Whole Child Development
In our school district, there’s a late start day each week to allow for teacher prep. If I’m on my mommy A-game, I like to use this little extra bubble of time to do some hands-on science activities with my boys. This morning, as I urged my boys to step away from their exploration of household acids and pack up for the day, I jokingly said, “Enough science boys. It’s time to go to school.”
My friend Allison , over at No Time For Flash Cards, is dedicating a whole week to supporting science in the preschool classroom and home. I’m honored she invited me to kick it off by laying the foundation for what science is.
I knew exactly which quote I would use to define it:
It looks like today is set to be the hottest day of the year here, which is convenient timing since it’s also the first official day of Summer Vacation! I thought this might be the perfect time to do a round up of some exciting ideas for outdoor water play from around the web.
I had my favorite gardening help recently….all my boys! We got two dozen seed cups started to transplant to our garden in a few weeks. I love doing this activity with them, not just for the extra “help” (said help also insisted on labeling our Zinnias as Venus Fly Traps), but also for the opportunity for them to learn a bit about science and a bit about patience all at once. Plus, I can’t deny my boys an opportunity to bury their fingers in mud!
I’m getting ready to launch a new project next week and I’m really excited to tell you all about it! While I wrap up the loose ends, enjoy this repost from May of 2010.
Homemade root beer is always a sign of a special occasion at our house, but there’s just something about fall and Halloween that makes this brew especially exciting. The magic (and the science) is in the dry ice. It’s available at most grocery stores, but you usually have to ask for it at the check out stand or at guest services. Made of frozen carbon dioxide, this solid changes directly to the gas phase, without a liquid stage between (a process called sublimation). In addition to the cool fog effect, the dry ice actually carbonates your drink as it dissipates!
(Be sure to use tongs or gloves when handling dry ice as it is actually so cold that it burns the skin on contact. Obviously, this also means you must give adequate supervision for children as you use this substance.)
Children are natural scientists. “What is that?” “What’s this do?” “Why does that happen?”
I’m sharing a few old favorites while I’m away this week. This one was originally posted way back in June of 2009.
It’s only June, and my preschool age son is already antsy for school. He asked me to “play preschool” with him yesterday. A convenient request, since I’m pretty good at playing preschool. He’s watched the show Sid the Science Kid on PBS (a great show for kids and teachers alike), and wanted to do a “Super Fab Lab” science activity like they do. He was in luck! I just happened to have such an activity on hand! It might be one you’d like to recreate as well!
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