Polliwog on Safari

Poet in Residence, The final Installment

2012-01-27T12:46:00.000-08:00

Thanks for all the great comments on my earlier "Poet in Residence" posts. Here's the last batch of poems.

CHERRY PIE

I adore my mother’s cherry pie

It’s so good I wish to die

When my mother

makes it great

guess who happens to be late.

Is she making cherry pie?

Oh my gosh it’s just a lie!!

by Andrew B.

Butterfly

Butterfly! Butterfly!

With your speckled wings,

fly to the church,

soar to the sea,

and land on a tree.

by Sarah M

Nibbling on Leaves

One day a Japanese caterpillar

was nibbling

on a soft, juicy,

luscious leaf.

He ate it all the

way through.

BOOM!

He landed

on dinner!

by Ben H

HAWK

Swooping over

head

Predator of

the wild

Protector of

a nest

Bird of

Prey

Hawk

by Jacob D.

(HAWK, particularly the line breaks, was inspired by the work of William Carlos Williams. Can you recognize it? We read River of Words; The story of William Carlos Williams as part of our poetry study. It's a fantastic picture book about the life of William Carlos Williams).

At My Grandmother’s House

I sit

on the couch where I always

relax

Just sitting

watching TV while

eating with my family.

All I can smell

is my noodles

I hear

the TV going on

and on

and on.

I feel happy!

So is

my brother

and grandmother.

I feel like

I’m in my

own world.

I sprint

into the kitchen because

I hear

the parade

We’re just

looking

out the window.

I had a great time

my grandmother’s house.

by Jordyn D.

Which poems, phrases or lines speak to you?

Related Posts:

Poet in Residence

Poet in Residence, Part 2

Poet in Residence, Part 3

Seashell Poetry- Lunes
Fall Haiku

Adoption Insensitivity

2012-01-26T18:59:00.000-08:00

I've resisted posting much about my publishing aspirations here. But several recent events have made me want to share.

My dear friend Alison was adopted as an infant and now parents two biological children and two children adopted from Ethiopia. To say adoption is important to her would be an understatement. (Please read her blog to learn more). I, too, have strong feelings about the topic. My best friend from childhood was adopted. While her adoption certainly was not a constant topic in our friendship (we often had much more important things to talk about such as boys), it was important to me because it was part of what made her who she was. Later, when we were adults, I was lucky enough to experience her search for her birth parents. I later met her birth mother and biological sister. As her friend, these meetings were important to me.

Around this same time, two students in my 4th grade class were children who had been adopted. One girl's mother invited me to attend an adoption conference with her. I readily accepted and chose to attend workshops that especially addressed education topics. That was when I first learned of the "family orchard" as one alternative to a family tree.

When Alison and I first met, her son Mikias had just come home from Ethiopia (our boys were in preschool together and are still great buddies). We talk about adoption often as she works through the ups and downs of interacting with her own birth family. We also talk about her sons' experiences as adopted children. And Alison blogs about it all, quite openly.

Recently, Alison wrote a post titled "You're Adopted. Hahahah!" She started by sharing a "joke" that has been making the rounds on Facebook and then went on to sarcastically share a bunch of other insensitive jokes she found. That post generated lots of comments. One posted today caught my eye. Amanda from BeKindBeSillyBeHonest left a link to this post about the same photo. In her post, she went on to share stories of adoption insensitivity displayed by her kids' school. (Please read the post).

My heart sank. How can educators who know there are adopted children in their classes continue to assign insensitive assignments such as "Interview your family about where you got your name." or "Interview your family about your birth story?" (To be clear, the teacher knows her son was adopted at age eleven). Alison's boys were also given a timeline assignment that could have been worded differently to prevent hurting the boys (and Alison for that matter). Alison called me in tears the day that assignment came home. Even the best teachers can make mistakes.

Circumstances like this are what motivated Alison and I to co-author a picture book titled BINIAM AND WILL: THE FAMILY TREE PROJECT. It features an Ethiopian-born child adopted in America and his American-born best friend. While our story focuses on their friendship, the problem the boys face together is an assignment to create a family tree.

When I shared the manuscript with others for critique, one person suggested that these kinds of assignments are not given in schools any more. "... it seems unlikely that in the 21st century any teacher would assume that all her/his students live in an intact biological family."

I wish my reader were correct. Even then, I thought she was being incredibly generous. This educator appreciated her generosity even as I knew it wasn't true. Amanda's post today confirms what we already knew- more education is needed to help teachers assign tasks that honor all different kinds of families. I'm not suggesting we eliminate discussions of biology or genetics in science classes or anything like that. It's just that most name, or family tree, or birth story assignments can be given with modified directions that include all kids and all families.

That's why Alison and I were compelled to write, BINIAM AND WILL. Amanda's post has reminded me of our original desire to write a story to help educate others. She's given Alison and I a kick in the backside to shift into high gear and start sending our manuscript out to more publishers.

If you want to know more, please check out the resource Amanda shared "Adoption Basics for Educators." It includes a glossary of terms and a list of resources.

Wordless Wednesday: Ice Ornaments

2012-01-25T05:00:00.000-08:00

Photo taken 19 January 2012

Photo taken 20 January 2012

Travel Tuesdays: Travel Broadens Perspectives

2012-01-24T05:00:00.000-08:00

"Ideally, travel broadens our perspectives personally, culturally, and politically. Suddenly the palate with which we paint our lives has more colors. We realize there are exciting alternatives to the social and community norms that our less traveled neighbors may never consider…but you can only reap these rewards if you’re open to them….Make a decision that on any trip you take, you’ll make a point to be open to new experiences, seek options that get you out of your comfort zone, and be a cultural chameleon-- trying on new ways of looking at things and striving to become a 'temporary local.'”(emphasis mine)

~ Rick Steeves, Travel as a Political Act, p. 4

I love this quotation.

I confess, Rick Steeves' guidebooks aren't usually my guidebooks of choice. When traveling I tend to favor Lonely Planet and Rough Guides. (This probably has much to do with the fact that most of our travel has been in developing countries while most of Steeves' travel has been in Europe).

But this book beckoned to me from its "faced out" perch in our library. With a title like that, I had to check it out. What did I learn? Despite our very different travel preferences, Rick Steeves and I have come away with similar beliefs.

Here's another quotation from page 161:

"I’m convinced that people-to-people travel experiences can be a powerful force for peace."

Indeed. Once I have a personal connection to a place, I care more deeply about its citizens. And that care extends to people who know me and know of my travels. Many of my students would come to me after seeing news of a capsized ferry in the Philippines or a change in the President of Peru. Once they heard of my travels there, they consumed the news differently. They cared about people they never even met. But they knew me and I knew people there.

And this quotation from page 5:

"Travel challenges truths we were raised thinking were self-evident and God-given. Leaving home, we learn other people find different truths to be self-evident. We realize that it just makes sense to give everyone a little wiggle room."

This, I find, can be one of the hardest points to make understood to non-travelers. We don't have a monopoly on what's right or just or good. We have our way. Other cultures have their own ways. A little respect for those differences goes a long way.

Do these quotations ring true you? Do you have a favorite travel quotation?

Poet in Residence, Part 3

2012-01-20T05:15:00.000-08:00

Today, the third installment of poems written by 4th graders in the classroom where I served as "Poet in Residence" during the fall.

ZIP ZAP SCOOTER

ZIP ZAP

Here and there

Racing down the drive way

ZOOM ZAP

Up and down the drive way

Having so much fun.

by Emmie D.

Fall Fun!

Gather all the leaves then throw

up up they fly

scary faces everywhere

who shall I scare?

knock knock who’s there

trick or treat thank you!

by Lauren O.

The Wavy Plant?

You,

with white wavy moss

growing off you.

You,

with your mysterious holes.

You,

look like an anemone.

I wonder where

you live.

Wait!

You

are a mushroom!

Of course… The Woods.

by Kayla W.

Me and my mom

are just alike

We love each other dearly

I always do what she does

She is my role model

We love to do every thing together

MY MOM IS THE BEST!!!!

by Kyah W.

Nana’s House

I have a special bedroom.

I have a yellow bedspread.

I love a big brown teddy bear.

I feel safe and loved there.

by Olivia G.

Not Just a Plain Rock

White with glitter

Partially gray

like a small glacier

floating

away

by Lucas K.

Which image or phrase is your favorite?

Related Posts:

Poet in Residence

Poet in Residence, Part 2

Seashell Poetry- Lunes
Fall Haiku

Wordless Wednesday: Ice on Black Brook

2012-01-18T05:00:00.000-08:00

Photos taken 17 January 2012

Travel Tuesdays: Trip Planning, Part 2

2012-01-17T05:00:00.000-08:00

Once we choose a location for a trip, I begin doing a little research with our kids. I start at our local library's on-line catalog. After arriving at the website, I simply enter one of our library card numbers (or our alternate ID) and pin number. Then I can search for books, CDs, magazines, etc. to my heart's content. If you live in the US, you likely have the same service at your library. If you haven't used it, you're really missing out!

From the comfort of my own home, I can search my local library's complete catalog and the catalogs of the other libraries in our library system (Which is somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 libraries). If I find a book I want in another library, I simply click the "Place Hold" button. That book will usually arrive at my local library in a matter of days (Some take longer).

Here are a few titles I reserved for the kids last night:

A crafty one especially for my crafty daughter

A graphic style that will appeal to my son

A shorter non-fiction for my Kindergarten daughter

And a longer one to appeal to my 4th grade son.

Of course, globes and atlases will also feature heavily in our reading. We own several we like, though I recently read about this one from Barefoot Books that looks wonderful.

(An aside: If you're not familiar with Barefoot Books, please visit their website. They produce lovely books).

What children's books about Italy have you enjoyed? Do you have any titles to recommend to us? How do you help your children learn about the places they'll visit?

Poet in Residence, part 2

2012-01-13T05:00:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, I posted poems written by students in my son's grade 4 classroom. I served as "Poet in Residence" during the fall.

Today, I continue sharing their work.

In January,

the joyful

kids play with

Some ride

by Gabrielle B.

Dinner Web

Dinner came here

For the spider

It is not a deer

it’s a fighter

A dragonfly came ready

his name is Freddy

He fought

but he got caught

by Noah M.

CHICKEN TEENAGERS WITH HOTSAUCE

One day while I was sitting in a field

I was eating chicken wings

as the breeze

hit me in the face

the chicken wings were good

they were buffalo chicken wings

my mouth was burning

like a … ouch ouch ouch

why is there hot sauce in my mouth

I must have fallen asleep

and those teenagers

put hot sauce in my mouth

by Ethan D.

The Sweet Sounds Of Fall

Kids crawl

in piles of leaves.

Crisp leaves fall

from tall trees.

Cold wind slithers

across me like a snake.

I DASH on my bike

and bonce on the bumps.

I wear a costume

each Halloween.

I wear something

SCARY!

I carve a pumpkin,

with a grin.

And

school begins!

by Andrew S.

Thanksgiving Morning

everyone is in a good mood

and ready for all the yummy food

All the family is here

talking loud with cheer

we all watch football

then we nap to end it all.

by Kate B.

you mystery thing

your warm welcoming’s in the cold winter

warm maple syrup

your bumpy skin like a driveway

you dropping

clump

the warm maple syrup the tree next to you

had gave me

oh wait I think you might be a...

P-I-N-E-C-O-N-E

a pinecone

by Kylie S.

Please leave a comment for these young poets. I'll publish more next Friday.

Related Posts:

Poet in Residence

Seashell Poetry- Lunes
Fall Haiku

Wordless Wednesday: First Snow of 2012

2012-01-11T05:00:00.000-08:00

Photos taken 10 January 2012

Travel Tuesdays: Trip Planning

2012-01-10T05:00:00.000-08:00

"Travel, undertaken with mindfulness, can be a powerful vehicle for transformation."

~ Joseph Dispenza, The Way of the Traveler

My family is in the early stages of planning a trip to Sicily and Lipari to trace my husband's family roots. We had planned to go last year, but skyrocketing airfare due, in part, to the Arab Spring, led us to postpone. We scaled back travel plans last year, saved up our travel money, and now we're ready to plan in earnest.

I love this early dreaming phase. We've been pouring over guide books, perusing sites that rent villas, and agonizing over airfare. I love the dreaming, the endless possibilities, that excited feeling in the base of my stomach. It's exhilarating.

And maybe a little bit tiring. Where should we stay? Is this other place better? Will that place meet our needs? Should we fly to the islands or take a ferry?

But here's what I've learned from previous trips: No matter what decisions we make, it will all work out in the end. The trip may not be what we expected, but it will provide a life-changing adventure. Travel is just like that. It's impossible for me to travel, particularly to another country, and not be changed in some way.

And, hey...there's a hotel on Lipari with Cusolito in its name, so that's pretty exciting! Maybe we'll find distant relatives.

What life-changing trips have you taken? What changed? What did you learn?

Related Posts:
Travel Tuesdays: Top 10 Tips for Traveling with Children
Travel Tuesdays: India
Travel Tuesdays: Morocco

Poet in Residence

2012-01-06T05:21:00.000-08:00

This past fall I served as "Poet in Residence" in my son's grade 4 classroom. While I mostly write for children now, my first love was poetry. In fact, even my prose has a lyrical quality to it. I loved being with fourth graders again and guiding them on their own poetic journeys.

To culminate this season long experience, we created an anthology of their poems. Each student received a copy just before the holiday break. Here's the cover, designed by a student named Jacob. I love how he tied together some of the generators we used for poems. One day, each student brought in a special object from nature and used that to write a poem. Another day, they looked at photographs I brought in. They also made maps of their important play places and then wrote a poem about a specific place on the map. Can you see those ideas represented in his images?

Every student (and their teacher, Mr. Davignon) included at least one poem in the anthology. Since many students wrote poems from photographs I had taken, those photographs also appeared along with the poems.

Starting today, with the poets' permission, I'll share some of their work. I'll post more over the next month or so.

Aside from correcting an occasional spelling error, I have not altered these poems in any way. I offered guidance about how to revise poetry but the work is entirely their own. I hope you enjoy their work. If you do, please tell them by leaving a comment.

The Crab

When I look I see

a fearsome yet strong animal.

It is humble

and never backs down from a battle.

His claws are like boxing gloves

his shell is like his shield.

The ocean is his battlefield.

by Elijah S.

The Silent Hawk

It’s eyes

watch all day for prey

Then it goes down to fight

It’s feet as sharp

as a shark’s jaw

It’s claws as big

as a lion’s paw

It blends in

the sky

Like an overwatch

by Max M.

CLIMBING TO FALL

I am

clambering

Up, up, up, on the

highest branch. Below

there’s a logger, OH NO,

Did I just say, LOGGER!

“TIMBER,” here I go

again, falling

Down,

Bump,

OOF, OOF!

———————————————

by Dante C.

A WINNING GAME

Ortiz is up

it’s full count

there’s no doubt.

The pitcher beams a fastball

WOW!

It’s blasted into the air

HOMERUN !

But I can’t look

He’s…….. OUT

I did a big pout

But wait

YANKEES LOST

RED SOX ARE

THE BOSS!

by Ethan P.

Humming Bird

Humming bird, humming bird

Where will you fly?

With your wings moving so fast

As you go by

Zig-zagging from flower to flower

Just like cheetahs dashing by

Looks like you have no wings

Sometimes,

I think you’re attached to strings

by Jakob M.

Please leave a comment for these young poets.

Related Posts:

Seashell Poetry- Lunes
Fall Haiku

Wordless Wednesday: Backyard Visitors

2012-01-04T05:00:00.000-08:00

Photos taken 23 December 2011

Travel Tuesdays: Inter-faith Celebrations

2012-01-03T05:00:00.000-08:00

I wasn't the traveler this time, but many people traveled to our home to celebrate this holiday season. We all came together on the night of December 25th to celebrate.

The friends and family who gathered were varied. In addition to many guests from our home state, we welcomed guests from the UK, Maryland, California and China. We also welcomed friends who immigrated to the US from France, China, and India. There were Christians, Jews, agnostics and atheists present. Some were raised with religion and no longer practice. Some were raised without religion and asked many questions about the practices of the Jews and Christians present. Two menorahs glowed beside a nativity brought back from Mexico.

What I love most about this annual event is the openness and sharing that occurs. We support each others' choice to practice a religion or not. We help each other celebrate. We break bread together. (Dumplings, knishes and latkes followed by lasagna, meatballs, Caesar salad and noodle kugel). We honor important family and religious traditions.

To me, this is the perfect way to celebrate during the month of December.

If you celebrated a holiday this season, I hope it was joyful, peaceful and full of traditions.

May we all find new ways to connect with those of different faiths this year, for that, I believe, is the best way to bring peace to our troubled world.

Namaste.

2011: A Year in Review

2011-12-31T11:39:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! Thank you for reading Polliwog this year.

Today I'll recap some of my favorite posts 2011.

Travel Tuesdays

Wordless Wednesday

On Nature

Stress Therapy: Get Back to Nature I relearn how much I need to get into nature when stressed.
Nature Observations with Young Children Tips for helping young children notice details.
Three (or Four) Season Harvests Our cold frame is still providing us with chard, celery, rosemary, and parsley. We hope to harvest arugula and mesclun mix in early spring.

This and That

Drum to the Beat A wonderful drumming experience for children. My family has been drumming away on our new Djembe.
Hive Detectives A fantastic non-fiction book for older elementary students.
Happy Earth Day 2011 The post that got me started with Travel Tuesdays. Several readers asked me to share more travel stories after seeing this post.
RACE-Are we so Different? An important traveling and on-line exhibit.
Shurit Ads (Egyptian Lentil Soup) I posted this during the Egyptian Revolution. Google Analytics showed that the day Mubarek left Egypt, a reader in Cairo spent 11 minutes on my blog reading this plus 5 other posts. I just thought that was so cool- I was watching history in the making in their country and they were reading my blog.

Thanks again for reading. I'll be back with a Travel Tuesdays post this week.

In the meantime, please drop me an email at michelle(at)michellecusolito(dot)com or leave a comment to let me know which kinds of posts you enjoy or find useful. I'm hoping to build my blog community this year so I want to know what works for you. If you have particular content you'd like to see me include, please let me know.

Make sure you never miss a post. Subscribe via RSS or email.

Happy Holidays

2011-12-23T09:03:00.000-08:00

I'm taking a little break from my blog to spend quality time with my family and friends. I'll be back after the New Year.

Wordless Wednesday: Ornaments on our Tree

2011-12-21T05:25:00.000-08:00

Travel Tuesdays: Keep a Journal

2011-12-20T08:09:00.000-08:00

You've heard it before-keep a journal when you travel. It seems a simple enough idea but most of us don't manage to do it. Or if you're like me, you start out well and fizzle out as the trip goes on. Over the years I've forced myself to make time for my journal and I'm always glad I did.

I took a journal to the Philippines when I was 16. I wrote in it sporadically but never captured the really important details I wish I had now. My next big trip after that was to Ecuador and I did keep a daily journal. I even managed to include a few sketches of local plants. It was easier on that trip because I was in a remote field station with lots of down time in the afternoons/evenings.

I pride myself on having a good memory but even I forget the important details over time. I realized this recently when I wrote a non-fiction story about my encounter with a poisonous snake in the rain forest of Ecuador. I recounted that first meeting, which, frankly, is emblazoned in my mind. But, by the time I related my meeting with the 4th poisonous snake, I got some details wrong. Luckily, I had my trusty journal to reference and I corrected the details. Now, maybe you're not a writer, so you think these details don't matter so much. I'd say they do.

At some point in the future when you go back and meet your former self in a journal you'll be glad you recorded the details.

Here's a tidbit from my Ecuador journal:
"I'm amazed by the clothes I now consider clean. If they're not totally covered with mud...they're wearable! Things take so long to dry (and even then they're not dry- they're still damp) that it's not worth washing anything. I keep wearing the same yucky clothes over and over again and keep everything else closed up tight in my bag."

Another important result of keeping a journal is you get to know yourself better as you learn and grow from your travels. My early journals are more record keeping of my trips- you know... what I did, saw, ate. That sort of thing. Over time, though, they've become more important records of me as a person. My last travel journal from India is rich with personal expressions of my feelings and responses to the trip.

Here's one excerpt I'm willing to share publicly:
(For context, our friend Lisa was marrying Aravind in Hyderabad India. Lisa's parents couldn't make the trip so my husband, Rick, and I stood in for them during the ceremony).

"...I was seated on the stage with Rick facing Aravind and his parents. I was so overcome with emotion at the enormity of what was happening that I welled up. Was I really part of a Hindu wedding? Was I really playing such a significant role in this rite of passage for Lisa? I was glad I was seated with my back to the guests so they couldn't see my face. (It was only later when we switched sides that I realized a video camera was facing us and projecting everything onto a large screen for everyone to see).

I was in the moment. I was overwhelmed. I was happy and excited and awestruck. Rick and I looked at each other and acknowledged that this moment made all of the challenges of traveling with young children in India worthwhile."

There are many more personal and thoughtful entries in that particular journal. I developed as a journal keeper and moved from record keeping into being more reflective.

If you haven't kept a journal during travel, I encourage you to do so. It can be on paper, in your computer, or on a blog. The sky's the limit nowadays. (Just make sure you back up digital journals). Ask your children to keep one, too. Our son kept a journal when we were in India. He was only 5 at the time, so his journal consists of roughly one page per day. In typical Kindergarten fashion, he drew a picture and wrote a sentence below the picture. He wrote about whatever was important to him at the time so it's a wonderful record of who he was then. He focused on the plane ride, playing with Aravind's nephew and the henna that decorated my hands.

Have you kept a journal during travel. How have you benefited from it?

New Bedford Whaling Museum

2011-12-16T06:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, my son's fourth grade class took a field trip to the New Bedford Whaling Museum in New Bedford, Massachusetts. There are several impressive exhibits. The first you notice upon entering is the baleen whale skeletons hanging from the ceiling. (Yes, they're real!)

This one's a fetus.

There's also a toothed whale:

The first part of our visit was a session that looked at food webs and food chains, specifically those that include baleen whales and toothed whales.

My son's favorite session (mine, too) was in the afternoon. We explored the different cultures whalers encountered during their 3 to 5 year whaling trips. Various students were called up to try on traditional clothing from the people the whalers met, such as people from the Azores, Cape Verde, and Hawaii. The students recorded their journey on a world map. Here's my son trying on a coat like the inuit/inupiak of Alaska wore.

And here are their "sunglasses." The sunlight on a snow covered landscape can be blinding. The slits limit the amount of sunlight let in.

We then toured specific parts of the museum. Our first stop was a life-sized model of whaling ship sleeping quarters. Students were able to lie down in a bunk while our docent described life on a whaling ship. (Unfortunately, it was too dark to get a good photo). We agreed that their lives seemed hard and tedious.

We also toured exhibits of various artifacts from the cultures whalers encountered. The grand finale of our tour was a model of an actual ship that sailed out of New Bedford. The model is 50% the size of the original. We were able to climb on board and have a tour.

If you live or vacation in our area, I highly recommend you visit the New Bedford Whaling Museum.

What great museums or cultural spots are in your area? Please share them in comments so other Polliwog readers can visit.

Related Posts:
2011 Cranberry Harvest Celebration
Museum of Science Overnight

Wordless Wednesday: Wedding Centerpiece

2011-12-14T06:06:00.000-08:00

Travel Tuesdays: I'm Traveling Today

2011-12-13T05:00:00.000-08:00

We're traveling home today after roughing it in Florida at our niece's wedding. I'll be back with a new Travel Tuesdays post next week.

Question Quilts and Mystery Items

2011-12-09T06:27:00.001-08:00

Last Friday I blogged about finding objects in nature to observe with your children or students. A question quilt offers a new way for kids to engage with the objects. (Note: I learned this strategy years ago at a teacher workshop. I thought science teacher Allan Harris had taught me but he has since told me it wasn't him. I cannot remember the teacher who created it. If it was you, please tell me so I can credit you!)

Materials needed:
Large piece of poster sized paper
colorful assortment of square sticky notes (3" x3")
nature object
pencils

Procedure:

Display the natural object you or the children collected.
Ask students to write their questions on sticky notes and arrange them on the poster paper in a pattern (Like a quilt. Get it? A "Question Quilt!" This part is really just for fun- creating a quilt pattern helps keep some kids engaged in the process). Only one question per paper. In my classroom, I asked my students to initial their questions so I could monitor their engagement and understanding. The quality of questions will deepen over time. The depth and detail of questions helps you understand what they understand. ("What is it?" is not a deep science kind of question).
If any students think they know the answers to classmate's questions, they can answer them under the appropriate sticky note. The challenge is for kids to answer their classmates without giving away so much information that the investigating stops. (For example, I often display a mystery item- that is, an item they can't readily identify. Students are not allowed to write the name of the item even if they know it. Rather, the challenge is to make suggestions that help their classmates come to the answer, too).
Once the item has been out for a while (a couple of days or so) I place some appropriate resources nearby and encourage them to start looking for information. Usually, by this time, they can't wait to learn more about it. Those books fly off the table as kids race to identify the objects and learn more about them. Some tell me they're going to sneak and ask their parents for information or "Google it" at home. My response...Go for it! That's not cheating. Scientists share information with each other. See what you can learn." (I do tell them no book/internet research for at least a couple of days. I want them to engage with the object first, before they see what others have to say about it.
Since I usually placed an item out on a Monday, by Friday we'd debrief their learning and identify the object. I often tied the objects to what we were learning in class (e.g. A trilobite fossil during a rocks and minerals unit) but other times they were random items that just turned up. If they kids were interested in them, we might dig deeper, but often we'd do a week of questioning and investigating and move on.

So, in the case of the wasp nest I shared last week, I would put it on the table on Monday and let them start asking questions. Some students might call it a bee nest, a wasp nest, or a hornet nest the first day. I'd let them keep asking questions and begin investigating. Perhaps on Wednesday, I'd place books about bees, wasps, and hornets on the science table. That's it. Just place them there and the kids would dig in. By Friday, we would have identified the insect that built the nest and learned some facts.To wrap up, we'd review the questions on the quilt to be sure all of them were answered.

One final note: I use this exact strategy in the graduate science course I teach. The adults get into it just as much as the kids.

Do you have any unique strategies you use to investigate natural objects? Will you try this one? Please share.

Related posts:
Paper Wasp Nest
Top 10 Ways to Promote Science Inquiry
Nature Observations With Young Children

Wordless Wednesday: A First Thanksgiving

2011-12-07T05:46:00.001-08:00

A friend from China.

Travel Tuesdays: Top 10 Tips for Traveling With Children

2011-12-05T19:22:00.001-08:00

Traveling with children is a very different experience than traveling alone. Advance planning will make the trip easier and more enjoyable.

Here's my top ten list of ways to make things go as smoothly as possible (in no particular order):

If you're not staying with friends or family, try to book a hotel room with a small kitchenette or at least a fridge. You'll be better able to accommodate early morning hunger or mid-afternoon snacks. If your budget allows, a small efficiency or cottage will be even better. The extra cost may be worth it if you can save money by cooking in.
Plan your travel based on your kids needs, not yours. (Ultimately, they are the same, after all. If they're miserable, so are you). If you have to take a long journey and your kids are very physical kids, plan a layover to allow them to move around. Or, maybe getting there as fast as possible is best, so book a direct flight. Also consider the best time of day to travel. My son can sleep anywhere, so red-eyes work well for him. If your kids won't sleep on a plane, avoid red-eyes at all costs!
Set clear expectations for the journey (Your own expectations, that is). Do not expect the travel time to be relaxing. Sure, you may have slept on previous plane trips, but don't expect that to happen now. If you go in expecting no sleep and end up getting some, you'll be pleasantly surprised.
If traveling by plane or train, book seats for your infants/toddlers if you can possibly afford it (even though they're usually allowed on your lap until age 2). This is particularly true for long trips. Seriously, spend the money. You'll be glad you did. Many airlines offer discounted seats for children, especially infants. Bring your car seats and install them in the plane (make sure they are plane approved). The kids will be more comfortable and also be more likely to sleep in their familiar, supportive seat than in an adult-sized seat. We took our daughter's car seat to India solely for the plane ride, since there are no seat belts in most cars in India. But that plane ride was LONG and we wanted her to be as comfortable as possible. Caveat: One airline we flew with (I believe it was Alitalia) did not allow us to install the car seat. Check with your airline first.
Plan and pack well for entertainment while traveling. Packing your carry-on is the most important part of successful airline (train) travel with kids. Remember to bring books, activity books, travel games or other items that your children enjoy. If appropriate for your children, have them pack a favorite stuffed animal or snugly toy for comfort. They also substitute for pillows.
Related to #4, if you have an iPod or similar device, download audio books for your kids. Bring along headphones (and a splitter if you have more than one child). My kids will listen to the same audio books over and over again. It's educational and keeps them occupied for hours. If you're driving, you can play them through your car speakers, or choose to use the headphones and splitter so you can listen to what you want while they listen to their audio book. (Trust me... after hearing The Absent Author several times, you'll be sick of it!) You can probably download books free through your library. If you don't have an iPod, check your local library for a "play away." The device comes with the book already loaded. You just provide ear buds/headphones.
If traveling by plane, pack something to help with pressure in their little ears. For babies, nursing or sucking on a bottle, or pacifier helps. For older kids, gum works well but isn't the only option. Try chewy foods like raisins or dried cranberries.
Pack snacks for the trip. There's nothing worse than a hungry kid and the plane has no food left. Trust me, I've seen it happen, especially now that most airlines charge for food. You may try to order and find they only have the cheese box left which is filled with artisanal cheeses your kid won't eat. Fruit is always a good choice since it fills bellies and helps them stay hydrated. (If you're traveling to another country, pack a few familiar foods that your kids like- a box of mac-n-cheese, some dry cereal or granola bars. My kids loved the food in India but were ready for a break from the spiciness now and then. They also woke up hungry at random times due to the time change. Having familiar foods on hand for 3 am snacks provided some comfort to them and us. You can always purchase things like eggs, fruit, peanut butter, or bread once you arrive).
Drink loads of water. Make sure your kids drink loads of water. You cannot be happy, patient people if you aren't hydrated. We bring our empty stainless steel bottles through security and refill them inside.
Plan to relax when you arrive at your destination. For kids, that may mean running around outside or playing quietly with their LEGOs. Allow them to guide your relaxation. Don't try to rush off and go sightseeing.

Finally, as I've mentioned before... remember to pack patience and your sense of humor. You'll enjoy your children and have a much better time.

Do you have any tips to add to this list? Please leave them in the comments.

Related Posts:
Travel Tuesdays: Pack your Sense of Humor
Travel Tuesdays: Holiday Travel
Travel Tuesdays: Affording to Travel

Paper Wasp Nest

2011-11-30T07:22:00.001-08:00

When I dropped by my parent's house one day last week, my mom gave me a little present she'd been
saving for me:

Of course, I was super excited! It's a paper wasp nest that fell out of a tree in their front yard. It was damaged in a storm and abandoned by its residents (So no danger to me).

Check out the amazing patterns. I've seen many of these nests over the years but never one with such a beautiful pattern.

When I taught 4th grade, I used to bring cool items like this into my room all the time, so my mom got in the habit of saving interesting nature items she found for me. Sometimes it would be a dead dragonfly or monarch butterfly, other times a gall of some kind. The more I brought those items in, the more my students would bring them in, too. Our science table overflowed.

This one went to my son's classroom for observation.

The next time you head out in nature, see what you can find to bring back and observe. Please do not remove living things if removing them will cause them harm. For example, I've brought back a cocoon and placed it in a butterfly house for observation but I wouldn't uproot a sapling. If you catch insects, worms, slugs, etc, place them in a proper container with air holes in the top and items from their environment such as soil. After your observation, return them to their homes. And be careful to provide proper accommodations for animals that live in water or have moist skin such as salamanders and frogs.

Next Friday, I'll share a strategy that will help kids dig deeper and really investigate the items you collect.

What interesting items have you found in nature lately?

Related Posts:
Mystery Caterpillar
Mystery Caterpillar, part 2
Nature Observations With Young Children

Wordless Wednesday: Autumn in New England

2011-11-30T05:16:00.001-08:00

Photos taken 13 November 2011