Since it is beautiful and warm here in Australia today, I have been inspired to write about some of my favorite ocean activities. In Prep/1 (aka Kindergarten and 1st Grade) we did a huge “Under the Sea” unit. And with all units, the aim was to integrate as much math, literacy, science, and FUN into […]
The minibeast adventure continues! And I am now in the process of adopting (yes, that is the term) two ant colonies. I figure that the best way to study insects is to observe REAL insects, so that is what we are going to do. And, once again, I am linking up with 4th Grade Frolic’s […]
Today was day two of our minibeasts study, and it was AMAZING! We began with an immersion in minibeast books last week. The kids explored all sorts of books, and we came up with a list of questions that we want to answer over the course of the term. We then had a blast searching […]
I have to thank Little Giraffes Teaching Ideas for this fantastic game! I have used this game for years as one of my winter themed activities at our holiday party. It has been a big hit every year, without fail. Now that I am teaching a new topic for the first time – the water […]
I had so much fun with this activity that I had to share! I am a big fan of open ended challenges that encourage creative problem solving. This year my class is paired up with a Grade 3/4 class as buddies. Over the last month their teacher and I have been coming up with challenges […]
In keeping with my goal of helping children build creative thinking and perseverance, we had our first “construction experiment” of the year. Because this was the first, I focused less on the scientific process, and more on exploratory investigation. For this project, I issued my students a challenge. I told them that they were to […]
It is finally officially spring on the calendar, and at moments it even feels like spring! So it was time to break out our spring board game. The premise of the game is simple. Kids each have a bear that they are trying to get from start to finish. They collect “spring cards” along the […]
We are still in the middle of our inquiry process science unit, and we are loving it! This is a quick experiment I did with small groups during center time. It is so simple, yet has so many great benefits! The experiment is simply to predict how many drops of water can fit on a […]
I LOVE teaching science to my kindergartners! It is pure joy. I have them in the palm of my hand, and they are completely engaged and thinking the whole time. I don’t know that there are any “kindergarten science teacher” jobs out there, but if there were, I would be applying! We have chosen not […]
I was so excited to hear from another blogger this week regarding her class’s study of force and motion. A second grade teacher who understands what powerful teaching tools toys can be, Miss Foote of Chickadee Jubilee, wrote to me about her use of my force and motion unit. Her class tried out my Mouse Trap […]
