Bubbles...

The new school year has started!!  Last week went off without a hitch and the girls are settling in nicely to the schedule of things.  The new schedule is every day from 8:30 to 1:00.  I've got 3 different grade levels in the classroom, so I try to do as much cross grade level curriculum as possible.  We've been learning about the Nature of Science (TEKS: 3.1-3.4; 7.1-7.4, 8.1-8.4), which is technically the same across the board for all three levels.  So today we tested the waters in our scientific reasoning!  {Taylor was actually doing 8th grade material by the end of it, so I was pretty impressed!}  Last week we covered the lab safety rules {TEKS: 3.1, 7.1, 8.1} ...... boring.  So I thought they deserved something fun!

I mixed 3 different bubble solutions {A, B, C}.  There was 1/2 cup of bubble's in all three {constant variable!}.  Cup A was the control, Cup B had 1/2 cup of water, and Cup C had 1 cup of water.  The goal was to determine which solution would produce the largest bubble.  So we measured the diameter of the popped bubble on our desks!

They came up with their hypothesis's, and the fun began! 

The 3 solutions and their wands

Biggest Bubble Award!!!

A good picture to show how they measured the diameter.

Bri was the worst bubble blower out of the bunch!

I love Josie!  She is such a dedicated scientist!  She took this experiment very seriously.

Measuring the diameter!

Sticky pencil

Wait! Is Josie goofing off?!

So as you can see, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in science today.  The only one whose hypothesis was proven in the end was Taylor!  She stated that "Solution B will make the biggest bubbles because it does not have too much water and not too little water."  I personally thought that solution A would make the biggest bubbles, but apparently my hypothesis was not supported!!

We recorded our data on a bar graph to show the class averages.  We did multiple trials on each solution to get the most accurate results possible!  

I was super proud of the girls today!  Although they had plenty of fun with their bubble experiment, they had an hour and a half {sheesh!} lesson beforehand.  

The girls watching the power point presentation as I teach them the lesson.

And as I sit typing this, I have Taylor sitting at her desk {during her lunch mind you} doing her homework for tonight.  I've got some hard workers in this room!!

Until Next Time,

Just for fun...

Check this link out to add to our wall!!!

{ Wall Wisher }

Things Happening Lately

Things have changed!!!  This is now just a portion of the brand new, fantastic, pretty website that is specifically dedicated to Elite Education!

Feel free to click around and figure things out!

Enjoy,

Ballet class

The Elite girls acting silly during their ballet class

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A Million Miles from Home

 

 

Tomorrow the crew from MGA Elite Gymnastics is setting out on a journey across country to the Junior Olympics or Nationals. It is held in Long Beach, California…

 

 

{And I cannot stinking wait.}

 

 

 

 

Until next time,

 

jessica

 

253 words in 25 days

Tori's SAT test is coming up fast {25 days and counting...} so I am cramming as much useful information in to her brain as humanly possible. There are 253 SAT words that she is going to learn before then. And she is going to hate me.

 

Loathe me.

Dislike me.

Detest me.

Using your words is a very important skill when entering the collegiate world. She needs to be articulate, expressive, and eloquent. Hopefully, this will help her.

 

So, you can find the full list by clicking here. She will learn {hopefully} 11 glorious words per day. Including weekends. Including holidays.

 

No days off!

 

Here are the first 11. Some new A- words to add to her ever expanding vocabulary.

{And don't think I'm leaving Bri out!! She will be learning some of these as well!}

Day 1

 

1. ABET ~ to help someone do a bad thing. "The shopkeeper accused the customer of abetting the thief who broke into the store."
2. ABSCOND ~ to depart secretly. "I hope that she doesn't abscond with the cash."


3. ABSOLVE ~ to forgive, free from blame


4. ACQUIESCE ~ to give in; surrender. "Because I was very polite but persistent, my parents acquiesced and agreed to let me go to the prom."


5. ABSTRUSE ~ extremely difficult to understand. "The professor's theory of economics was abstruse, and most of her students failed the course."


6. ADAMANT ~ insistent; unyielding. "The thief was adamant that she was not guilty and that someone else had put the diamond ring in her purse."
7. AFFECTED ~ fake; pretentious. "That actor is as straightforward in public as he is on the screen; he is not affected."
8. AFFINITY ~ attraction toward or liking of something. "The child showed an early affinity for playing the saxophone, and by the time she was six she was playing in a professional rock group."


9. ALOOF ~ emotionally distant; cold. "The actress is aloof in public and refuses to sign autographs."
10. ALTERCATION ~ a dispute or fight. "The siblings' public altercation was an embarrassment to their parents."

11. AMBIVALENT ~ feeling two ways at the same time; unsure. "She was ambivalent about whether to attend college or to travel."

{That wasn't so bad!}

Until Next Time,




Jessica



What's the difference???

Lately, Tori and I have been working diligently on her SAT prep work... pretty much everything we do is relating to her SAT somehow {she takes it in less than one month}.  While writing her philosophy of gymnastics she asked me the difference between affect and effect.  I was stumped.  I couldn't make my brain think of a clever way to explain this to her.  And I really wanted to be clever.  So I racked my brain, did a great amount of research on the matter and came up with this:

Affect vs. Effect

Affect: Verb. To have influence on. To have an effect on.



Effect: Noun. A change that is a result or consequence of a cause.



These two words are commonly swapped incorrectly.






SENTENCES


Correct: The cloudy weather continued to negatively affect her mood.


Incorrect: The cloudy weather continued to negatively effect her mood.






Correct: Serious addiction can leave a lasting effect on one’s friends and family.


Incorrect: Serious addiction can leave a lasting affect on one’s friends and family.






{Note that while “affect” can be used as a noun (usually in psychology) and “effect” can be used as a verb (as in “we wanted to effect [bring about] change”) for the purposes of this lesson, we’re dealing with “affect” as a verb and “effect” as a noun.} WHEW!!






Affect = VERB: The chaps affected me deeply.


Effect = NOUN: The chaps left a lasting effect.






Until Next Time,

Jessica