Water, fire, earth, and air…
These are all around, under and within us. They affect our bodies and our everyday lives.
And this year, they were the theme for Week 2 of our unique and challenging Summer School program!
Earth
Whether you think they are cute or scary, insects are vital for the ecosystem and food cycle. We spent five days getting up close and personal with insects, first by going to Katsuyama Park to see insects in their favorite habitats, then by making pointillism art projects inspired by summer insects, and finally by inviting one to live with us!
The kids really enjoying watching our special guest — a praying mantis! — go about its daily routine.
The students were responsible for learning how to identify whether it was male or female, what to feed it, and how to make the most comfortable environment for it.
Water
Where does water come from? Students made water cycle bags to understand how water travels from land to sky and back again. Beautiful flower crafts also demonstrated how flowers absorb and “drink” water.
And with a mind on climate change and concerns about sea level change, students completed a “Don’t Melt the Ice Challenge!” Using only household materials, they came up with some creative ways to keep an ice cube cool for over an hour.
Fire
Energy from the sun and earth inspired some fun activities!
Students made solar ovens from pizza boxes, and baked their own marshmallow and chocolate cookies — a popular American campfire snack called s’mores.
Like the architects of thousands of years ago, they used sun-baked mud bricks to engineer pyramids and houses.
They made 3D diagrams of the layers of the earth, all the way down to the hot, hot center, then traveled back to the surface again and created their own erupting volcanoes!
Air
Is it just windy, or is there a typhoon coming? It’s important to understand wind speed and wind safety. That’s why our kids made and tested anemometers, special but simple tools for measuring wind speed. They also learned about gravity and how to protect objects (for example, eggs!) as they fall through the air.
Finally, handmade wind chimes showed us how nature can make beautiful music!
Good job, everyone!
