Revising the lesson plan

I had to Curb My Lesson Plan (but not my Enthusiasm!) to better fit time and energy constraints - shorter and simpler plus time for the kids to move around. A new classroom is wonderful but the kids needed some adjustment to the space.
So.. I started with a general Question:
Q: "Why are we here?"
A: "To do Science"
Q: "What is Science?
A: "Um..."
Well of course almost any answer will be right because science is all about how the world works. So a lot of the possible responses could be pretty silly and still be Science, and it's good to get the class laughing.
Next step was getting the kids to get up and engage in a 'scavenger hunt' - I would ask them to find stuff in the room - either images or the real thing or, introducing a new concept - identifying a MODEL of something, the earth for example (globe).

Above,  they are finding a polar bear picture.

Once they were more comfortable with the new space it was time to do some magic:

An innocent-looking cup of water (Q: 'why do you think this is water? A: Clear; See-through; liquid etc) reveals 'invisible' balls only after using our touch senses. EEkkkk! As each child checked out the cup, I pretended they were kidding me about feeling balls in the water because they were invisible to the eyes. Finally, the secret was out (literally) as each child in turn fished out a jelly marble that had been lurking in the water.

I encouraged them to find words to describe how the balls felt: 'soft', smooth', 'slimy', 'wet', 'squishy', were among the responses.
They bounce and roll just like rubber balls but the children discovered that the structure collapsed if you squeezed them - this caused some initial alarm ('I broke it!'), quickly dispelled by my encouraging them all to 'splat' their balls and find out how they were made.

squishing the marbles

splat!

 

The reason they are invisible in water is that they are mostly water - further explanations were beyond their comprehension but they understood that adding water to water doesn't leave a visible trace. WE know of course that the polymer comprising the jelly marble has a structure but the sheer amount of water absorbed dominates.
Mentioning  that a similar substance is in the lining of a diaper,  gets the right amount of 'EEEUUW!' and ensures this nugget gets communicated to their parents and friends after the class is over.

Try this at home:
Adding sugar crystals to a cup of water and stirring them so they 'disappear' acts as an extra comparative activity that is fun and something they can try at home with all kinds of things like salt, flour etc. The idea of Dissolving is introduced as is Solvents as they try these solids in different solutions - syrup, oil, vinegar etc.

All in all a successful first class for 3 and 4 year-olds - we'll get to the Population Connection fun and games next time - it involves sharing and eating which are, after all, crucial to pre-K skills!

classroom set-up

New classroom this year - converting a two's classroom to a science room wrought some serious thought to function and form as well as interior decorating (ha!) and organization. I have boxes and boxes of materials and books, stored in 2 other classroom closets and snuggling up with the spiders in my basement. I did some life laundry and downsized to one closet and just 2 boxes left for the spiders.

I made a reading circle area with separate displays for fiction and for non-fiction books illustrating science themes. I will change the selection periodically to complement the areas we are studying from my considerable personal library.

I made a terrific find - an old turntable salvaged from someone's classroom 'junk' and got it to work. It's the black box on the cupboard on the left in the first picture! Perfect for my 'Information Storage' unit. Can YOU figure out those black vinyl discs on the bulletin board? Yep, 33 1/3rds and I have 78s and 45s at home as well. I got hold of a TV, VHS and DVD player as well, not to mention our collection of ancient computers at home. More on THAT when the time is right!

Finally - after years - a collections table! Just waiting for the first rocks and shells and leaves to hit it! Magnifiers, paper and colored pencils (SO much more subtle than crayons and marker even for 3's) to draw what you see. Even a bug box lest some live objects arrive with the kids ("well it LOOKED like a rock"). Check out 'Let's go rock collecting' by Roma Gans - a good read-aloud book.
My jelly marbles are growing as we speak and the first students arrive in science class Monday. Wrote an intro newsletter to the parents and had so much fun with it - I hope they like the humorous bits!
Check out these quotes from NAEYC publications - I love the chinese proverb one - it's what my science class is all about - DOING!