Well, it’s not the last call ever for science tips and ideas. That’s not true at all! 🙂 We’ll surely be chatting about science again in the near future. However, it is the last day to be entered in our science book giveaway. You have right up until midnight tonight, July 9. So if you haven’t checked out the blog posts “Squeezing In Science” and “Let’s Do Science!” I suggest you get crackin’! That is, if you’re interested in winning a free science book from The Mailbox.
And just in case you’re not familiar with our science books, I’ve selected a few of my faves to share with you. Remember, you can view sample pages of all our books at www.themailbox.com.
Have a great weekend!
Diane
Congrats to our contest winners: Deanna, Tina, and Debbie!
 Everything Science Grades PreK-K |
 Let’s Do Science Today! Preschool |
 Let’s Do Science Today! Grades K-1 |
 Fascinating Facts: Science Grades 2-3 |
 Fascinating Facts: Science Grades 4-5 |
I love doing science with my preschoolers right down to the youngest of my classes. With 2 1/2 year olds I often fill storage bags with hair gel or shaving cream and add food coloring. Then seal it and let them squish it fo make colors. You can also add other colors to let them make other colors.
My older preschoolers love discovering how to make ant farms and worm farms.
First graders are easy to engage in science projects & lessons. In our dinosaur unit we make “fossils” out of a sand & coffee ground dough. the kids stamp a toy dinosaur foot or the side of a fish, etc. into the dough & we let it dry. they are always so excited to take their “fossils” home & to explain to their parents all they learned about how real fossils were formed.
My preschoolers love anything hands on so science is very fun for them. They especially loved experimenting with ramps and our toy cars. We also have made volcanos and that is a lot of excitement. I think that any way to use hands on activities, preschoolers will love it.
I love science and so have my students! I’ve been teaching science for the last 15 years in a departmentalized curriculum. The students come into the room wanted to know what we’re doing today!!! Now science has to tie “smoothly” to the reading curriculum and I’m in the literacy dept. I’d love to find a book that was a tie into the reading part of my curriculum. That way it could fit into a independent center while guided reading is taking place!
The children and families that come to our strongstart program love the science experiments we do!! From making “goop” to exploring the great outdoors, they are always ready to go!
My preK children love to create their own volcanos.
Just the look on their faces when the lava spews out.
I love doing Science with my 4th graders. There are so many fun experiments that we get to do. It’s great to see even just one child get so excited about Science and I hope one day in the future one or more will do something with science in their life.
My first grade students said they didn’t know science could be so much fun. They loved every experiment/activity we did. They would get so upset if I explained that we weren’t doing an experiment that week. They loved it when I referred to them as scientists! It really made them feel good when we went on a field trip to a local county park and they were able to answer the guide’s questions and even told him something he didn’t know. I was so proud of them for all their hard work, it let me know that they really were learning and retaining that knowledge.
I just completed doing my first year in departmentalized science. The kids and I loved it. I can’t wait for this school year to bump it up. Even my kindergarteners were exposed to scientific vocabulary and reasoning. We need to always explain the science behind the cool experiments.
My students really love doing science as well. It is great for them to see how everything around them works. I think they like it so much because it is something they can not only relate to in everyday life, but it is often hands on and something they can explore first hand.
I have been teaching for ten years. I am now going into year 11!! I switched from 3rd grade to kindergarten just last year and found my calling.I LOVE doing science with Kindergarteners.Everything is so new. I would love some quick activities for a day when science isn’t scheduled for a little Extra. ELA and math is so much of our day. I would also love to incorporate my ELA and science more. I try to get books science related to incorporate into our themes. We LOVED the plants unit. We had a growing station, experiement station, journals, and they LOVED disecting the seeds. we are all about the mess in our room!
I have to incorporate science into my literacy block so these books have great ideas for me it use and the students love it!
I am the coordinator for the after school program at my school. I focus on science. The children have never had so much fun with science before!!
As a special ed teacher and professional learning community school-based co-ordinator, I meet with teachers at all grades k-5 and share differentiation ideas for all subjects to integrate Reading n Math CSO’s with all content areas. Science is the next most important subject tested and this book will give me great ideas to share with my fellow teachers.
My kindergarteners love to get dirty when we work on experiments in our science units. We have cut up pumpkins and built terrariums as part of our plant/lifecycle unit. We get out the sasnd/water table for sink or float experiments.
I really like some of the ideas I have read here and will try to make “fossils” next year.
I would really love to win a new book to help build my science lessons.
I use the pages of the Science Fascinating Facts book as a morning warm-up. When my students come into the room, they have a page on their desk to be used as a comprehension activity, then later on in the day, I use the sentences from the page as a Daily Oral Language activity. I just write the sentences on the board, but I put in grammar and punctuation mistakes for them to correct. This way, we have incorporated not only science facts, but have practiced our language skills as well. Who say’s there’s no time for science! (3rd Grade level)
My 1st graders love Science but it seems there is not enough time to teach everything I would like to. I am interested in the Let’s Do Science Today to use in my classroom. I am also attending Teacher Academy next week to learn more ways to incorporate Science!
I teach pre-k. I use the heavy and light section from Let’s Do Science Today to make a great center that incorporates science and math skills. I use a balance scale and lots of things from nature such a a birds nest and an empty bee hive. We determine if these things are heavy or light compared to one another. The children then go find items on the nature trail behind our school o bring into the classroom to weigh.
I teach 3rd grade. Since science isn’t a “tested subject” in third grade, it is SO hard to fit in! I find myself doing more and more integration with science. When I taught 4th grade, Fascinating Facts: 4-5 was my best friend because it helped improve reading comprehension and build testing scores! I need to invest in the 2-3 book now that I’ve switched levels. I LOVE the Mailbox Books… the BEST teaching books I have found!
SCIENCE! I teach preschool and I have the best response when I announce that we are doing science today! Children are naturally curious about how things work and science is a wonderful way to introduce them to that concept. They remember each experiment we do and tell their parents about it enthusiastically, we have done a melting ice experiment, turning an egg to rubber, color mixing, to name a few. I am always trying to get new age appropriate ideas. I want my students to be successful and excited to learn about science.!
I teach pre-k for head start.we have no budget and any resource that is free is greatly appreciated and we are always in need of new science ideas:)(:
I teach preschool and wish to incorporate more science in our day. Children love it but I need to make it easy to implement.
This is my 3rd year teaching preschool. I have been purchasing Maib box idea books with money out of my own pocket. I am always looking for new ways of making the lessons I teach fun and interesting. I can truely use a science idea book to help show my three year olds how science is found in everyday life.
I had been a Pre-k teacher for many years.I took a break to homeschool .I am going back into the Pre-k classroom. I am trying to rebuild my “toolbox” Science is a spot where I am lacking. Sure would appreciate this resource!
I am teaching 3rd grade after 31 years of 1st grade. I need all new ideas or ways to take the ones I have used in the past to new levels.
One of my favorite science experiments involves gingerbread cookies.
When we are on our fairy tale unit, we read ‘The Gingerbread Man.’ We talk about what would happen to the gingerbread man if he jumped into the river instead of riding on the fox’s back.
I bring in a gingerbread man cookie, and we put it in a shallow container of water. We check the cookie at one minute, five minutes, ten minutes, etc. The students love to see what happens. When the experiment is over, the students brainstorm what the gingerbread man could do instead of riding on the fox or jumping in the water. I get lots of interesting, creative answers. 🙂
I teach Pre-K and science doesn’t take expensive equipment or a genius to teach. For us, it is simple as watching milk change to chocolate milk and mixing baking sofa with vinegar! It is a simple center set up with magnifying glasses, color paddles, and other tools to explore objects such as rocks and seashells. It is letting children draw what they see. Science should be easy and fun for everyone involved! My kids love science small groups. I put on my white lab coat and my goggles and the kids know it is time for science!
I teach kindergarten and science is one of my favorite subjects to teach. Unfortunately I have not found enough activities to go with our curriculum so that my students can have a variety of learning experiences. Over the summer our district is working on our science and social studies curriculum to make sure we are updated with what our state requirements ask us to do. I would LOVE the books to help us out. Our requirements are: plants, five senses, seasons, staying healthy, etc. As I clicked through the books, I saw many pages that would help me to work on our curriculum and to share these books with the other kindergarten teachers. THANKS for this offer!
Love all the Mailbox books. I teach preschool classes and the kids love doing science projects.
“Science is all around us,” I tell my 5th graders each day. No matter if we are in the class or walking outside, I am pointing and taking the time to explain about the wonders of the world. I make it a point to share with my students that Science is fun. It is a way of exploring the what if’s and the idea of how come it happens this way. From layers of soil, mystery powders, water cycle, solar cars, rockets, balancing of nails,transfer of energy, and different conductors of heat, science is ALL AROUND US and it is FUN!
I really enjoy hearing about all these science ideas.
Thanks, everyone!
I am loving this blog on science for the new ideas I am getting. The Mailbox is a great place for teachers to exchange ideas. Thanks.
I teach preschool & I would love to have new ideas on science. Thanks you so much for the offer.