Learning About Volcanoes

Eli just finished a unit on volcanoes and it was fun for all of us!  Each child was assigned a volcano and Eli got Mt. Rainier.  He did a lot of research and created a poster for a class presentation.  He painted the poster board to look like lava, added diagrams and maps, and rehearsed the presentation a few times.  He worked hard so he did pretty well when he talked to the class about Mt. Rainier.

At the end of the presentation, Eli chose a class cheer that he wanted.  He picked the volcano cheer that they had invented...but he requested that the class say, "You're fire, Eli!"  It was SO cute!  Totally didn't make sense, but he loved it.  I love that the teachers just went along with it.  Ha!
We also made some apple volcanoes for his lifework (kind of like homework, but more fun).  I had enough apples for all 4 kids and they had a blast making a mess.  First they sprinkled cinnamon into their baking soda.  Then they dyed their vinegar either red or green.  Then they put the baking soda into the holes I carved out of the apples...then they made the apple volcanoes erupt!  It was lots of fun!

To end the unit, the class had their own Mt. Discovery erupt on the last day.  First they made it erupt with Elephant's Toothpaste (a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, yeast, and warm water).  This looked more foamy than the traditional baking soda/vinegar mixture, but still got screams, nonetheless.   Then they created an explosive eruption using Big Red and Mentos.  This one looked crazy and the kids LOVED it!  It was pretty awesome!
Yay for volcanoes!