenage Girl Space Alien from the Planet Pink." Full of amusing faux-scientific observations ("For every good thing that happens there is usually an equally bad thing that happens") as well as actual scientific facts, this lighthearted, illustrated chapter book should appeal to any young reader who can stand a little mold. For those whose affections for the stuff are more pronounced, several mold-related experiments conclude.
1 comment:
Susan I am sure this will be a fun experiment and their young minds will learn so much from your teaching. Great job as usual.
Odie :)
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