The last few days of school can be complete chaos if you don’t have a plan. A few teachers I know have compared it to herding cats. 😉 I really do try to keep our last few days educational, but mixing up the routines is crucial and adding additional hands-on activities always helps too. This is where our annual third grade science day comes in. Reserved for the last few days of school each year, it’s a day of messy science fun.
This event takes place outside, which makes cleaning up spills really easy. We divide our students into two large groups. One of the groups begins the day in a kickball tournament while the other group participates in Science Day. Halfway through, we switch. The students participating in Science Day rotate through centers, creating a science experiment at each one. All students take home “samples” from the experiment and a recipe sheet to make the experiments at home too.
All of the ingredients are pretty inexpensive and we usually get almost everything we need donated by parents. In addition to supplies, Science Day requires volunteers for each station. We usually use our classroom assistants and remediation support staff, but parents would make great leaders too.
You can find all kinds of great recipes online, but here’s a copy of ours. If you’re using a mac and having trouble with the download, you can try these tips. Alternately, you can just grab the plain word copy. Same recipes, just not as cute. 😉 Do you have any great recipes to add?
What a great idea! Thanks for sharing.
Elizabeth
Fun in Room 4B
Thanks for sharing. I definitely think my kids would love this.
Michele
haha I have to use the herding cats line!
Blessings,
Jessica Stanford
Mrs. Stanford's Class Blog is Having a Giveaway!
My TpT Store
Try it and you'll see what I mean! 😉
What a great idea! Thanks for sharing! The end of the year is so difficult. This would be a fabulous addition to our end of year activities for 3rd grade.
Krista
stellar-students
Difficult is a polite way to put it, ha! 😉 The kids had a great time. Bubbles are my favorite by far, but the play dough is so soft and squishy I could squeeze it all day.
Hi Christi,
When I tried to open it I got really weird lines where the text should be. I could drag your image off, but it wasn't the same as being able to download the link. I am wondering if this is just me. One thing I do on our science day is fizzy rockets. I have the students design a rocket. We wrap them around old film canisters. Then you fill the canister with I think either water or vinegar and add 1/2 table of alka seltzer. Quickly pop the cap on and turn it over on the ground. In just a few seconds the pressure will build inside and the rocket will launch upwards. My students always love doing it at the end of the year and it is a good introduction to a topic they study in 5th grade.
I am also launching my blog in the next week or so and would love for you to follow me at http://flip4learning.blogspot.com/.
Oh no! I was able to open it at home and at work. Are you by chance on a Mac?
I am just checking with you to see if you ever received your giveaway packets from me. The Target gift card is in the mail. Thanks again for being part of my first giveaway!!
Darleen
Third Grade Love
Yep! Did you get my email? I'm going to blog about it with my end of the year post after I've used your pack. =)
I wasn't able to open it either. I am on a mac. Is there a way around it? I would love to try this during our last week. Thanks!
I just updated the above post with a link to the recipes in word (.doc) as well as a link to a post with common Mac errors. If it doesn't work, just email me and I'll copy/paste them to you that way. They are so much fun!
Such a fantastic idea! The projects are fun enough on their own, but to combine then into a whole science day is amazing. Plus, taking a break from science to play kickball… even better!
-Jessica
A Turn to Learn
How fun!! Thanks for sharing!! I definitely change things up that last few weeks, too – you just have to have MORE to keep them focused! LOL
Nicole
Rowdy in Room 300
This is great! I love science and haven't had a chance to change things up in a while. I will definitely use this next year!
Aloha,
Corinna
Thank you for helping for the mac problems. I have just found out we will be able to do this our last week of school! My team and I are quite excited. 🙂 Can you tell me how much powered tempera paint is needed in the sidewalk chalk recipe?
Oh, how fun! This year our day was HOT HOT HOT, but the kids still had a great time. The tempera paint goes a long way, especially if you're using one of the more vibrant colors. I used the same jar for several years. I don't really measure it, but just add more until the batch turns the color that individual group wants. A spoonful will usually do it per batch, sometimes two. You'll have to let me know how it goes!