Unseen Connections

Unseen Connections

I really like getting outside with kids. The potential for new discoveries, finding fresh tracks, a unique formation or rare animal sighting makes my heart thump and maybe a bit giddy. From my observations, kids get equally excited, a change in routine can sometimes be just the right thing. In my opinion, getting outside builds community; we don’t have to have two quiet lines when we walk, we don’t have to keep our hands by our sides and bubbles in…

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Identity Crisis

Identity Crisis

I’ve been thinking a lot this week about my role at school. I’ve been thinking mostly about my official title (K-5 science specialist) compared to what I do. What do I do? Last week consisted of the following: I traveled to a different elementary school to co-present a science focused staff meeting on modeling phenomenon; I worked with a 4th grade class on a Design Thinking Project related to their earth science unit; I worked with a third grade class…

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Best Day Ever

Best Day Ever

Last week I spent the day with a fourth grade class. When I say I spent the day, I literally spent the day. Normally, in my role as science specialist, I see students for four or five days in a row for an extension or enrichment of their science topic and usually in fifty minute chunks. However, the fourth grade team decided to try something different with the schedule for this unit. Rather than four days in a row, the…

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Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day

Last week I turned my calendar from January to February. I also began my third round of a sphero Mars rover challenge with third graders. It sounds, at first glance, like the Bill Murray movie where I keep reliving the same lesson over and over again. However, one of the things I’ve come to appreciate about my job as science specialist is that I get to learn from my mistakes and a chance to try again in a pretty quick…

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The Over Under

The Over Under

I tried something new with kindergarten students last week. They are kicking off their next unit on man-made versus natural materials. Last year we started by sorting a variety of actual objects in small groups. This was followed by a cut and paste activity of pictures glued to a t-chart. This year, I decided to make use of the digital tools available to the students. We started by talking more about the word ‘man-made’ and that in this case man…

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When Everything Falls Into Place

When Everything Falls Into Place

Daily, I walk by a rack of snowshoes that our school got through a Donors Choose project. Up until now one factor or another was just not right: my schedule was open but we didn’t have enough snow, the snow came but then it dropped below zero, then snow melted, my schedule was too full. But last week, enough things fell into the place to let me take three classes out snowshoeing. There are definitely challenges to getting a whole…

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How Might We Use a Tree?

How Might We Use a Tree?

This summer, our school was awarded a grant from the Tree Trust organization to plant 25 trees on our property. In December, I found myself in a meeting with the tree trust liaison, our building principal and magnet TOSA. A map of our school yard was pulled out and discussion turned to where trees might go and what trees we could pick. It became overwhelming to me for a few reasons. First, the possibilities made my head swim. We have…

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When You Least Expect It

When You Least Expect It

This week I’m taking a diversion from my nature lessons to write about a technology project I worked on. This last week I got to witness the culmination of a project that had been stewing in my brain since July. Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse Project, based on the book with the same name by Kevin Henkes. This is an author studied by the second grade team at my school. I had a vision of making this book a reality. In…

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It’s the journey, not the destination

It’s the journey, not the destination

Last week I was able to get outside, even with the new snow that came. Kindergarten students had been exploring the concept of rolling and the properties of the objects that are ‘good’ rollers. After discovering that the crayon and vial (both cylinders) didn’t roll well, we decided to see if they would roll well on the hills around our school. We tried the sidewalk that is sloped, an asphalt path, and hills of different sizes that were covered in…

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Long Distance Learning

Long Distance Learning

Two weeks ago, a second grade class I work with was curious about the bumps they had noticed on the stems of some plants around our gardens. The bumps the kids notice are called galls and are a growth on the stem of goldenrod plants. A fly lays an egg that makes it way into the stem and causes to plant to produce a growth hormone forming a lump around the larva that forms. This lump also provides a safe…

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