A requirement of the after-school program was that I had to teach at least two times during the week. I thought that I’d have a tough time meeting that while maintaining 40 hours at my real career, but I still agreed to a third class. How could I pass - it was close to home and on Friday, my day to work from home.
Almost all these K-2 students knew the three main types of clouds (cumulus, stratus, and cirrus) and the basics of the water cycle (water evaporates into clouds and precipitates down), but unlike the other two classes this week, they did not know about acid rain. I had the pleasure to introduce it to them.
To start, we measured the acidity of tap water. Most kids got a pH of 7 – perfect!
I added some vinegar to the tap water and all kids got a pH less than 7 – acidic!
On to rain water. Ah, the ideal opportunity to introduce the scientific method.
Step 1. Observe – looks like water doesn’t smell like the acidic vinegar.
Step 2. Predict/hypothesize: The students guessed it would be acidic and would have a pH less than 7.
Step 3. Experiment/test: All kids got a pH less than 7.
Step 4. Report: Our rain water was acidic – it was acid rain!
Third class for the week, and I don't think it could have gone better. Third time was a charm!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Fear tactic
I really wanted to avoid fear as a motivator for good behavior, but then I started thinking…what made me behave as a child and even through my adolescence? Fear of my parents! I have a good relationship with them now so using fear as a motivator can’t be all that bad.
Last Thursday, I got into my after-school classroom, set up, and decided today was not going to get out of hand. That parent from the previous week who had graciously agreed to volunteer wasn’t there. It was me and 20 K-2 students.
I called roll and explained we were moving to the 3-strike system. Strike one was a courteous warning. At, strike two they would have sit on the side and write a letter to their parent/s explaining why they weren’t getting the take home. And, strike three – no take home.
Things started off well. The problem came after giving them things to touch and trying to real them back in. I asked for their attention two times – nothing. The third time I said loudly, “Strike one.” That was it – all eyes were on me and the room was silent. I quickly completed my lesson and we moved on to making the take home.
Everyone went home that day happy, including that parent who just happened to show up late.
Last Thursday, I got into my after-school classroom, set up, and decided today was not going to get out of hand. That parent from the previous week who had graciously agreed to volunteer wasn’t there. It was me and 20 K-2 students.
I called roll and explained we were moving to the 3-strike system. Strike one was a courteous warning. At, strike two they would have sit on the side and write a letter to their parent/s explaining why they weren’t getting the take home. And, strike three – no take home.
Things started off well. The problem came after giving them things to touch and trying to real them back in. I asked for their attention two times – nothing. The third time I said loudly, “Strike one.” That was it – all eyes were on me and the room was silent. I quickly completed my lesson and we moved on to making the take home.
Everyone went home that day happy, including that parent who just happened to show up late.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
A little sunshine from rain
I have to say, I was dreading today’s after-school science session.
A couple of days ago, I got a phone call about parents from the private school complaining about some of my supplies not working and the dismissal being too hectic – never mind that their precious angels wiped my said supplies out of working order or that one of their own was in charge of the dismissal.
The subject for this week’s lesson: weather.
I asked, “What makes it rain?” The students responded: clouds, evaporation of water, and God. What can I say? I am a guest at a Catholic school.
They knew all kinds of things about rain, about the water cycle, and even about acid rain. Awesome! Especially since part of my lesson today was to measure the pH of different solutions to measure acidity.
The kit I was given for this lesson included vinegar, hydrochloric acid (really!), and sodium borate. Now the scientist I am knew that I needed to stay clear of that hydrochloric acid since it can burn holes right through clothes (that would make for some really, really cranky private school parents).
Instead, I decided to add real rain – after all, I wasn’t teaching about theoretical, non-tangible things – I was teaching about the weather! And, it had been raining for days, so I did some collecting.
I had a student really impressed by this.
She said, “That's not tap water? You really collected rain?”
Me, “Yes, I really did collect rain.”
She smiled a smile filled with awe, and at that moment, I felt that maybe God really did have something to do with the rain. I had just received a little sunshine from all that rain.
A couple of days ago, I got a phone call about parents from the private school complaining about some of my supplies not working and the dismissal being too hectic – never mind that their precious angels wiped my said supplies out of working order or that one of their own was in charge of the dismissal.
The subject for this week’s lesson: weather.
I asked, “What makes it rain?” The students responded: clouds, evaporation of water, and God. What can I say? I am a guest at a Catholic school.
They knew all kinds of things about rain, about the water cycle, and even about acid rain. Awesome! Especially since part of my lesson today was to measure the pH of different solutions to measure acidity.
The kit I was given for this lesson included vinegar, hydrochloric acid (really!), and sodium borate. Now the scientist I am knew that I needed to stay clear of that hydrochloric acid since it can burn holes right through clothes (that would make for some really, really cranky private school parents).
Instead, I decided to add real rain – after all, I wasn’t teaching about theoretical, non-tangible things – I was teaching about the weather! And, it had been raining for days, so I did some collecting.
I had a student really impressed by this.
She said, “That's not tap water? You really collected rain?”
Me, “Yes, I really did collect rain.”
She smiled a smile filled with awe, and at that moment, I felt that maybe God really did have something to do with the rain. I had just received a little sunshine from all that rain.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
From no volunteers to the irate parent volunteer
Day 2.
Today my after-school science programming took me to a public school. This time I did have Kindergarteners in addition to first and second graders.
I walked into that school thinking I was totally up for the challenge – already knowing that I would have no middle school volunteer and no parent volunteer.
Things started off well, I thought. Then, about half way through, an irate parent stormed through the door, kid in tow, ranting that how dare we send her kid home on the bus when he should have been with the program.
Before 5 PM came, other parents started to show up to pick up their children and I had gone through all my science stuff – what was the harm of letting them go a bit early? After all, the students had showed up early – I was certain that I had entertained them for a full hour (it really felt like a lifetime!).
Well, harm there apparently was – that irate parent proceeded to let me know that parents paid good money for the program and that they expected I would provide jam-packed science entertainment for their children until 5 PM every Thursday for the next 8 weeks.
And then, something unexpected happened, that irate parent volunteered to come every week to help me. Maybe she felt bad for me or maybe I am the worst after-school child care provider she ever saw. I know she is the overly-involved, know-it-all, know-everyone mom, but I’ll take all the help I can get!
Today my after-school science programming took me to a public school. This time I did have Kindergarteners in addition to first and second graders.
I walked into that school thinking I was totally up for the challenge – already knowing that I would have no middle school volunteer and no parent volunteer.
Things started off well, I thought. Then, about half way through, an irate parent stormed through the door, kid in tow, ranting that how dare we send her kid home on the bus when he should have been with the program.
Before 5 PM came, other parents started to show up to pick up their children and I had gone through all my science stuff – what was the harm of letting them go a bit early? After all, the students had showed up early – I was certain that I had entertained them for a full hour (it really felt like a lifetime!).
Well, harm there apparently was – that irate parent proceeded to let me know that parents paid good money for the program and that they expected I would provide jam-packed science entertainment for their children until 5 PM every Thursday for the next 8 weeks.
And then, something unexpected happened, that irate parent volunteered to come every week to help me. Maybe she felt bad for me or maybe I am the worst after-school child care provider she ever saw. I know she is the overly-involved, know-it-all, know-everyone mom, but I’ll take all the help I can get!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Bloggable Moments
I’ve had a lot of what I consider “bloggable” moments pass me by in the past two years. Maybe it was that I didn’t really think I ever wanted to blog until recently or that I didn’t realize how interesting my experiences were until they were the past.
Now is the time: I have a new endeavor that will certainly generate interest and happens to tie in with my passion of science education /science literacy. I am teaching after-school science activities to elementary students.
I have delivered science enhancement activities to middle and high school students, but elementary is a totally new realm! And, as luck has it, my assigned classes are the K-2 groups… not the grade 3-5 students who might be able to help me ease into this younger student group.
I am committed to teaching 8 weeks of science after school lessons, and I am going to attempt to provide commentary for each week of classes. That’s right girls and boys (that’s appropriate for K-2, right?), I am going to capture this “bloggable” moment!
This is week 1, day 1.
And it seemed luck was on my side – my first experience was at a private school with a middle school volunteer and a parent volunteer. Sounds good, right?
I had only 15 students today (FYI, the minimum is 17 – but shh please don’t tell anyone!) – first and second graders at that (no super little ones!). Even better! Yet, my sentiment is OH MY – What have I gotten myself into?!
Kids hit each other; can’t sit down, especially with both feet on the floor; and are complete chatter boxes – they talk when I’m talking, they talk when they’re talking, they talk ALL the time!
Maybe, just maybe, they stopped talking long enough for the repetition of: observe, predict, test, and report to get into their little heads. And, if not today, I’m not worried – I’ve got another 7 weeks to get these kids to eat, sleep, and breathe the scientific method!
Now is the time: I have a new endeavor that will certainly generate interest and happens to tie in with my passion of science education /science literacy. I am teaching after-school science activities to elementary students.
I have delivered science enhancement activities to middle and high school students, but elementary is a totally new realm! And, as luck has it, my assigned classes are the K-2 groups… not the grade 3-5 students who might be able to help me ease into this younger student group.
I am committed to teaching 8 weeks of science after school lessons, and I am going to attempt to provide commentary for each week of classes. That’s right girls and boys (that’s appropriate for K-2, right?), I am going to capture this “bloggable” moment!
This is week 1, day 1.
And it seemed luck was on my side – my first experience was at a private school with a middle school volunteer and a parent volunteer. Sounds good, right?
I had only 15 students today (FYI, the minimum is 17 – but shh please don’t tell anyone!) – first and second graders at that (no super little ones!). Even better! Yet, my sentiment is OH MY – What have I gotten myself into?!
Kids hit each other; can’t sit down, especially with both feet on the floor; and are complete chatter boxes – they talk when I’m talking, they talk when they’re talking, they talk ALL the time!
Maybe, just maybe, they stopped talking long enough for the repetition of: observe, predict, test, and report to get into their little heads. And, if not today, I’m not worried – I’ve got another 7 weeks to get these kids to eat, sleep, and breathe the scientific method!
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