Science Tuesday's with Dr. George

During our first three weeks of school, Kindergartners spent Tuesday afternoons with Dr. George.  He peaks the children's interests with relevant and interesting topics related to the world of Science.  He and I collaborate on activities related to our weekly themes.


 Week 1:  Rocks
 Week 2:  Insects/Bugs
 Week 3:  Bones (generated from a conversation with Maia and Mason regarding dinosaurs being embedded in rock during our rock discussion)

Our first unit discussed the 3 kinds of rocks and their  personalities (igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary) and where they might be found.  Afterward,  Dr. George used  candies to demonstrate a metamorphic transformation  (See blog entry "Rocks in our Heads"  for details. )

 Week 2's demonstration included Dr. George's collection of "Domesticated Beetles" and the bone carcasses from  the remains  of it's food. The children observed and counted the bug's legs, noticed it's distinct characteristics, and  found out the purpose of domesticating beetles to support composting efforts.

Last week's discussion easily segwayed into a discussion about theories related to the evolution of dinosaurs into birds.  Dr. George took a poll with the children at the beginning of class as to the validity of this theory and then the class spent the rest of their session together supporting and/or disputing the notion. 

Kindergartners learned about the names of the bones and their locations and met "Bob," Dr. George's skeleton model.  The children then compared sizes of tibias, fibula's, and humerus  bones with the beetle's food remains, Bob, and their own bones. 

They also sought out bone matches with diagrams.