Over the past few weeks, we have been reading many different fairy tales such The 3 Little Pigs, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Goldie Locks and the 3 Bears. When I found this experiment on Pinterest, I could not wait to try it with my class!
In the story Goldie Locks and the 3 Bears, Papa Bear's porridge in the largest container was too hot, Mama Bears's porridge in the medium size container was too cold, and Baby Bears's porridge in the small container was just right (some where in between the other two temperatures). We decided to be "Mythbusters" and see if that's how the three bowls would actually cool down after about 15 minutes.
We used 3 different size glass bowls and water instead of porridge, although next time, I think I want to make oatmeal in the crockpot first thing in the morning and use that as the material we are testing is more like the story.
In the end, the largest bowl was the hottest, and the smallest bowl was the coolest.
I even found a video on Discovery Education that is really meant for older grades but it explains all of the science behind why each container cools down at that rate. Even though the scientific principals were a little over the kids heads, I think it is good for them to hear. After watching the video (which you can find here) we discussed what we saw and I put the science behind the experiment in more "pre-k friendly" terms.
We also did a fun Jack and the Beanstalk science activity that was inspired by an activity I found here.
The students planted their beans and created their own little castles for the beans to grow up towards. I wish I had taken more pictures because all of their little castles looked so cute and different! I wouldn't have even taken any pictures if Mrs. Lawton (shout out!) hadn't reminded me to take at least one during dismissal!
This activity is great because not only did we talk about plants and their basic needs, but we were also able to discuss fact and fiction. We made a list of what happened to the magic beans in the story (they grew overnight, they reached all the way to the sky) and what we predict will happen with our real beans. One kid asked why I didn't just get them magic beans, so I told him I couldn't because I didn't have a cow to trade them for! He was just like, "Oh yeah, okay." Haha man I love my kids!
I can't wait for our classroom beanstalk to grow so we can make more observations and finish comparing and contrasting our fact vs. fiction beanstalks!
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