After vacation we began a Project Lead the Way science unit on forces and motion called "Pushes and Pulls".  As part of this unit students have been noticing examples of when they use pushes and pulls in their daily lives.  Once we started paying attention we noticed these examples were everywhere:  we pull on our boots and snow pants, we push the parts of our zippers together and then pull them up, we push and pull pencils and markers when we write, we push and pull sleds on the playground, we push and pull our wiggly teeth to get them out, etc.

We have also done several explorations looking at how characteristics such as weight, size, shape, and surface texture affect the amount of force needed to move an object as well as how it moves.  During these explorations children have been making observations and asking great questions about the way things move.  Some of these include, "The ball was really small but it rolled fast.  I think it's because it is heavy", "The block with sand paper moves very slowly and the block with rubber bands doesn't move at all", and "I wonder why the little car moves so much faster than the big car?"