On Tuesday we cut apples in half to reveal the surprise inside . . . you'll have to ask to find out just what that surprise was! We painted the apple halves and stamped them on paper creating colorful patterns.
Finally on Wednesday we experimented with cut apple pieces to find out just what makes them turn brown. The initial thought was "poison". Alas, after determining that there was no poison in our classroom and watching apple pieces turn brown right before our very eyes the decision was unanimous that the only thing touching the apples was air. Air was the culprit! It was determined that since we breath air, and air turned apples brown, it was okay to eat an apple that has turned brown.
You might think we stopped there . . . oh no! We had to test this new theory. We cut a fresh apple and put half in a bowl open to the air. The other half went into a bowl with a lit candle and quickly covered with tinfoil. The air was "eaten" up by the flame so the apple could not turn brown. The children could see the difference in the amount of brown on the two apples and concluded that their theory was correct! We learned a new word that day . . . oxidation!