Thursday, June 23, 2016

Compost in a Bucket

Our science unit on Soil has led us to ask how soil can be improved.

We found out that many people use compost to improve their soil, so we did an investigation into compost.

We learned about green matter and brown matter.



We learned that some things are bio-degradable and can go into the compost. 
(Biodegradable means it can be broken down by bacteria or other living things, to end up as part of the soil.)



We learned that some things are bio-degradable but should not go into the compost, 
such as dairy products, meat, and diseased plants.

We learned that some things are not bio-degradable, and they should definitely not go into the compost, 
such as plastics.






Now we've made our own compost mix.













Can you see the layers?

We will watch our bucket of food scraps, soil, leaves and sheep manure.
We expect to see it break down and change.

Do you make compost?
Where do you make it?
What do you put in it?
What do you do with the compost?

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Chocolate Maths!

The B4 children were excited to walk into the classroom before school and find blocks of chocolate sitting on some of the tables!
One table had one block, one table had two blocks and one table had three blocks.

Mmmm, mouths were watering!

At maths time, some children were invited, one at a time, to think about this question then choose a table to sit at:


After six children had chosen a table, there was: 
one child at the 1-block table, 
three children at the 2-block table, 
and two children at the 3-block table.
At that point, the class had to figure out how much chocolate the children at each table would get.



At the 1-block table, the child would get the whole block.
At the 2-block table, the three children would get less than a whole block but more than half a block each.
At the 3-block table, the two children would get a whole block plus half of another block each!

Then, one-by-one, children were invited to think about the question and choose a table to sit at.
It didn't take long for the children already at the tables to realise that when others came to their table, their share of the chocolate decreased!

Looking very pleased to have a whole block to himself!


Oh no, I'm only getting half a block now!

Four people sharing now - that's only a quarter of a block each.

A fifth share is not going to be much.



Oh heck! Only going to get a seventh!

Meanwhile, the other tables were also getting a bit crowded, and the potential share of chocolate were also 
getting smaller.



Luckily, when we finally shared some of the chocolate, everyone got a fair share, plus we have some to use another day!

If there is one child sitting at the 2-block table, one at the 1-block table and two at the 3-block table,
which table do you think Child 4 should sit at?







Monday, June 6, 2016

Students from Auroa School Investigate Our Soil Question

In our Secrets of the Soil posts, here and here, we asked what the soil is like where YOU live.

Mr Webb and the Rm 3 students from Auroa School on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand 

Now we will have to compare notes.

 Do you think soil from the west coast of the North Island will  be similar to soil from the west coast of the South Island?