El Dorado Nature Center

I LOVE the El Dorado Nature Center! They have a class for preschoolers. They have three trails 1/4 mile, 1 mile, and 2 miles. OLG survived the 1 mile trail but was  a little tired and cranky at the end. Our primary goal was getting in a photoshoot, which we hadn’t done in a year, but we got some science in as well. We talked about all the bugs you can find outside. We talked about how to identify poison oak and ivy. We also talked about salvia mellifera . . . a plant I did research on when I was in college. I think the best part though was that we were all together, experiencing the outdoors. I’m sure I enjoyed myself more than OLG did, although I’m sure he had a good time too.

~S

We Still . . .

Do/Talk about science everyday. I have renewed my commitment to posting some ideas about building foundational scientific knowledge with young children.

Currently, OLG’s favorite activity is knocking down blocks. Marcus tries to use all of the blocks to make the highest tower possible before OLG yells, “Knock it down!” he then runs through the tower with his whole body laughing and kicking all the way. I try to build the most stable towers.

OLG has gotten old enough to begin to explore the dynamics of building his own towers as well. We try to find the center of gravity of each piece we place on the tower. We talk about balance. We talk about shapes and how they impact the stability of our structure. Ok. It’s me doing all the talking. Nevertheless, I am confident OLG’s receptive scientific knowledge is greater than his expressive knowledge and I look forward to the day when he can begin to ask good questions about the world around him.

~S

Bath Time

Bath time is a great time to learn about science. This morning the water I filled the tub with water that was warmer than OLG likes. We talked about how to make the water cooler, let out some of the warm water, and added cold water. It isn’t necessary to talk about the dynamics of heat exchange and water at this age, but these conversations provide a great foundation for future learning.

~S

The Ants Go Marching…

While in a garden with a lovely water feature following through it, I watched OLG engage in the kind of scientific wonder that I hope he will engage in the rest of his life. There were ants walking in a line near the water and OLG called out oh! We took it as an opportunity to teach him the word ant, to ask questions like where are they going and where did they come from, and to see what happens when you interrupt the line. OLG had fun and so did we.

I have recently been accused of wanting my child to be a genius. I don’t want him to be a genius, I want him to have every opportunity to be what he wants to be and what God wants him to be. I know that certain kinds of knowledge provide children access to opportunity. Science falls into that category and I spend a lot of time teaching teachers how to teach it.

They Might Be Giants

We went to a Fall Festival today. You can read more about it on my other website, One Urban Mom. While we were there we took in a free concert for children. Hullabaloo did a wonderful job entertaining the children and we came home and ordered the songs we liked on itunes. While we were on itunes, we decided to explore what other children’s music we could find. They Might Be Giants has a whole cd full of songs about science concepts for kids! He won’t understand any of it for a long time, but we’ll have fun singing the songs anyway. Our new playlist is below, I’ve included songs from all of the artists we discovered today.

OLGs New Playlist

Sippy Cup, High Roller, Dinosaur in My Backyard, and Beans and Rice by Hullabaloo

Alphabet of Nations and Meet the Elements by They Might Be Giants

Crazy ABCs and Pollywog In a Bog by Barenaked Ladies

~S

Science Verse

In class this weekend my students wrote poems about science. I enjoyed them and a few gave me permission to share them here. Enjoy!

Science Verse:

By David Trachtenberg

Whenever my mind gets itself in a flurry,

I know I can calm it with some scientific inquiry

If I need to find out why or how come

I just refer back to my observations, infer, and then some

There is so much to know and so much to find out

Sometimes the world feels so confusing I just want to shout!

But then I remember I’ve got a way to cope

I learned it in class when dealing with atoms and their isotopes.

A certain way of thinking was taught to me,

In part when I was learning about plants and animals and physiology

It wasn’t based on assumption or speculation,

After all, that’s not how they built the space station!

Instead, I learned to find the facts,

To take measurements and to be exact.

I made If, Then statements called hypotheses,

Like If I plant some acorns then soon I’ll have baby trees.

I learned to see the world around me piece by piece,

From the parts made of Iron to those of Manganese.

So if the world around you makes you feel like a slimy gastropod,

Remember to Observe, Infer, Predict and use the Scientific Method!

Science Class
by David M. Harry
Plants and animals,

Chemistry too

Physics and Density

What’s a kid to do?

Observe, report

Don’t forget construction

Science project volcano

Had no eruption

According to the rubric

I was assessed a 3

Met the minimum standard
Hurray for me!

Investigate, experiment

The sun, moon and stars

Protons, neutrons, electrons

Take a trip to Mars

Velocity, Density,

The boiling point of liquid

Buoyancy and time

Gee, I feel sorry for the new kid

Food chains and planets
I’m going insane
Before I do, don’t forget
Design a weather vane.

Gotta learn this
before the year is through
and this is day one
What am I going to do?

Daily Body Parts

OLG is learning the parts of his body. Every day he adds another part. Right now he can find, if he wants to, his: eyes, ears, mouth, nose, chin, head, tummy, knee, foot, and elbow. I don’t always think of playing this game, but he does. At some point during the day he will start the game, usually by pointing to his nose.

You can extend this game by talking about how all living things have parts. Plants and animals have parts with names. I haven’t found a good “toy” for this game, but if your child doesn’t have allergies, you can play this game with the real thing.

~S

FALL

Today is the first day of fall. It is so ridiculously hot that I almost overlooked it. I enjoy the fall. I would rather be wrapped up in a gorgeous sweater than wearing anything people wear in the summer time. In celebration of the fall we took a walk. We talked about how the seasons change and how the weather will change soon. Later, we read a story, the five senses, by Ikids. This story is about celebrating nature through our senses: feeling the wind on our skin; seeing trees, flowers, and birds; hearing birds chirp; and smelling flowers. I am really looking forward to all the science we will do this fall.

~S

PS – The first day of fall was the 22nd, somehow I got a few days behind myself. Ooops!

It’s Hot

It is so hot here in Los Angeles at this time of year. We have air conditioning, but it isn’t central, so I try to find ways to keep cool. This activity is a fun way to keep cool and explore some scientific principles. It’s very simple . . . and appropriately so for toddlers. Take a couple ice cubes out of your freezer. Find a space where you don’t mind things getting a little wet. Watch the ice cubes melt! I told you it was simple. You can talk about how ice exists in solid, liquid and gas form on the Earth. The concept of gas is beyond a toddler as young as mine’s understanding, but a 4 year old might know what the steam looks like as it comes off of a boiling pot of water.

You could also make ice cubes with food coloring in them and watch them melt in a tall class of water. The scientific principle you’ll observe is called water dispersion. As the ice cubes melt, they begin to move around and change places with other water molecules in the glass.

~S

Sort and Categorize

OLG has an ABC mat with a stuffed animal for each pocket in the mat. Each animal has a letter on the side. We certainly use it to practice the alphabet and the names of the animals. We also use it practice sorting and categorizing. We sort the animals by class: fish, mammal, reptile, bird, gastropod and amphibian. We also sort the animals by color. We count the animals in each category and call it a day full of math and science.

Amphibians: Frog, Newt

Birds: Duck, Quail

Cephalopod: Octopus

Gastropod: Snail

Mammals: Anteater, Bear, Camel,Elephant,Giraffe, Hippopotamus, Jaguar, Kangaroo, Lion, Monkey, Pig, Rabbit, Yak, and Zebra

Reptiles: Iguana, Turtle, Viper, Tyrannosaurus Rex (Technically in the class Archosauria . . .)

Ok, so I draw the line at putting the “X” into its appropriate class. There’s a unicorn in the set . . . since these are mythical creatures and ours is lost, I just ignore that one.

~S