I'd like to maybe live in Mr. Rogers' neighborhood...
or maybe Dr. Honeydew and Beaker need a new assistant...
...and by far the greatest professional compliment I ever received was being told I resemble Ms. Frizzle. *Note to self, add some cardigans, a white lab coat, and some amazingly patterned dresses to my wardrobe...these should go nicely with my now size 7 shoes!
But in all seriousness, I love what I do. Being a wife and a mommy and a preschool teacher mixes all of my very favorite things into one wonderful, messy, amusingly chaotic and beautiful life. In going back to lead teaching last year, I enjoyed the very best of all worlds. I am privileged to have support and encouragement from my husband, amazing care for my son and the ability to still be home with him by 1:45 each day, and I work in a fabulous school. My classroom looks how I wish my house looked--thoughtfully decorated in the muted earth tones and methodical display of a Montessori inspired Jewish pre-k environment. (My home looks a little more like a tornado of Cheerios and applesauce came through.) Around January time, when the weather in Richmond, VA kept us indoors a bit more than out, I realized my thoughtfully decorated and methodically organized classroom needed something. It needed a splash of color. It needed stuff to 'splode. It needed a mess on the carpet, for goodness' sake! It needed science. And so, with inspiration from my mother and from my former supervisor and my own curiosity in tow (not to mention a very supportive and patient boss), Mad Science Mondays were born.
There are so many reasons I feel strongly about incorporating a science curriculum into my work with preschoolers. Science is more than just making stuff 'splode, though that is a fringe benefit. It is a way of experiencing and perceiving the world around. It teaches more than just chemical reactions--it fosters critical thinking, confidence, a value of process over product, an acceptance of failures as part of that process and in that, a drive to try again. By the end of the school year, my kids' favorite day of the week was Monday! Who loves Mondays?! Scientists in training do, that's who! And by that time, our lessons extended beyond the mess on my carpet.
Oil and water don't mix, but science and religion do! It is very important to me as a teacher in a Jewish preschool that my science lessons (or any lessons) are not separate from the religious aspect of my curriculum as a whole. Personally, one of the greatest factors that drew me into the flavor of Orthodoxy I practice is the role that science and intellect play. Chassidus encourages us to ask the tough questions, to dissect ancient liturgy and to use our brains in conjunction with our hearts and our souls--to use what naturally makes us human for a G-dly purpose. So, too, do I utilize lessons in science within my classroom to incorporate Jewish themes throughout our year. At Rosh Hashanah, we explored an apple from seed to stem. At Chanukah we experimented with liquid density as we learned how just like the matter in our experiment, the Jewish people rose above their circumstances like oil over water--and of course a little sensory bottle was a fun way to bring the lesson home for each student. As we lit wax candles in our Menorah by night, we experimented with heat and wax by day. At Pesach, we found many of our science materials on our seder plate. Egg science always makes for some egg-celent egg-speriments (not to mention fabulous puns that even my 4 and 5 year olds got sick of after a while and I never do). There are very few experiments I love more than rounding up the troops (and we invited the 3 year old class in on this one) to perform the Magnificent Egg Drop Egg-speriment. Kids come of up with the most amazing ideas and ways to build an egg protector, and even photos don't do justice of the wonder and egg-citement in their eyes when they watch it being test launched from the top of our playground structure.
Some experiments worked... Simple chemical reactions are a hoot to watch, and our exploding science went beyond the basic baking soda and vinegar volcano. One of my very favorite lessons was one we did in the winter. I prepped a mug in the classroom with some baking soda hidden beneath a heaping pile of cocoa powder while the kids played outside. I used a ceramic pitcher and filled it with vinegar. When I brought them inside, I informed them that we would have science right after I made myself a cup of cocoa. They were annoyed: I was making myself cocoa during their science time?! I just needed to add the hot water (a.k.a. vinegar) to the cocoa powder (don't forget the baking soda underneath) and KABOOM!!! What just happened to my cup of cocoa?? Now, of course, their impatience has melted into laughter (they are still too excited to be angry that I totally just lied to them) and they were ready to use their scientific minds to figure out why the cocoa exploded. We had a lot of fun with exploding science--teaching about mixing colors, making exploding sidewalk paint. It's always enjoyable to see the results of an experiment work and work so instantly. Sometimes, however, our experiments required patience. We had to wait a number of hours or days or weeks to see results. Other times, experiments we tried did not work at all...
Failure is part of the process... I love that in the world of science, mistakes are OK. We had a few flops here and there. Color mixing mishaps. Garden science that turned into nothing but compost. Electricity science that never quite ignited... And that was a very important part of teaching science as well as life skills. Sometimes things do not go as we plan or hope. There is always something to be learned. There is always something to be gained. And we can try, try again. We would talk about why our experiments hadn't worked and brainstorm ideas about how to improve. Some of the world's greatest scientific discoveries were born out of giant mistakes!
The wonder of WHYs... Ever been caught in the crossfire of a battle of whys? This is very common with four and five year old children and rather than fight against it, I embrace it and go with it. Science encourages children to question their surroundings and to involve critical thought in their decision making. I love the magic and curiosity of childhood. I hope I never outgrow it. That said, I also love watching children use evidence in their growing knowledge of the world around to help explain and explore life's wonders. Science makes thunder less scary. Science explains the static shock when we zoom down the plastic twirly slide on the playground. Science helps us predict and observe and process a world that is so full of new and exciting and sometimes frightening phenomena.
Don't DO try this at home! Yeah, it can be messy and gooey and it takes time and planning and preparation. I do tell my scientists in training to always ask their parents before trying an experiment at home. As often as possible, I send them home with simple and inexpensive experiments to test on their own or with their families. Many of the materials we use are household items or items easily found in the grocery store, drug store, craft store, dollar store, even nature. I have seen science in my classroom produce qualities of critical thinking, self discipline and independence that are a joy and privilege to watch. I always love to hear from parents that their children have enjoyed Mad Science Mondays and look forward to it in school. I love even more when I hear that they incorporated these activities at home, be it in the yard or the kitchen.
As I prepare for the school year ahead, I'm sifting through some favorite old experiments and deciding if this will finally be the year I am brave enough to try this one. I am hoping to keep up with some of the process here on the blog as well. Now that the nine days and Tisha B'Av are behind us, I am off to test out the chemical reaction between piles of dirty clothes and linens and laundry detergent...
Oil and water don't mix, but science and religion do! It is very important to me as a teacher in a Jewish preschool that my science lessons (or any lessons) are not separate from the religious aspect of my curriculum as a whole. Personally, one of the greatest factors that drew me into the flavor of Orthodoxy I practice is the role that science and intellect play. Chassidus encourages us to ask the tough questions, to dissect ancient liturgy and to use our brains in conjunction with our hearts and our souls--to use what naturally makes us human for a G-dly purpose. So, too, do I utilize lessons in science within my classroom to incorporate Jewish themes throughout our year. At Rosh Hashanah, we explored an apple from seed to stem. At Chanukah we experimented with liquid density as we learned how just like the matter in our experiment, the Jewish people rose above their circumstances like oil over water--and of course a little sensory bottle was a fun way to bring the lesson home for each student. As we lit wax candles in our Menorah by night, we experimented with heat and wax by day. At Pesach, we found many of our science materials on our seder plate. Egg science always makes for some egg-celent egg-speriments (not to mention fabulous puns that even my 4 and 5 year olds got sick of after a while and I never do). There are very few experiments I love more than rounding up the troops (and we invited the 3 year old class in on this one) to perform the Magnificent Egg Drop Egg-speriment. Kids come of up with the most amazing ideas and ways to build an egg protector, and even photos don't do justice of the wonder and egg-citement in their eyes when they watch it being test launched from the top of our playground structure.
Failure is part of the process... I love that in the world of science, mistakes are OK. We had a few flops here and there. Color mixing mishaps. Garden science that turned into nothing but compost. Electricity science that never quite ignited... And that was a very important part of teaching science as well as life skills. Sometimes things do not go as we plan or hope. There is always something to be learned. There is always something to be gained. And we can try, try again. We would talk about why our experiments hadn't worked and brainstorm ideas about how to improve. Some of the world's greatest scientific discoveries were born out of giant mistakes!
The wonder of WHYs... Ever been caught in the crossfire of a battle of whys? This is very common with four and five year old children and rather than fight against it, I embrace it and go with it. Science encourages children to question their surroundings and to involve critical thought in their decision making. I love the magic and curiosity of childhood. I hope I never outgrow it. That said, I also love watching children use evidence in their growing knowledge of the world around to help explain and explore life's wonders. Science makes thunder less scary. Science explains the static shock when we zoom down the plastic twirly slide on the playground. Science helps us predict and observe and process a world that is so full of new and exciting and sometimes frightening phenomena.
As I prepare for the school year ahead, I'm sifting through some favorite old experiments and deciding if this will finally be the year I am brave enough to try this one. I am hoping to keep up with some of the process here on the blog as well. Now that the nine days and Tisha B'Av are behind us, I am off to test out the chemical reaction between piles of dirty clothes and linens and laundry detergent...
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