Family Activities





Unit 1 Explaining Habitats	It’s Alive. Students are exploring living and non-living things this week. They are looking at the diversity of life around us. They are learning about the relationship of living things to sunlight, air, water and soil. We humans need these four things to survive. How does your family use these things?
	Take a walk in search of living and non-living things. Make a list of living things found. If a name is not known draw the animal or plant so you can all look it up later. Do the plants and animals you see need sunlight, air, water and soil too? Use your imaginations to design a plant or animal that does not need one or more of these four basic things. What would it use instead? Have fun.

Unit 2 Plants	Seedy Kitchen Characters. This week students are looking at seeds and their growth development (germination). Pull out the spice rack and small cans of spices from way back in the kitchen cupboard. Look for seeds. How many different kinds of seeds can your family find? Some of these seeds come from far away lands. Pick out one or two spice seeds and try to find out about the place it grows and what the plant looks like.
	Some seeds like coriander, dill and fennel may sprout on moist paper towel placed in a sealed plastic bag. How does this sprout compare with your child’s sprout at school?
Unit 2A	Sticky Situations. Plants and their adaptations are the focus this week. Take a neighborhood walk, visit a park or wild place and look for all types of plants. Pay attention to where plants are found. Some plants seem to grow in places that are not very hospitable like sidewalk cracks and on rocks. How did they get there?
	Note any seeds that you find. During fall and winter there are lots of seeds around to look at. Collect different kinds of seeds. AVOID any white berries. Poison ivy and sumac have white berries. Be sure to collect only one of a kind. Leave the rest to sprout or for animals to eat. When your family gets home look at the seeds very carefully for clues as to how they get transported.


Unit 3 Animals	WILD Things I. This week students are studying animals. They are looking at animal adaptations for survival and the life cycle of a frog. An adaptation is how a plant or animal is physically and how it behaves in order to survive in its habitat. Plan a family outing to a local park, pond, seashore or nature reserve. Turn your visit into an animal scavenger hunt. Observe animals and record what they are doing. Write down how they use their bodies to survive. What are their adaptations for survival? For example: squirrels are great tree climbers and jump way out from tree to tree. Look at their tails as they soar from branch to branch.
Unit 3A Animals	WILD Things. II. This week students look more closely at animal adaptations and the diversity of animals around us. What adaptations do individuals in your family have? Who is the fastest runner or the most musical? Make a list of the gifts you all possess. Plan and schedule a family Olympics.
Unit 3B Humans	We Are All Special. Students are looking at human characteristics and hereditary traits this week. Have fun looking at your family tree. Take a survey noting eye color and hair color, height, ears, whatever, for your immediate and/or extended family. If there are children of adoption rejoice in their uniqueness and all the new traits they will bring into the family tree.
Unit 4 Dinosaurs	Gone But Not Forgotten. This week students are digging up the past in a study of dinosaurs. Although dinosaurs are extinct, they are still a popular topic especially with second graders. Investigate dinosaur names. What do these names mean? Example: Tyrannosaurus Rex means tyrant (tyranno) lizard (saurus) King (Rex). Create a list of dino prefixes and suffices. Make up dinosaur names for family members. Or kinder still, have everyone create their own dino name.



Unit 1 Globe	Two for Tea. Students are looking at soil and water this week. They will try to reproduce how soil is made. They will take a closer look at water and how it can exist as a liquid, solid (ice) or gas (vapor). Have a tea party with homemade cookies. Take out your favorite recipe for any really good bumpy cookie. Make the cookies together, paying close attention to the ingredients.
	While the cookies are baking, carefully measure out water for the tea kettle. Bring the water to a boil and let it steam for about five minutes. Be sure everyone looks at the steam. When the water cools carefully measure it out again. There should be less water now. Where did the water go? Up in steam (vapor).
	When the water is just right make some tea or cocoa to drink with your cookies. Now look at that cookie recipe again. Create a recipe for soil. Compare each cookie ingredient with a soil ingredient. How are they the same or different?
Unit 2 Rocks	Rock and Roll. Rocks are explored this week. By looking closely, measuring and drawing students learn to recognize their own rock in a group. If your family doesn’t have access to a rock collection, start your own. Try to find different kinds and shapes of rocks.
	Look closely at each rock to see how weather has affected it. Learn about glaciers and if they moved through your area. How could a glacier affect the kinds of rocks you found?
Unit 3 Water & The Earth	Rocky Weather. Students are creating erosion models this week. Take out that rock collection again. Compare the shapes of rocks found at the shore or close to ponds and lakes with those found in dry places. How did water affect these rocks?
	Visit a local cemetery and compare old and new head stones for wear. What makes these stones different? Create an experiment to show how rocks can be changed by nature. You can use clay or real rocks to demonstrate.



Unit 1	Weather We Go. This week’s unit covers weather. Students are observing weather phenomena, matching clothing to seasons and looking at the global weather picture. Take out the old family picture albums. Look at each picture to find clues as to the weather that day. How has your family adapted to the weather?
	Create a weather or seasonal poster using pictures to match the weather or season.
	Write down any family weather saying. Example: Red sun at night, sailors delight. Red sun in the morning, sailors warning! Do these sayings really predict the weather? Try to find out.

EARTH & SPACE

Unit

Up and Away. The solar system is the theme for this week in science. Students are looking at models of our solar system planet orbits and phases of the moon.

Take a night walk. Try to find a place where there is not too much light pollution. Bring along a pair of binoculars to look at the sky. Focus on the moon. What phase is the moon in? How is the moon light up?

	MATTER - PHYSICAL SCIENCE

Unit 1	Kitchen Magician. Students are looking at properties of materials and what makes up different materials. They are also looking at ways matter is changed or altered. Anyone who has cooked has changed matter. Have a cooking session where you all make jello or tapioca. Look at the ingredients before you mix them. How are they different when cooked. Think about every item you have for supper in this same way. Can we reverse the process with jello or pudding?
	Try this experiment: Materials: Table Salt, Water, Shallow dish or plastic lid. Mix a small amount of salt with water until the salt is gone (dissolved). Place the salty water into a shallow container and put the container on the window sill or an undisturbed place. Observe the container every day and record what you see.

ENERGY - PHYSICAL SCIENCE

LIGHT , HEAT , SOUND

Unit

Family Jamming. This week is heat, light and sound week. Students are looking at heat from light sources, vibrations and sound.

Brainstorm some homemade musical instrument. Have fun creating your own and play music together. Try to predict the sounds each instrument will make.

Try placing an elastic around a plastic cup or glass from top to bottom. Pluck the elastic. Waxed paper around a comb can be blown on to make a great kazoo sound - it also tickles your lips.

Save your instrument for your 2^nd grader to bring to school in two weeks.

Unit

Hot Stuff. This week students will focus on heat and the temperatures of different objects.

What things in your home give off heat? Go on a heat seeking expedition. Be careful that little ones watch what they touch. Maybe everyone could predict if something feels warm or cold then a parent or your second grader touches the object.

Take a walk outside and look for cold and warm things. If its winter look for animals. How do they keep warm?

Could you keep a hard-boiled egg warm in a container outside or an ice cube cold in a container inside? Design your own experiment and try it.

Unit

Light Up Your Life. An illuminating week for your student as light is studied. Students look at objects light will penetrate, shadows and mirror images.

What objects in your house can you see your reflection in? do you look the same in all of them? Why?

Make a periscope from a milk or juice carton. You will need two small mirrors that fit inside the milk carton and some clear tape.

Cut open the side of the carton but leave one end attached. Cut two small squares completely out from the top of one side and the bottom of the opposite side.

Lean one mirror facing down and tape it above the top hole. Leave the other mirror facing up and tape it below the bottom hole. Tape the side closed. Lift the carton up and look through the bottom hole. Light bouncing off the mirrors lets you see.

Unit

Now Hear This. Students explore sound this week and create musical instruments in the classroom.

Look at family pets and pictures of animals in magazines and books. How many different types of ears do you see?

Play a sound game where someone makes a sound and everyone tries to guess what made the sound.

Examples could be:

2 spoons hitting together, plucking an elastic, jiggling coins

Use white Styrofoam cups as ear extenders. Cut out a large hole in one side of each cup. Place the cup over your ear with the cup opening pointing forward. Does this change your hearing?

Unit

In Motion. Students are looking at how objects move this week. They will spin and roll toward new discoveries.

Pull out all the toys to be found and organize them in categories of motion.

Suggestions are:

toys that move by batteries, wind up toys, pull toys, push toys, just sit there toys

Look around the neighborhood this week for objects that move and talk about how these objects do move.

Unit

What’s the Use?. Recycling is the weekly theme. Students learn to classify things as recyclable or not.

What recycling does your family do? Check out your local landfill or transfer station for recycling possibilities.

Go on a beach or park cleanup and be sure to sort out bottles, cans and newspapers for recycling.

Set up a recycling station in your house and recycle what you can.

Remember the musical instruments you created a few weeks ago? What instruments can you create out of trash discarded at your house?



Unit 1 Tools	Rock On Tools. This week students are looking at different types of tools and how they work. A few weeks ago your family collected rock samples. Dig out those rocks and brainstorm all the different types of tools you could use or make these rocks into. Try creating a few and see how they work. Use your rock tools to help create something to use in your home.

Unit 1 Communica-tion, Transporta -tion	……Get Going. Transportation is the focus this week. Students will be looking at ways of transportation used today versus during the Pilgrim’s time. Take a family bike ride this week and enjoy being outside. Go on a train or boat ride. Look at all the ways people move around in your town or city. Make a model airplane together. Fly it. Experiment with different plane shapes and predict which will fly farther.

Unit 2 Human Affairs	Map it Out. To be continued………….
	CONTINUE