The Science Lab

The Science lab is a dramatic play area created to encourage budding chemists by using simple tools  to mix common kitchen "chemicals" and observe the reactions.  I used clear plastic containers, spoons, eye droppers and dosing syringes to measure and mix vinegar, water, salt and baking powder.  I also included small vials of colored water.  I introduced this area with specific rules, spoons are for powders and mixing, eye droppers and dosing syringes are for liquids.  No Pouring!  This was enforced so that there would be enough compounds for a group of 4 to share and helped with fine motor development and self control.  It also managed materials so that they did not have to be replaced.  I had the center out for 3 weeks and used 1 box of baking soda but still have salt, baby oil and vinegar for other projects.  If a group ran out of a compound, it was not refilled.  I refilled them for the next group the next day.            

Students use small plastic containers, like from fruit cups, to mix chemicals and observe reactions.  Part of their job was to was out their containers to prepare the center for the next group of students.

I used clear plastic cups with lids and labeled them with painters tape.  The vials of colored water are clear, film canister sized containers.  The large bottles are "discovery bottles"  that have been glued closed.  These are ways to observe different liquids.  These are and idea from Dr. Jean at drjean.com

Tic Tac Toe

This ear I am teaching in a new school and in a new district.  One of the district focuses in STEM.  I wanted to challenge myself and my students to daily work on developing and honing problem solving strategies and teamwork, particularly with hands on activities.  I spend the year seeking different games and activities that were very simple to create and maintain and that the students were able to do independently after a initial practice.  Tic Tac Toe came up as a familiar enough game that it was easy for most student to catch on to, but with enough strategy involved to keep them engaged.

I used coffee and oatmeal canister, covered with colorful paper and decorated with Tic Tac Toe designs.  I used a permanent marker to make X's and O's on the lids (4 of each).  The board is a place mat with a grid made of painters tape.  I use a tote bag and the transport and put away container.

Oh My Gosh, I'm a Squash!

During a recent pumpkin unit we read the book The Ugly Pumpkin by Dave Horowitz (available through Scholastic Books.) It is a great story about accepting difference.  After reading the story, each child got to take off and trace his/her shoe, cut it out and decorate it.  They think it is super funny to trace their own shoe!   In the future I would give the student a choice of colored paper to use.  The vine is made out of crunched up brown paper that came in a box of shipped items.

Our shoe shaped squash displayed on their vine.

Fact Displays

I like to incorporate informational text in as many units as possible.  Studying animals is an easy way to make this happen because of the plentiful amount of resources available.  After reading and studying the animals, each student gets to dictate a fact that impressed them about the animal.  I found themed sticky notes at our local dollar store to add a special touch to the fact collection.

A cave of bat facts displayed on bat themed sticky notes.

A web of spider facts displayed on spider themed post it notes.

Magnetic story boards

My wonderful family knows never to throw any unique thing away until they've checked with me about using it for Kindergarten.  This got me into using cookie sheets and magnets to create story props for retelling popular stories.  I used Pete the Cat books as inspiration for these 2 boards because of the predictable text and rhythm of the stories.  I used construction paper to create the characters and taped them with clear tape over the cookie sheets so they had a laminated type feel and protection.  I hot glued the changing prop, in this case buttons and shoes, to magnets for easy manipulation.  These are sturdy and easy to repair.

Pete The Cat and His 4 Groovy Buttons.

Pete The Cat and I Love My White Shoes

The other shoe colors stored in a zipper bag taped to the back of the cookie sheet.

What's been going on?

I was lucky enough this year to be hired in a fantastic school district.  That means that I had to pack up my classroom, where I resided for 10 years and accumulated many kindergarten treasures.  It took a while to decide what to leave and what to take.

Everything sat in my garage all summer until I was finally able to move in 1 week before starting classes at my new school.

I was lucky to walk into an empty classroom.  No need to sort through someone else's accumulation of treasures, the value of which may have been lost on me.

Anyone who has gone through this process knows that it take a while to learn the culture and procedures of a new school and remember where you put everything.  That is why there have been no new post in a while.  My creative energy had to catch up.

Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Engineering.. Saving Humpty Dumpty

This was another inspiration by Deanna Jump.  I have recently been hired to teach Kindergarten at a STEM school.  I love learning and getting new ideas on my quest to be the best teacher I can be… But engineering?  In Kindergarten?  How on earth do I do that?  Well, it turns out, the same way I do everything, thematically as part of a unit.

This past week we've been working on the nursery rhyme "Humpty Dumpty".  We recited, sang it, read a mini book about it, illustrated it and acted it out.  Now it was time to save Humpty from his dangerous wall sitting tendencies.

I talked with the class about how we keep ourselves save during activities where we might fall.  We came up with helmets, knee pads, elbow pads, band aids..

I told the kids it was their job to design a safety suit for Humpty Dumpty. I put them in 6 groups of 2 or 3.  I gave them the following materials:  A large sheet of paper, a length of adding machine tape, a paper towel, 3 pipe cleaners, a small padded envelope, a length of masking tape and an egg.  (I used supplies I had on hand.)  They could use scissors but nothing else.  I showed them how to tear the masking tape in pieces if desired.  If they ran out of materials they had to make do.

I learned:
Have extra eggs.  The kids may break their eggs in the design process but I didn't want learning to stop there so I gave the groups another egg.
Kids are pretty adaptable.  When they are told they have limited supplies they make do.
Make sure the egg breakage happens outside, in a place where it can end up on the bottom of shoes, and tracked in public spaces.
Keep a scissors and a garbage can handy after the fall off the wall.

Each group had to explain their design and how it works before dropping it off the wall. (Off the top of a high play structure works well too).

As a follow up each group talked about any design changes they would make if they could do it again.
And we may because I have a number of eggs who survived the fall.  Way to save Humpty!