For our families in New York City, traditional pet ownership may feel like a daunting task. It may also be a complete logistical impossibility! That said, caring for an animal can be an inspiring and thought-provoking activity for a child that also teaches responsibility skills. To that end, I want to share some alternative pet ideas for families in the city. First, you'll want to check out Carolina Biological Supply (www.carolina.com). Go to "Living Organisms" and see if there is anything there of mutual interest to you and your child. Notice how inexpensive many of these pet setups can be. Many of the animals listed there have very minimal care requirements, no odors, and are not in any way dangerous. Worms, for instance, can be an awesome pet that will grow and change and even reproduce in captivity. Did you ever think you'd list worm husbandry as a hobby of yours? Next, check out forums online where enthusiasts discuss pets of every imaginable variety to get more information about your chosen animal. These can be found easily and serve as a great resource of experts who are actually very excited to talk to you about your questions. Finally, there are tons of video resources to help you make your decision. Here's one to get you started:
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Balls, cars and ramps make for an active, exciting hands-on science unit in our younger classrooms. The students in the Watermelons and Legos classrooms have explored some of these materials before in their pre-K classrooms, but we are now challenging them to answer some exciting questions and figure out how ramps work. Which ramp is faster? Which ball will roll farther? Which car will win a race down these ramps? These questions all encourage the students to use cause-and-effect reasoning and to meet language goals to share their ideas. For some bathtub time inspiration, check out this video!: As the Clouds and Otters classrooms continue their study of fiddler crabs, they are using some higher-level skills such as comparing, contrasting and diagramming with scientific vocabulary to expand their knowledge of this animal. The students are also being challenged to share ideas with each other and to use these vocabulary words in a social setting through turn-and-talk activities and group observations. These are some of the many we practice in the science classroom that align with New York State's Science Core Curriculum.
The Pumpkins and Battleships classrooms recently learned how to handle their crayfish. Crayfish have claws, and although they are not aggressive animals, they need to be handled carefully. They also have a naturally frightening appearance! This challenges our students to use self-regulation skills as they learn how to be respectful and gentle with animals (with a little exercise in bravery to boot!). We finished this lesson by discussing germs and the importance of hand washing.
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ProjectsBraque posts photos and resources here to accompany many science units and explorations. Archives
November 2017
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