With our mentors and the Ladybugs, Bumblebees worked on the design and construction of ramps. Ramps are one of the simple machines also called inclined plane. Students worked with the science of physics by creating a stable structure along which objects could travel. They had to engineer their ramps to create speed and yet not allow the marble or car to jump the track before reaching the end. They evaluated the materials they chose to work with, determined necessary and appropriate elevation and compared that to speed. They worked with friction and angles to create  the fastest, most successful ramps for marbles and cars to travel on.

 A wonderful day at the pumpkin farm was followed by the mentors helping the Bumblebees and Ladybugs make discoveries about their pumpkins. They explored harvesting at the farm, picking their own pumpkins, harvesting radishes and apples. They fed chickens and a goat and noticed the rectangular pupils on the goat, rode in a wagon pulled by a tractor that was driven by the farmer and petted a chicken who then laid an egg right before their eyes! They saw bees in hives and the tiny wild apples that taste terrible but are necessary for the pollination of the larger apples. The mentors helped with weighing and measuring, discovering the circumference and whether or not the pumpkins could float. On the way to the discoveries, students estimated values and measured using both standard and non-standard instruments. They counted the pumpkins ribs, knowing that each rib on the outside reflected a row of seeds on the inside.

On First Friday for October our study subject was memory. Students experienced many different 

ways to use, expand and increase their memory. They tried lots of games, looked at optical illusions and created their own, and many participated in a memory experiment with the middles school class. Afterward, some middle school students came in to our room to talk about memories that are personal to each of us and memories we all share.

 Bike day was a success! So much fun to bring bikes and scooters and drive them all around the playground! Bumblebees and Ladybugs enjoyed beautiful weather and dry surfaces! Afterward students did some graphing using tally marks.They used a graph to analyze information about the bikes and scooters they brought, discovering similarities, differences and trends. Everyone had a helmet, no one had a unicycle!

 The Bumblebees worked with the Ladybugs and our mentors, the Thunderbolts, for the first time. The students measured apple peelings. They used standard and non standard measurement tools to accomplish this. They measured the apple peels compared to their own height. Then they lined up all the peelings end to end. Look how far they reached!

 We have begun sharing literacy with the Navigators in 1st grade. We are practicing the Daily 5; read to self, writing, read to someone, words and listening. In these pictures you can see the Bumblebees in their practice of Read to Self!