Lets' Rock N Roll !

I purchased a Rock Tumbler sometime in October when they had a sale going on at Micheals. I finally pulled it out for my kids to give it a try before I did this project with the preschoolers. The process of rock tumbling is not a quick one. In fact we are still working on this project.  In effort to keep my post short this will be part one of this project. The question that was asked to me by the children is What other things can you use  rocks for?

                                          Step1: Starting to Tumble

The stones that came with the rock tumbler. Also a small chart was included to help identify what type of rocks they are.

                                  First rinse the stones.

                              Fill the barrell with the stones.

                                     Add step 1 grinding powder.

           
                                    Cover the stones with water.

                       This is what it looks like inside of the barrel.

 Now the  rocks will tumble for two days. I want to share with you that this rock tumbler was relocated at least three different times due to the noise it creates. If you plan to do this for the first time I suggest you find a place where noise won't be a factor. DJ wanted this to be in his bedroom, he quickly requested it to be removed .

                                                                
                                        Step 2: Continuing to Tumble
                                                                     
Pour the contents out of the barrel. It best that you use a strainer, but after looking at this I kinda was turned off to use my strainer. I didn't know if I would be able to ever look at my strainer again the same way. Lol!

                               
                                  Rinse the stones.

                       Place the stones back in the barrel.

    Add step 2  Fine grinding powder. Select four days for your rocks to tumble.

                                                                            
Now we are on Step 3 Polishing. I think by next Sunday we should have some beautiful rocks to show you and  wonderful examples to show how we can use rocks. To see other activities that children have been doing with science pop over to Science Sunday hosted by Adventures In Mommydom.

Volcanoe Tray

                               Igneous Rocks: From Liquid Fire.

 To explain exactly how Igneous rocks are made I introduced the Volcanoe Tray. We discussed what igneous rocks look like depends on the type of lava it is made from and how fast or slow it cools. Well then the children ask "What is lava"? I tell them lava is created from magma. Now the questions won't stop and now I am starting to lose track of where this rock unit is going. Lol. We are definetly going to learn the parts of the Earth and visit Venus and Mars again.

                               We have been reading this book by Franklyn Branley

     What I liked about this book is that it was very informative, the pictures are perfect. I was able to read this book to my three and four year olds because the pictures were so great that we were able to use the pictures to read this book in a more of a  dialogue way. I would recommend this book for a older age group and especially if any child wanted to do research work about volcanoes.                                                                              

                                                  Volcanoe Tray

 In the cup is the vinegar, and inside the dish is the baking powder. The children use the spoon  for the baking soda. They also have to use the funnel  to get the materials inside our volcanoe model.

 This is what the volcanoe looks like. I used krazy glue to attach the measuring cup to our volcanoe model. Inside I placed drops of red food coloring. This model I brought ages ago at Hobby Lobby, and it does come with something that covers the bottom. I couldn't find the bottom to this so I had to improvise. What I do like about the way I did the bottom is now the children can see exactly what is going on inside the volcanoe.

                                 I also have some parts of the volcanoe cards on the shelf.

After doing our rock art activity last week the children have been wanting to know what are some other things they can use rocks for. I put this mortar and pestle work on the shelf.  It is filled with rock salt for the children to crush. I demonstrated what rock salt was used for by bring in some snow from outside and we watched it dissolve the snow.

                                                                

Intro to Geology

Geology: is the science that studies Earth's history that is recorded in rocks.

It is real simple. You sort the rocks and the shells. What I really what the children to gain from this activity is to know exactly what a rock is. What I have learned from experience is that you never assume that a child already knows something. Yeah sure some may know what a rock is the first time they see it others may not. I can't tell you how many times I have witnessed a child working while snot was running down their nose, even though there was a box of tissue at arms reach. When I remind the child where the box of tissue is and then assist them with wiping their nose they are relieved and I watch that child very happily wiping their nose repeatedly for days even after their runny nose has disappeared. The box of tissue that was once full before I showed the child that they have the abilty to wipe their own nose is empty by the end of the day. The child knows that the tissue is there but somehow there is a disconnect that they don't have the understanding that it is alright to get tissue to wipe their nose, or they just don't know how. The reason that I am sharing this with you is because I play this scenario in my head whenever I am about to present work to the children.

It took me exactly twenty minutes to set this up. I purchased the river rocks and shells from the dollar store ages ago. I do have matching rocks included in the bin that are igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary. The rocks have matching numbers, this is for the child to discover.

Lets's Go Rock Collecting by Roma Gans is what I will be reading to gain the childrens' interest. I haven't met a child yet that didn't enjoy listening to this book. The pictures are wonderful. Rocks and Minerals will be on the shelf beside the work, exciting photographs that I hope will get the children to ask me some questions.

                                                              
I have some exciting plans to go along with our studies of Geology if the children are interested.