Apples, Apples, and more Apples!

The Whales have begun their unit of study on apples! The week started with the Whales setting up a science experiment. We talked about what experiments are and what it means to make educated predictions. The Whales made predictions about what material would make an apple rot first. They used vinegar, oil, water, and air. On Friday, we took the apples out of their jars, and made scientific observations. Some Whales think that the apple with just air in the jar dried up because it had too much air and no wind. Whales also thought that the vinegar made the apple rot first because vinegar stinks.

The Whales talked about the apple life-cycle and learned that apples like other fruits start from flowers. They noticed at the bottom of an apple you can still see the left over sepals. We talked about how bees are very helpful workers to apple trees. They fly from apple tree to apple tree to help in the fertilizing process of an apple. After talking about pollen and bees, the Whales noticed that there is pollen on the nature table that has fallen from the sunflowers. The Whales said, “The bees would love all of that pollen”.

We ended our week with an engineering Friday, and a trip to the library. For our engineering Friday, Whales engineered structures with apple pieces and tooth picks. They put their math hats on and measured their structures with rulers. One structure was 8 inches tall and stood strong. At the end of the day on Friday, the Whales took a walking trip to the Forest Grove library. They picked out great stories, and got to spend a few minutes reading their books at the library. While we were checking out, the librarian said, “you have a pretty great group”. The Whales were so kind to the community by cleaning up after themselves and thanking the librarians on their way out.