January 10

Big Smelly Bear

Educators know that design thinking empowers children to generate solutions for authentic needs using creativity and problem-solving skills. Using literature as a springboard for a project is my favorite way to introduce a problem to young children.

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But do bears really enjoy having their backs scratched? Watch this bear to discern the answer. Go here to view full screen.

Many of us enjoy having our backs scratched, especially during the winter months when the air is so dry. Task your children or students with designing a back scratcher. Use recycled materials and take this project through the design process. Encourage children to brainstorm ideas for their backscratchers and draw a picture of their ideas before they begin. Do they have the necessary prior knowledge and skills to complete the project successfully? For example, what are the various ways to attach two materials? Will one of your entrepreneurs think of a unique feature for his/her backscratcher?

Want to know more about the design process? Listen to this podcast by VivifySTEM.

January 8

Enchanted Woodland Walk

The Enchanted Woodland Walk is open at the Chattahoochee Nature Center through February 29. The following is a sample of the buildings that are tucked away along the trail. My favorite structures are those built from natural materials. I can just imagine small woodland creatures exploring this community of buildings.

Such an engaging family project that teaches engineering concepts and skills, as well as fostering creativity and problem solving. Take this project through the Design Process – Identify the Problem, Research, Brainstorm (Imagine), Design, Build (Redesign), and Share. Building a fairy community would also be a fun project-based learning experience to enhance a fairy or folk tale unit.



Go here to see last year’s fairy buildings and for some literature connections.

November 6

Doors

What is the purpose of a front door? Brainstorm with your students or children. Ideas may include safety, a means of welcoming others, or a reflection of the homeowner’s style. We often decorate for holidays around our front doors.

My former school made this video of our front doors when we moved to online instruction during Covid. Go here to watch full screen.

The more I introduced engineer or design activities in my classroom, the more I realized how much my students both enjoyed the challenge and benefitted from the skills required to complete them. These tasks were especially meaningful when there was a real-world component. For background knowledge on engineering, go here.

I’ve always been drawn to the beauty of front doors and while I was in Europe, I took photos of some of my favorites.



Engineering Task: Design a front door on graph paper or construct a prototype of a front door. Depending upon the age of your engineers, increase the complexity of the assignment. Incorporate measurement skills as appropriate. Is there a standard measurement for the height and width of a door?

There are so many design choices to make before you construct a door. Walk through a neighborhood or outdoor shopping area and take photos or sketch design choices that capture your engineer’s interest.

Some Questions to Consider:

What materials would you choose to construct your door – wood, stone, metal….

Will there be glass in your door?  Consider the placement, color, and shape of the glass. If your student is constructing a model door, use plastic to represent the glass.

Will you have a double or single front door? How will you design the doorknob?

Will there be any kind of trim around the door?

Some other door related activities:

Everyone loves a little mystery. Introduce a unit, a story, or as I did, objects that begin with the letter D behind doors. Teachers could also reveal class awards or incentives behind doors.

Melissa and Doug Wooden Puzzles:

I found that many of my students had not memorized their home addresses in second grade. Spend some time during this mini-unit to teach your students to memorize their addresses and how to write an address on an envelope.

August 9

Amazing Animal Bridges

Is the deer crossing the path or is the path crossing the forest?


Roadways fragment or isolate animal populations. They create barriers for animals to access food or mates, migrate, or reach nesting areas. The flow of energy through the ecosystem is altered. Many animals are also killed crossing roads every year. “Surveys conducted by the Humane Society and the Animal Protection Institute estimate that one million animals per day die on the road in the United States.” Read more here.

As a result of these concerns, engineers and scientists have collaborated to design and build innovative bridges and underpasses to help wildlife move safely across highways. Scientists ask questions and construct explanations based on evidence, while engineers define problems and design solutions.

Go here to view full screen.

Go here to watch full screen.

Add these informative books to your study of animal bridges.

Crossings: Extraordinary Structures for Extraordinary Animals ...

Make Way for Animals!: A World of Wildlife Crossings (Hardback or Cased Book) - Picture 1 of 1

Designing and building bridges is a common classroom STEM activity. The most meaningful engineering challenges are those that solve a real-world problem. Ask your students to research the wildlife that are threatened by crossing roads in the area in which you live, and then challenge them to design a bridge that would help that specific animal cross the highway safely.

Learn bridge building terminology here.

Add these books to your library to extend your children’s knowledge about the history of bridges and various bridge designs. Here to There and Me to You is an engaging book for you to introduce bridges to your students or children. Examples of architectural designs and real-life bridges are included. Use Google maps to locate these bridges. The overarching message is that bridges bring people together. Discuss real problems that the construction of a bridge has resolved.

Perfect Picture Book Friday: A BOOK OF BRIDGES – FROM HERE TO THERE ...

Would the Brooklyn Bridge be completed when the chief engineer was bedridden? His wife, Emily Roebling, supervised the completion of the bridge during a time in history when women were not engineers.

History Book Fest to introduce Children’s Literature Panel Sept. 28 ...

In 1883, people wondered just how much weight the new mile-long Brooklyn Bridge could hold. Would the elephants in the P. T. Barnum Circus cross the bridge safely? Twenty-One Elephants and Still Standing is another beautifully illustrated book that integrates social studies concepts (history and geography) with engineering, science, and math concepts.

Twenty-One Elephants and Still Standing (Hardcover - Used) 061844887X 9780618448876

Building the Golden Gate Bridge, “the impossible bridge”, was a dangerous undertaking and at its completion was considered an architectural wonder. Pop’s Bridge is told from the point of view of one of the high climbing ironworker’s sons and his friend.

Pop's Bridge (Hardcover)

Use this informational book to introduce the variety of bridge designs. Which types of bridges are in your city or community?

Hardcover Cross a Bridge Book

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Go here for a simple bridge building challenge.

Go here for an impressive activity that tests the strength of solid shapes.

When I was in the classroom, I created units that were cross-curricular or multi-disciplinary, so that learning was connected and had greater meaning. The study of bridges is an ideal topic to incorporate multiple subject areas.

February 1

Beavers – Natural Engineers

Beavers, the largest rodent in North America, are a keystone animal in a woodland ecosystem and amazing natural engineers! They were once hunted to near extinction for their pelts, meat, and castoreum, but are no longer considered endangered.

When I visit the Chattahoochee Nature Center, I never miss the beaver habitat. When possible, rescued animals that are brought to the on-site CNC clinic are rehabilitated and released. “On average, the Wildlife Department receives an average of 500 injured raptors, reptiles, and amphibians annually.” Animals that cannot be set free are used for educational purposes. Although primarily nocturnal, this beaver was active during my recent visit.

What a perfect shape for swimming! Beavers are semi-aquatic, meaning they spend their lives in and out of the water. They can hold their breath for up to 15 minutes while under water.

Did you know that beavers’ larger hind feet are webbed and used for swimming, but their front feet are hand-like and used to manipulate objects? Beavers are herbivores and weigh up to 70 pounds.

The beaver’s thick fur repels water. Transparent eyelids allow them to see underwater and their nostrils and ears are closeable. Beavers remain active even on cold days and do not hibernate.


A beaver’s flat tail acts as a rudder when they swim. They will also slap their tail to warn of danger.


Like other rodents, beavers’ front incisors never stop growing, so they must chew to control their growth. Teeth are orange because of the iron in them. “Beaver chew” are sticks left behind after the beaver has eaten the bark and leaves. The sticks are used to make rustic furniture.

Click here to view full screen.

Click here to view full screen.

Click here to view full screen. I found this film fascinating! Before you build your dam below, listen to the plan the beavers use in this film. I have a new appreciation for the simile, busy as a beaver.

Gail Gibbons has written many non-fiction books for children.

Paperback Beavers Book

Five Busy Beavers is a fun rhyme with predictable language that introduces the concept of subtraction.

Five Busy Beavers | Scholastic Canada

Go outside and task your child with designing and building a dam. Use a shallow plastic tub. Then collect mud, leaves, rocks, moss, twigs and any other natural materials to construct a dam across the tub. Pour water on one side of the dam. Does your dam prevent the water from moving to the other side? Add some plastic pond animals to your ecosystem. Remember that beavers don’t live in their dams. They are social animals and build homes called lodges.

Do you have a dam near your home? This dam created a pond in my neighborhood. Use your discussion of beavers to kickstart a study of dams. Discuss how they are constructed and their purposes. Locate famous dams.

When you visit Yellowstone, be sure to see the beavers. Click here to learn more.

January 30

Engineering Outside

After reading the classic books, The Borrowers or The Littles, create a home for the characters with your children. Use as many natural objects as possible or repurpose items. Add plants or walkways. Construct a swing or a bridge. You are only limited by your imagination! If you are working with more than one child, create a community. Then compose your own story.

The Borrowers Borrowers 1 - Picture 1 of 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Enchanted Trail is open at the Chattahoochee Nature Center. These structures and many more were built by families and placed along the woodland trail. Use them for inspiration.




A former student made this structure:

November 29

Isopods

When I taught about invertebrates, observing roly polies, (aka pill bugs or potato bugs) was always a favorite lab. They actually aren’t bugs at all! Why? Scientists refer to them as isopods and they are most closely related to shrimp and lobsters (crustaceans). They breathe through gills and require a moist environment. Click here to go to a pill bug lab.

When I retired, I left all the lab animals at school, except for a handful of pill bugs. They have multiplied (through laying eggs) over the last 18 months, and their habitat is full of many generations!

I just added this book to my collection:

See the source image

Click here to watch the author read her book full screen.

Examine the following photos closely. Notice the diversity of colors and the different sizes of these decomposers.


Constructing a pill bug habitat for a classroom is simple. I placed decomposing leaves and wood on organic soil. Then I added slices of potatoes and sprinkled Deer Park mineral water as needed to keep the habitat moist. They can’t crawl up the plastic sides, so a top isn’t necessary.

Engineers study nature for solutions to problems. I recommend this book for young entrepreneurs who want to learn about the study of biomimicry. What have engineers learned from pill bugs? Think about their defense mechanism (seven overlapping plates that can slide back and forth) and then read the book to learn more.

Click here to watch the preview of Nature Did It First full screen.

November 2

Sand

Have you wondered why sand is on the shore of the beach and in the desert, while other types of soil are found elsewhere? How is sand created and is it always the same color and texture?

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Click here and here for labs with kinetic sand. Click here to go to an investigation with hydrophobic sand.

Engineer with sand. Click here to view full screen.

Plant a variety of seeds in sand, instead of soil or plant the same kind of seed in clay, sand and loam soils. Keep all other variables the same. What do you think will happen? What does happen?


Color on sandpaper.

October 10

Caves and Caverns

When I was growing up in Kentucky, my family visited Mammoth Cave and when I was teaching science, I chaperoned field trips to the Dahlonega Gold Mines. Click here for further information and photos of this field trip.

Because my husband and I couldn’t continue our journey to Glacier National Park, we explored some sights near Bozeman, Montana. One of those day trips led us to Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park.

The Lewis and Clark Caverns, Montana’s first state park, became federal property in 1908. Although they never entered the caverns, the park was named after Meriwether Lewis and William Clark whose expedition passed through the area as they explored the western portion of the United States after the Louisiana Purchase. These caverns are unique because they are high in the mountains.

What is the difference between a cave and a cavern?  Caverns consist of a series of caves connected with one passage, while caves tend to consist of only one hollow.

We hiked to the entrance of the caverns. Although the outside temperature was nearly 80 degrees, the temperature remains approximately 48 degrees Fahrenheit inside the caverns.

The cathedral room was spectacular! The most common features were dripstone (soda straws, stalagmites, stalactites, and columns); flowstone (canopies, waterfalls, and cave bacon); and seepstone (cave popcorn and helicities).

I was hoping to see the resident Townsend’s big eared bats, but no luck on this visit.

Click here to view full screen.

Click here for full screen viewing.

We had fun spelunking!

Click here for full screen. Try this experiment:

The following humorous story can be used to teach prediction and persusaion, as well as the danger of making assumptions.

Click here to watch full screen.

Construct a cave inside or outside like the children do in the following story. What materials could you use-boxes, bed sheets…? Young children will enjoy the repetitive language in this imaginative text.

To watch full screen, click here.

Look at what this teacher did to transform her hallway and classroom! Crumbled brown paper makes it appear as though you are inside caverns. Use a cave unit to kick off a study of bats or bears. If you want to integrate art into a cave unit, make cave paintings


Photo credit: wwv.group.com

May 2

A Focus on Goats

Autrey Mill Nature Preserve, only a few miles from home, has resident goats. I visited the preserve during their Earth Day celebration, and watched children feeding them magnolia leaves, which I consequently discovered is their favorite treat! Watch the goat below push the other goat away from the leaves.


In this post, let’s focus on a goat’s eyes. What do you observe and wonder?

How would it benefit a goat to have horizontal pupils? Scroll under the photo below to find the answer.

Goats are herbivores and need to be able to spot predators approaching along the ground. Horizontal pupils improve peripheral vision, so they can see on either side of them without turning their heads. Click here for the Safeshare link.

The two videos below present additional information about goats. Click here for the Safeshare link.

Click here for the Shafeshare link.

After studying goats, read The Three Billy Goats Gruff, a traditional folk tale about three brothers who need to avoid a troll as they cross a bridge to reach the pasture. A folktale is a fictional story that was originally passed down orally. Many folktales have animals as characters, magical elements, and teach a lesson. A common theme is good vs. evil.

It is fun to compare different illustrators’ interpretations of the story. The author will always be unknown. This is also an easy story to dramatize with sound effects. I used a rectangular school table as my bridge. The goats could safely walk across the table with the troll underneath. You may also have a bridge on your playground.
Click here for the Safeshare link.

My youngest scientists brainstormed alternative ways the goats could have safely reached the other side of the river. When one of them suggested a boat, my response would always be, “Let’s make boats for the goats!” Click here for the repost of this STEM lesson.

A lesson about absorbency would be a good place to begin. Click here for a simple lesson that will build background knowledge.

To learn more about animal eyes, click here for the Safeshare link.

Another great video about animal eyes. Click here to watch full screen.