Do Teeth Float?

This morning started like every other day, kids came in happy to be here and glad to see each other.  Then my friend came in and asked if I could pull his other tooth, that he was ready for me to "yank it out of my head."  That's what I tell them, I will pull a tooth (if they want me to) but it has to be hanging by a thread and then I'll yank it out of their head!  It sounds pretty ferocious I know but it's a colorful way to say pulling a tooth!  Before we pulled it, I said, "Wait!  Let me get the camera!"  Here's what happened next:

Not really!!  The above picture of the one with the pliers is completely posed, I promise!  I try to teach these kids lots of things, but how to pull a tooth isn't one of them!!   However, I've heard that Maggie, one of my sweeties from last year, not only pulls her own teeth but also those of her friends as well!! 


A few weeks ago, one of the reading groups read the following books and  asked if they could experiment with objects to determine whether they floated or not.  I said, "Great idea!" then put the idea back into my brain where it stayed until I saw the books on the shelf. 

For the science activity this afternoon, I divided the kids into 5 groups and had one person read both books to the others in the group.  There were 5 buckets of water with a variety of items to put in the water and see if they floated or sank.  The kids were to examine the items, predict what would happen to each in the water, then taking turns, place each item in the water, making observations, then record the results in their science journal.  The kids did a great job!  There were NO messes, they took turns, I heard discussion....I was very pleased!!!

Reading the books to the other group members:

Reading to his group:

The predicting begins:

These kids observe what happens to an item in the water:

They discovered plastic money floated when placed on top of the water, flat side down, but sank when placed in the water at an angle:


Observing a plastic dinosaur float in the water:

Recording her observations:

Kids naturally love science and hands-on experiments!  Throw in some water (and a few guidelines!) and you'll have captured the attention of 5 and 6 years olds!  This was a fun way to learn about what items float, why they float, a brief look at density, mass, and weight distribution, and why some heavy items float and light items sink.  Next, they asked to build a volcano!   Stay tuned.....