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| Love the long sleeves and gray clouds. Not sure what is going on with the sun. |
I love love love love love Mystery Science. Did I mention I like it? It is a work in progress but I love direction they are going. Teachers have so much on their plate with implementing CCSS etc. I like that Mystery Science is straight forward and oh so easy to implement. FYI: I am not employed by Mystery Science nor do I receive any materials. I just really like it.
It is a crazy time for science! We have new standards and no adopted curriculum. There are a lot of unanswered questions about testing. I have been trying out different programs. For middle school I have tried It's About Time and Stemscopes. I will review these at another time. I teach K-6 science and I am so grateful for Mystery Science! It is free this year so it is a great time to try it out. I have been using lessons for my K-5 classes and have done lessons in K, 2, 3, 4, and 5. It is easy to implement and the activities involve every day items. You need a good internet connection because they are online video lessons. (I think you can download them too.)
K: Weather Watching Mystery 1- There are only 2 weather mysteries right now but they are working on adding more. I have done the "Have You Watched a Storm?" mystery. It was engaging and the drawing activity was age appropriate. We have looked at the weather on two different days (sunny and cloudy/rainy) and drawn what we saw. The mystery teaches to look and draw at 4 parts of the weather:
What are you wearing? (temp)
What does the sky look like?
Is there wind?
Is there anything coming down? (rain, snow)
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| I love the mud puddles from the rain. |
I like how you can tell from a child's drawing if he/she gets it. Does the drawing match the weather? Did he/she draw a picture of themselves in the clothing they are wearing? I also did the extras and we watched the video of "Snowy Day" being read and I purchased "Come On Rain" and read that.
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| Love the wind! |
I have 36 kindergarteners at a time. (a class and a half) and I see 2 classes back to back. Being at a K-8 school is great because I have 7th & 8th graders who come help. I have one middle school TA at each table of 6 kinders. The kinders love their helpers. I have bins of materials (crayons, pencils, etc.) in the center of the table. We practice passing the bin and getting supplies. Each child grabs a handful of crayons and shares with their partner. I have a table demonstrate this almost every time. With 500 kids in my science room each week, procedures are a priority for me in order to have things run smoothly.
FYI: All of these drawings were from the same day. It had been raining but had stopped. The sky was entirely gray (no blue) and there was sunlight coming through but you couldn't see the sun. Although it seems like a simple task, reality can be a tough one for kinders. That is what makes them so entertaining.
