Yesterday was the school science fair. Preschool doesnt participate, but we did go see the other kids. I was pretty proud of my kids for how well they behaved. There was a lot of things that would be tempting to touch and they didn't touch any of them. Some of my kids even asked good questions and listened intently to what the older children had to say. It's nice to see such a huge change in behavior and language skills in my students since the beginning of the year; I hope they don't loose it all over the summer.
The science fair was a whole day ordeal and wasn't organized quite as nicely as I would've hoped. I helped judge the middle school experiments in the afternoon and missed writing class with the third graders. I feel like writing always gets cut and it makes it VERY difficult to get anything done since I only see them twice a week. Some kids did a good job and others clearly just took steps off the internet, did it and didn't really understand what was going on. I feel like kids here get shafted on some of the really hands on subjects, such as science. They clearly do not know how to follow the scientific method to do an experiment. In the presentations I spoke with I asked if they had tried their experiment with different materials, in different ways, etc (aka what was their variable) and they all said they didn't try it with anything else. It's kind of disapointing sometimes. It's the way I feel about art and music too. Very hands on and kids benefit from them, but there is no art or music teacher here...
The science fair also had a night portion for the parents and this was when awards were given out. Dereek and I went for the last 30-45 minutes of it to see the awards. Dereek is still very much loved here and I really enjoy watching all the kids run over and attack him whenever they see him at a school event. Overally, science fair was cute and a good idea, but it'd be nice if it was more organized and students were actually taught how to carry out an experiment at their knowledge level rather than take from the internet...
The science fair was a whole day ordeal and wasn't organized quite as nicely as I would've hoped. I helped judge the middle school experiments in the afternoon and missed writing class with the third graders. I feel like writing always gets cut and it makes it VERY difficult to get anything done since I only see them twice a week. Some kids did a good job and others clearly just took steps off the internet, did it and didn't really understand what was going on. I feel like kids here get shafted on some of the really hands on subjects, such as science. They clearly do not know how to follow the scientific method to do an experiment. In the presentations I spoke with I asked if they had tried their experiment with different materials, in different ways, etc (aka what was their variable) and they all said they didn't try it with anything else. It's kind of disapointing sometimes. It's the way I feel about art and music too. Very hands on and kids benefit from them, but there is no art or music teacher here...
The science fair also had a night portion for the parents and this was when awards were given out. Dereek and I went for the last 30-45 minutes of it to see the awards. Dereek is still very much loved here and I really enjoy watching all the kids run over and attack him whenever they see him at a school event. Overally, science fair was cute and a good idea, but it'd be nice if it was more organized and students were actually taught how to carry out an experiment at their knowledge level rather than take from the internet...
Kindergarten didn't have to present either, but they did an AWESOME job and presented Oobleck.
My kids and the oobleck, they definitely enjoyed playing with it.
Listening intently to Maximo.
Watching Camila change the color of a penny. My kids really liked hers. (I think because she was one of the few presenters who told my kids her name, so they remembered her the best.)
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