Going Batty over STEM

We have been road tripping it through Georgia, and our latest stop in the Piedmont region led us to investigate bats. 

Our STEM project for this unit was to design a bat house.  After we researched bats and read Lucy's story, we had some questions ya'll. You know, the I-know-my-teacher-is-talking-but-I-have-burning-questions-that-are-causing-me-to-scrunch-up-my-face-and-wave-my-hands-like-I'm-trying-to-help-a-plane-land type of questions. You know what I'm talkin' about.  We. Had. Questions.  And isn't that really what it's all about?  So we got busy with the design process.

And then we got to work!

We used cereal boxes, pipe cleaners, and graph paper (to represent chicken wire) to design our prototypes.  My kiddos worked in collaborative groups to come up with their design based on research we had done as a class.  It was a great way to put the engineering design process to work!

Rollin' Down the River

We are studying Georgia Rivers, so of course we are going to get wet...and dirty.  What fun would learning be if things didn't get a little messy?

We started our unit by drawing our own map using How to Draw Georgia's Sights and Symbols from the A Kid's Guide to Drawing America series.  This text was the perfect way to integrate some of the Reading Informational standards into our unit!  Click on the picture to find your state.

Today we added the rivers and then we talked about how a river is formed.  We read Follow that Water from the Brook to Ocean.

And then it was time to get down and dirty!

I assigned each person in the group a job, and they got busy 
creating,

observing,

hypothesizing,

thinking,

and don't forget the best part...getting messy!

Now - I'm off to find a broom.  If you like to make a mess click to grab the freebie below...but keep the broom handy!

Aw, Nuts!

Oh. My. Goodness.  I am SO proud of Mr. Bubblegum (a.k.a. Rob McClurkan)!  It seems like forever ago that he started working on this idea for a book of his very own...and HERE IT IS!  Just in time for fall.  Of course we took a family field trip to Barnes & Nobles so we could all stand and stare.  There it was right in the front.  With other books.  It was a moment.  One I'll never forget.  There is just like next level excitement going on around here, and I just had to tell all my friends!

He came and read the story to my kiddos (perks of being the author's wife ;) and they loved it!  I know your kids will too, so check it out!  Click on the picture to grab a copy.

Watch Squirrel's adventure begin...

Road Trip!

Pack your bags, and join us on our road trip!  We have been taking a "tour" of Georgia as we learn about the regions of our great state.  For each region, we have integrated literature based on the animals of the area.  

Check out the books we have used to help us "travel" through each region.