My Science Roots and a Freebie

{Update: I've created a simple book complete with "illustrations" and resource list for anyone wanting to start their own primary or kindergarten weekly science program in their classroom. Totally free--unlike so many things on the web for teachers these days. Simply click and print the pages you want.}

I'd have to do more digging, but I believe it was in 1995 when I began to do weekly, science mini-lessons with the kindergartners. It was a challenge presented to me by my principal (Cathy Mink) and teacher (Tracey Martin).
"What's something you could do to enrich the kindergartners' experience and provide personal growth for yourself?" Or something similar to that.

What happened first--the purchase of the pictured children's science books or the idea? Who knows. What I do know for sure, is that I've accumulated and refined my library of science books and supplies in the last 17 years.

A few of the other kindergarten aides (who have come and gone over the years) were interested in hopping on the "science wagon" with their students and others weren't, but those I've collaborated with have helped me with the fine tuning. Particularly the aide, Kim, I partner with now.

Our focus is on activities that can be prepped ahead of time, completed in 30 minutes, and are appropriate for 5-6 year olds. We try to coordinate with what's being taught in the classroom or the seasons. Our teachers appreciate us taking this on, so they don't dictate what we do each week. Though, including science journals at the end of all activities (unless we watch a video) began at the request of a KG teacher 15 or so years back.

My current teacher has been talking about retiring, which has caused me to reflect and remember that the teacher who takes over next may not even be interested. And that's okay. It's been fun and educational. How else would I ever have learned about cow magnets? :>)

Worms continued

A new record was set for the number of wee folk who wanted NO part of holding a red wiggler worm today.  I was good, I didn't laugh when a few of the we-want-no-part-of-this-worm-holding-thing made a point of standing up and putting both of their hands between their legs--in case I got it into my head to force the issue.

I guess they didn't understand how protective I am of my worms.  No way do I want any of those timid, little creatures to go flying through the air, accompanied with shrieks of terror.

After I finished reading Wendy Pfeiffer's, Wiggling Worms at Work, and the willing participants held/observed the worms, we washed our hands and returned to the science area.  I told them it was time for my surprise, that we were going to eat worms.  The first 3 of the 4 groups were skeptical and patiently waited for me to show my cards.  But a member of the last group of the day, gasped loudly, setting the tone of concern that made my whole entire day.

Don't worry, I didn't milk it.  I quickly showed my bag of gummy worms before they went screaming for the exit.

February Science

Since 1994, when I first began to do the science lessons with the short folk, the list of lessons has been tuned and retuned.  Some of the best changes came about when I partnered up with Kim.  We've tweaked and streamlined our line-up--making changes that coordinate with the seasons and the holidays.  Between Groundhog's Day (shadows) and Valentine's Day (our hearts), February science almost plans itself. 

Last week, we showed Reading Rainbow's, Me and My Shadow.  This week, we read the Let's Read and Find Out Science Book, "What Makes a Shadow" and used a flashlight to see if we could change the length and size of a plastic tree's shadow.  What makes the lessons awesome?  When we go outside the same day and the sun happens to peek out from behind the clouds allowing us to laugh and have fun with our shadows.  Priceless!

Reading Rainbow

I've probably raved about Reading Rainbow in past posts and here I go again.

I was sad the show was canceled this past year, but glad all those videos that were made will continue to live on.  All those children who won't have the opportunity to see glimpses of the world through Levar's eyes.  His enthusiasm for learning and reading is contagious.  I have many favorites, but since I'm limited in opportunities to share them with the short people I limit the videos I show:

Germs Make Me Sick!
Bored Nothing To Do
My Shadow (love Sonny, the shadow artist from Venezuela)

They supplement perfectly what Kim and I teach in science.

Yesterday, while wheeling the tv/vcr cart our of our science area, I began to wonder how the changes in technology will affect my being able to show these enriching nuggets to the short folk.  I know the schools won't be making any immediate technological leaps, but I do believe the speculation that we'll eventually move away from CDs & DVDs.  Everything will be streamed via the internet or kept on a digital storage device.
I just wish I could get my favorites professionally recorded onto one DVD.  That ought to take me all the way up to retirement.

This week's science--Pop a Quarter

Pop a Quarter

Once again K2 and I did a science lesson on a  property of air. 
K2 took a clear, plastic shoe box, added about 3 inches of water and put it in the freezer the night before.  We used this icy container to keep our pop bottles and the air inside of them chilled.

We asked the children to choose a partner and gave each team a pop bottle (don't touch! we don't want to warm the air!), a quarter and a shared cup of water. 

• First dip a finger in the cup of water and wet the top of the pop bottle.

• Set the quarter on top to trap the air, being careful to keep it centered so no air can escape.

• Now carefully, you and your partner wrap your hands around the pop bottle and use your eagle eyes and ears  to monitor what the quarter does.

Warm air takes up more space than dense cold air, so the quarter will "pop" ever so slightly as the warm air seeks escape.  One website I found described this as burping which I'm sure would get the giggles going.  Another suggested slowly lowering the pop bottle into warm water to watch more vigorous quarter action.

Delicious Science

K2 and I do several science lessons demonstrating some properties of air throughout the school year.  Today we did our first with this year's crew.
We started off with Franklyn Branley's book,  "Air Is All Around You".
It's part of a series from Harper Collins, called Let's Read and Find Out Science books.  The "stage 1" level is perfect for 5-6 year olds and an invaluable part of my science book collection.  While reading, I stopped to point out that we'd be doing an activity similar to one of the two in the book.

When we were finished reading/listening, we stood around a large table set-up with plastic shoe boxes, filled 3/4 with water.  I set out a clear, plastic, disposable cup on the table.  I opened a container of frosting and with a craft stick I smeared a small dollop on the flat end of a marshmallow.  The frosting worked like glue to attach the marshmallow to the bottom of the cup's inside.  I held the cup up and told them, "there are 3 things inside this cup. Raise your hand if you can tell me one."  With no shortage of hands to choose from, I heard the answers: marshmallow, frosting, air.

Then I demonstrated how to hold the cup upside down and how to firmly and carefully push the air filled cup all the way down to the bottom of the container of water and then straight up and out.  "The air kept my marshmallow dry!", I exclaim and pop it into my mouth.  Of course they can't wait to take their turns.

I'd like you to meet my friends--the red wigglers

I love the excitement the short folk have for the worm box and the worms--reminds me yearly why I do science every week.   :>)
I read Wiggling Worms at Work by Wendy Pfeffer for the first time.  In the past, we've read Wonderful Worms by Linda Glaser.  I love the illustrations in Wendy's book (by Steve Jenkins) and the detail about wormlets, what worms eat and how, but I may revisit Linda Glaser's book next year.  It's better geared to our age level and allows for more time to do our science journals.
After reading I opened up the worm box to "introduce my friends" to the students.  I showed the decaying apple, banana peels, garlic clove shell (worms ate the insides) and the leaves intermixed with the coir and worm castings.  Only a few yucks and "why do worms eat garbage?", most couldn't wait until they could hold one.  Some years only half will hold a red wiggler, but yesterday only 3 out of 40 said no.  
After holding the worms and talking about how they move, we washed our hands and returned for a gummy worm treat.  BUT first we stretched and relaxed the gummy worm to show how real worms travel.

Leaves!

K2 and I decided to do our leaf science lesson this week.  The gamble was whether Tuesday and Wednesday of this week would be drier (weather wise) than the next.  I'm glad we made the leap.  The weather turned out perfect both days.

I took each group out for a short leaf walk.  We compared the oak trees in front of our school (variety of colors, number of leaves left) and selected 2 leaves per person for a project, before heading inside to enjoy our two books.  I read "Leaf Man" by Lois Elhert and "Autumn Leaves" by Ken Robbins.  Afterwards I shared why I love Leaf Man: how the author strolled through her own woods during autumn, collecting and scanning what she considered to be the best leaves, then printing and cutting the scans out to create leaf pictures.  My goal is to create an awareness of the changes in the world around us and inspire them to make their own creations.  At the end I demonstrate how to do a leaf rubbing with paper, crayons and the leaves we selected.
Something L and I have tried for the past 3 years is to have the children listen to another book about making leaf pictures when they return to the classroom and then having a chance to make their own.  L then takes their leaf creations home to scan and make a classroom book.  The morning class did a nice job, but the afternoon crafted some amazing pictures.  Something about that creative part of our brains working better in the afternoon AND the instructors giving better explanations.
{Have to share one funny from the day:  During the first trip (of 4) out of our building to begin a leaf walk, I spotted a pile of dog poo in the middle or our path.  I alerted each group to watch their step and reminded them to clean-up after their own dogs.  One of the short people in the middle of day remarked, "Maybe dogs should learn to clean-up after themselves!".} 

Done with the germ unit - now it's about birds

In the past, K2 and I have done a bird lesson with the wee folk where we each make a pine cone bird feeder.  This entailed one of us remembering to take a big box along whenever we traveled to Pine tree country.  I remember N and I driving home from Bend and then realizing (doh!) we were the designated "Pine cone" pickers.  Back to civilization we went, stopping at the first "Office Something" store we came to--buying a big cardboard box and some tape and heading back to that side road that reminded us. We felt lucky when we didn't end up with poked fingers or pitch on our hands after collecting 80+ cones.

Then we had a year when one of the students had a
peanut allergy.  We switched from peanut butter to soy butter.  And last year, I began to notice how many little hands were getting poked from the spiky cones.  The negatives (mainly access and injury) were piling up against our current method.

This past summer I spent some time surfing for alternatives on the web and found a better idea--bagel bird-feeders.  (We decided to substitute lard or shortening for peanut butter.)  I emailed K2 to get her opinion.  It was a go.  :>) 

Today was the day to try it out for the first time during our science lesson.  I read two of my favorite bird books (Wild Birds by Joanne Ryder & Have You Seen Birds by Joanne Oppenheim), and then we made our bagel bird-feeders for the first time.  It was a success.  Now I hope little seed covered bagels are being hung in all 50 of their backyards this evening.  I know the birds will appreciate it.

Last Science

Tomorrow is the last science day of this school year with these two classes of short folk.

I have their certificates all printed out, the tiny velvet pouches purchased and the stones all ready. We sit together in our small group (x 4) as I briefly review all the activities we did together. Each of them get a chance to talk about their favorite science before they choose a "science remembering stone" to tuck into their pouch.
Not always, but usually it's a nice time together. I enjoy listening to their insights and reflections.

The last days together seem to speed by so fast. Before I know it, I'll be meeting a whole new group and adding onto the number of young people I know.

Chlorophyll

Today I did a short, simple chlorophyll demonstration in science with the short people. (I was sad I missed out on the paper flower lesson last week.)
They wrote their names on the back of paper plates before we went outside. I asked them to look towards the park and then asked what color they could see the most of.
"Green!"
Then I told them plants make chlorophyll using sunlight, water and soil, for their food and chlorophyll is what makes the plants green. I showed them how to take handfuls of clover and grass, heap them onto the paper plates, set the plates on the asphalt, step on top and do the twist - to grind the chlorophyll into the paper. I encouraged them to smell their green splotchy plates and describe what they thought it smelled like.
When we returned to the science area, we wrote"chlorophyll" in our journals and (when there was time) we played the pizza game (hangman) with the word chlorophyll. My goal was to use the word as many times as possible in 30 minutes.
I'm always surprised and pleased to hear them continue to talk about all of the chlorophyll they see the next couple of weeks.

Science: The Last Week of Flight

The styrofoam dino gliders I found on Ebay this year, worked well. Not great, but well. I warn the short people not to throw them into the ground or a wall and also reassure them that tape can repair most breaks. I'm not crazy about disposable toys, but I do like making the last week of flight fun. I used to wish I could find inexpensive (times 78) balsam gliders, until it occurred to me they probably come from rain forest wood.
Last week we watched a "Bill Nye, The Science Guy", episode about flight. This week, we read "How People Learned to Fly", a "Let's Read and Find Out Science Book", wrote the flight words in our journals we've been discussing (lift, thrust, engine, air) and then took our gift gliders outside to fly.
Next week? Plants.

Loop Plane Day

Today was "loop plane" day in science.
I used to believe that using a big table was the best way to do science projects with the short people. Perhaps it's due to this year's smaller class sizes, but it's worked out well using our little back area for just about everything. They seem better able to attend to my instructions/demonstrations. Which translates to a much smaller number needing help when it's their turn to assemble.
Our sub, Mrs. Nicoloff, is a pro when it comes to walking into a new situation with challenges. Much less stressful to have a sub when there's a good degree of control in the room. This was her first time with the second session, she couldn't believe the contrast.

Catching air - week 3 of flight

Today we made parachutes in science - nothing fancy. Easy enough so they can share the activity with their families. It's one of several favorite science activities. One of the ones they remember throughout elementary school.

We start with a 12" to 14" square of light plastic, preferably a garbage or grocery bag,
4 - 12" lengths of string,
a jumbo paperclip or a similar weight,
and tape.

1. Lay the square of plastic out flat on your work surface.
2. Tape the last 1/2" of a length of string to each corner of the plastic - being careful not to tape anything to the work surface.
3. Gather the untaped end of each length of string in one hand.
4. Use your other hand to wrap a piece of tape around all four string ends, to secure them together.
5. Tape your jumbo paper clip to the gathered and taped string ends.
6. Take your parachute outside, fold it up, throw it up in the air or drop it from the top of a play structure or ??

If it's a windy day not only will your parachute catch the air and float to the ground, but it'll sail a short distance with the force of the wind.

Taking flight

Another reason this is one of my favorite times of the year - doing the science flight unit with the short people.
We kicked off our first week (last week) with a Reading Rainbow video and today we made helicopters out of paper and jumbo paper clips. I found the pattern years ago from one of my science books and it's continued to be a big hit with the kids every year.
Of course, it helps that we get to go outside and climb the jungle gym to launch them for optimal flight distance.
I've been going through the short people's photo album pages and taking stock of what's missing. Not all that many weeks and so much to accomplish!

Do you kazoo?

The short people and I made kazoos in science today.
I know it's silly, but one of my favorite things to do (when doing kazoo science) is to tell them to hum and then plug their nose. I love the looks on their faces!
Since Kim will be gone again tomorrow, her teacher asked for some direction for their turn at tomorrow's science. It was good to write it down. Gave me a chance to think a little harder about what I'm doing and why.

Fruit flies, fruit flies, pesky little fruit flies

Today's epiphany: If you have fruit flies in your building and you do a science activity with vinegar, every dog gone #*?@!! fruit fly in the building is going to find you within 30 minutes.

I'm glad Kim and I put on our thinking and trying caps and gave the new (to us) way to do dancing/bobbing raisins a shot. I printed out a couple of photographs I found online of the man who took a trip in his lawnchair with the help of helium balloons. I told the kids about his bold voyage to Idaho and then told them we were going to use bubbles filled with another kind of gas to lift raisins - gas filled bubbles made by mixing two household chemicals together. Heck, we didn't even need the bobbing raisins to make this an interesting activity for the short people!

First I gave them each a clear plastic cup half full of water, a small Dixie-type cup with two teaspoons of baking soda, four raisins, another small cup with 2 Tbsp. vinegar and a plastic spoon. (We reused all the little cups and spoons for all four groups throughout the day. I hate the garbage we can produce with some science activities.)
Once they had all of their supplies, I told them to pick-up their baking soda cup and to dump it all into the water.
Then I told them to pick-up the spoons and begin stirring while I counted and clapped out a minute.
Next I asked them to put raisins in one hand and the vinegar cup in the other and to add them at the same time.
I loved the ooos and ahs as the vinegar and baking soda foamed (a few overflowed) and receded. Then we watched the bubbles collect on the raisins,
raisins lifting up,
pop,
raisins dropping down.
A successful and fun day in science.

I'm happy to share with you. Are you happy to share with me?

I'm glad I was fairly well prepared mentally for the Monday that is really a Tuesday. Our science magnet lesson went well. I added a few things for the PMers, but they're ready to listen and absorb compared to the wiggly, noisy AM. I love those cow magnets! Especially the part where I tell them why they're called cow magnets.

L and I worked on a new seating chart. It's past time to correct some issues and put some new short people together for social variety. It'll be interesting to see how the latest experiment pans out. ;>)

My email to the schnauzer lady brought a reply of an available 8 year old female. I wonder how that would work in the household? If she's a retired breeding dog, she'll be used to having other animals around. The downside would be having only 4 or so years of her companionship.

K is thankful for K

I so glad Kim is able to take over my PM slot when I have to take Fran to her appointments. It eases my anxiety over leaving the PMers once a week. I know it makes it easier for LB, too. Probably seems silly to some, but I'm glad the timing of things makes it possible for me to greet them before leaving.

Tomorrow we do "Hear Your Heart", in science. This time, for a change, I'm going to try using cardboard tubes instead of stethoscopes. I borrowed Nancy's set just in case it doesn't work out with the AMers. Every year, there seems to be a number of the short people whose expectations for what their heart sounds like is much different than the reality. I searched online for an audio file of a heart beat a few years ago, but didn't find any of good quality. Too bad I didn't think of that when I had the ear of the OHSU professor who wanted to make a recording of Fran's chest sounds. He would've been a good resource if he was willing to share.

Chlorophyll

Gee, thanks Connie!! ;>
After Connie's compliment last Friday, I began to think I actually do teach the short people some higher level science terms. And then today I read my favorite leaf book to them with the scientific words and definitions at the end with my all time favorite tree (Ginkgo) featured . . .
well,
they weren't all being the best listeners.
Sitting here thinking back on the day, perhaps it wasn't that bad.
Maybe my expectations were pushed beyond the KG limit due to the compliment.
They did love the leaf rubbings.
:>)
I came home to a suds locked washing machine after a long day at work and two errands across town. I think it was the second suds lock since August. I finally made a mark with an permanent marker indicating how much soap is needed for a front loader washer. I guess a verbal approach isn't always the preferred approach.
TGFHH
love,
me