content.

Now, here’s where the real trick comes in; how do you sort through everything that is available on the internet to be able to not only find an answer, but to find one that is appropriate for using with your first grader? Like most things in life, the best way to handle most situations, is to be prepared. Quite a while ago I started collecting high quality children’s science websites. I began by googling “best science sites for kids”. WOW! Incredible! I started saving a list of “favorites” simply titled “Science” and whenever I found a site that I thought was good and worth revisiting, I saved it. After a while this list was growing and becoming wild and unmanageable. So, one rainy afternoon, I reorganized. I made subcategories under “Science” like Human Anatomy, Space, Botany, Chemistry, etc. I also have a folder titled “general” for websites that touch on multiple science disciplines. When we have a question, I can pull up my favorite websites, and head to a tried and true site. Many times we won’t be able to find exactly what we are looking for but a quick google search, typing in the specifics of what you’re looking for like “kids + why can’t we taste when we have a cold”, will turn up many sites to chose from. (By typing in the word “kids” or “children” with the search, child geared sites are listed first.) I headed to http://pbskids.org/dragonflytv/show/tastetest.html. There I found a 5 minute video with a group of kids performing a taste test. We hit a couple of other sites on the list, and in 15 minutes we learned that many tastes are perceived on your tongue, but the finer “tastes” are actually smells, that comingle at the back of your throat. When your nose is plugged with mucous, we lose the elements of taste that originate in your nose, which is about 75% of perceived taste. Fascinating! (I probably knew that at one time, but we all need refresher courses, right?)

So, point to note: My grandson now has a better understanding of smell, and perhaps equally important, so do I! As he moves up through the grades, learning more difficult concepts, his parents and I will be available for expanding and enhancing the learning that begins in LabLearner. Staying aware of the subjects being discussed in school is a great way to help our children continue learning at home. But don’t feel compelled to “stick to the schedule”. If your child expresses an interest in another wonder of the science world, help them explore! There is a wealth of information on the internet; information that can spur discussion and hands-on exploration; information that supports the scientist in all of us!

http://www.eduhound.com/

http://www.britannica.com/

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/

http://whyfiles.org/

http://www.eurekalert.org/kidsnews/

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/teachers/science/

http://www.totlol.com/

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/

http://www.aaas.org/port_kid.shtml

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/

http://www.brainpop.com/science/

Also, check daily LabLearner’s Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin for resource links that can help with LabLearner CELLs!

When thinking about communicating to parents what students are doing, I understand that it is a difficult task. We have newsletters in multiple languages that accompany the unit that the students are working on to inform the parents. I feel that since the students are communicating while they are working in school, they are more able to communicate what they have done to their parents. We as educators need to continue to encourage the ‘talking around the kitchen table’ and encourage the students to share what they know. Hands-on programs help to create independent and confident learners which will hopefully lend it self to creating expressive communicators.

I applaud LabLearner for its success in creating a program that takes science off of the dusty boring pages and into the hands of the students!

Whether these projects are presented formally, shared as attachments to emails, posted along the walls of the lab, or sent home to be enjoyed, they all encourage students and interested bystanders (parents included), to connect to what we are doing at a variety of levels.

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Dr. Verner, have you thought about adding interactive, self-check quizzes for students onto your webpage? It would be a stimulating way for students to review information that has been taught in the lab, allow for parents to “see” progress, and connect families to your program.

In addition, your program does a wonderful job of encouraging students to think like scientists, right down to the lab coats. I would love to see lab packets refer to compounds such as vinegar and baking soda by their scientific names and chemical formulas beginning at the elementary level. Instead of students using everyday groceries, they would now view the materials as “scientific” and refer to them as such. Not only would this expose them to a higher-level of scientific thinking, it would excite them. And just think of the reaction from parents. There would be a resounding “Wow!” when they find out their son/daughter used acetic acid and sodium bicarbonate in lab!

The hands-on component gives the students a personal science experience enabling them to realize the presence of science in their own daily lives. This then can be brought to the “kitchen table” for discussion. At the end of the day, parents appreciate hearing about what their child learned and hopefully, because of LabLearner, we will hear “NOTHING” no longer!

As parents we need to realize we don’t need to have all the answers when we talk science with our children. More important than supplying all the answers, we need to help our children learn to ask all the questions. And what could be healthier for a family than investigating the answers together?

LabLearner is all about questions and I applaud your efforts, Dr. Verner, to help parents understand that we too can apply your methods in our homes. How to I engage my children, well, now my grandchildren, in understanding science? I teach them to ask why, then stand back and give them space to begin to answer the question.