Monday, Jan 18

 Hello Friends and Family! 

We were excited to have our first group of kids present a Reader's Theatre today!  We were very proud of them because it is always hard to be the first group to do anything in front of the whole class, so some of the kids needed to really go into their "Stretch Zone" today.  

We started to learn about "How To" writing.  We tried to give Mrs. Day all the instructions for how to brush her teeth.  Ask me how it went!

We continued learning about magnetism today.  We learned about how you can turn a needle into a magnet.   Ask me how this is done, and why it is possible (hint:  it has to do with making all the "domains" in a material face the same way).  Today we did a little demo on how to make your own compass using your magnetized needle.   If you have the materials, you can try this at home!  See below for the instructions.

Materials:  

• Needle
• Strong-ish magnet
• Cardstock
• Dish/Shallow Bowl filled with water
• Compass (optional)

Step 1:  Magnetize the needle by stroking it several times with the magnet in the same direction

Step 2:  Cut a small circle out of the cardstock, and thread the needle through the centre of the circle.

Step 3:  Carefully drop the needle and the card into the dish of water.  Watch the needle slowly move to point North!  If you have a compass, you can compare your homemade one with it to see if it's accurate.  If it's not, you may need to magnetize your needle a bit more.

Have Fun!