Lemonade Day!

 

Lemonade Day... it came, it saw, it conquered.  What an event!  From the Lemonade Day website;

"Launched in Houston, Texas in 2007, Lemonade Day has grown from 2,700 kids in one city to 150,000 kids in 36 cities across America and Canada."  

Bloomington became one of those cities in 2012 and "Lemonade Blast" became one of Bloomington's first Lemonade Day stands.  This year's 4th grade students who operate "Lemonade Blast" ran their stand successfully this year for the second time raising $71.84 to create a fieldtrip fund for the Banneker at the View afterschool program.  Last year they raised close to $85 for the Bloomington Animal Shelter. 

On top of the nearly 8 hour shift they put it in on Lemonade Day itself, our 4th graders also spent 8 weeks creating a business plan, organizing the details of their stand, finding an investor and a site, creating advertising and signage, budgets and goals.  The lemonade curriculum is an incredible opportunity for kids to get a real experience of running a business. 

Check these links for other great stories of young Lemonade Day entrepreneurs in Bloomington. 

 Lemonade Day Bloomington
Lemonade Day Bloomington on Facebook

Hope to see you all on Lemonade Day next year!

Stomp Rockets

Every science curriculum should end with stomp rockets and here's why...












We used this excellent Stomp Rocket lesson plan from The Exploratorium in San Fransisco.  Here's how to make your own.

Buy 12" of 1/2" pvc pipe.  The guys at your local hardware store can cut it for you and sell it by the foot.  It's so cheap its basically free...  Roll a piece of computer paper in a tube around your pvc pipe.  Make sure it is loose enough to slide freely back and forth, but not to loose... Remember its going to be ROCKET!

Secure the paper tube with a couple bits of tape and slide it off the pvc pipe. 

 

Secure the nose of your rocket with a staple.

Next cut the nose of your rocket into a cone with a pair of scissors and tape it shut, so no air can escape.  You can check how well you closed your nose cone by blowing into the back of the rocket.  

Cut 2 note cards, postcards or index cards (whatever you prefer to call them) in half diagonally and tape them to the base of your rocket in whatever configuration you think will make your rocket fly best. 

Your rocket is done!  Don't look too happy about it!  Now to make the rocket launcher...

Cut the stem portion out of a standard road bike inner tube (700c or 27"). 

Tape one end over the end of the pvc. 

Tape the other over the mouth of the pvc pipe.  Again you can check how well you did making it air tight by blowing hard into the pvc pipe. 

LAUNCH!