Matter - Science Unit 1

Here is a very quick introduction to matter, perfect for the preschooler/kindergartener.  Each presentation takes but a few minutes.   

(All the details are in Karen Tyler's albums.  These albums are very well organized and laid out.  I highly recommend them if you need a little more guidance in teaching your children the Montessori way but can't afford the expensive albums or courses.)

First Presentation: The Matter Tray - a rock, a jar of water, a jar of air

Second Presentation: Liquids - a) the tray of liquids
                                             b) pictures of liquids

Third Presentation: Pouring water as a physical experience of this state of the matter.

Fourth Presentation: Solids - a) Tray of solids

                                          b) picture of solids

Fifth Presentation: The water balloon experiment - fill a balloon with water, then put in freezer over night.  Remove from freezer and peel off the rubber.  Discuss the new state of water - a solid.  Watch it melt back to liquid form.

(hard to tell, but this is the science journal page explaining (on the right) that we put water in the balloon and then (on the left page) put it in the freezer (top of left page). The bottom of the left page shows the balloon in a bowl melting, though it looks to me like she drew three bowls.)

Sixth Presentation: Gases - a) Tray with jar of air

                                           b) pictures of gases

Seventh Presentation: Steam in a Jar experiment - here's a link that explains how to do this,
                                  but Karen Tyler includes it in her lesson.


Eighth Presentation: Inflate a balloon experiment (with the gas formed when baking soda and
                                vinegar are mixed together).

Follow up activities: a) Sort the liquid/solid/gas pictures into the right categories.
                                b) Look through magazines for pictures of solids, liquids, and gases.  Cut them
                                 out and glue them into a matter collage.

We're almost done these activities.  Bear and I still have the last three things to do, but I don't foresee being able to get good pictures of the experiments anyway so I will post this now and link it to Science Sunday at Adventures in Mommydom.