Ideas for a Science Experiment 1

This is simple and fun experiment to do with children in classroom or at home.

#1 Experiment: Pinecone Protection

We will observe the pinecones open and close all by themselves!

Materials: Pinecone
Water
Tweezers
Large bowl
Shallow dish

Procedures :
1. Examine the pinecone closely for nuts. Pine nuts can be found between the scales of the pinecone. From the outside, the nuts appear thin and papery. Remove a nut by gently pulling on it with the tweezers.

2. Pour 3” of water into the large bowl. Leave one pinecone on the table. Have the children wash the others in water for several minutes.

 3. Every few minutes, compare the wet pinecones to the dry one until the wet pinecones are completely closed. This usually takes from 10-20 minutes.

4. Place the wet pinecones in the shallow dish and leave them on table with the dry pinecone for two or three days. Observe them periodically.


What Happened:
The pine nuts inside the pinecone are actually seeds which can grow into new trees. When the pine cone becomes wet, it closes up to protect its seeds. As the pine cone dries out, it gradually opens up again.
Suggestions and Variations:

• Observe pine trees after a rainstorm to see if the pinecones are closed on their own.
• Try planting some of the pine seeds you found to see if they sprout. (They may not if they are too old or have been partially eaten by insects.)

*This was not my idea, but I tried it and I loved it.


Enjoy !

Cheers,

Teacher Kira

 Save the Date – Friday Nov 30    Christmas Drive sponsored by San Marino Chamber of Commerce. 
On Huntington Drive from 5:00pm --8:00pm.

Join us for this annual tradition as businesses open up their doors and greet residents and non, many activities for kids and families as well as art project, cider, petting zoo etc.

What if He Doesn't Want to Learn?

We all hope and wish our children will love learning. And what if they don't? What if they are bored in class? What if they don't want to listen in class? What if homework becomes a dreaded chore?

As a teacher or parent, we struggle with when to respond and how to respond. Have you encountered the kid who just does not want to follow the routine in the class? Ignore it or face it. What should you do?

Once, I had a kid in my class who did just this, he would talk out of line, he just blurted out what came to his mind, while the teacher was talking. One day he came to class with his head bowed down and his mom complained to me that her son did not want to come to class, owing to the boring class and that he is tired of learning basic alphabet.

Photo: Our students' role playing.

I listened to mom and wondered how best I can approach this kid and mom to not feel this way. I thought to myself, I can go the approach of lecturing him or dismissing his thoughts altogether and do my own thing. Then I thought, “oh he’s probably heard the “you should, you must, you need, you better etc.” I decided not to act but to listen and observe.

With those thoughts running through my head I stepped into a room with the boy and asked him how his morning was. The boy said that he was mad because he had to leave his Lego's at home. With great surprise in my voice, I looked at him and said, “You have Lego's?" and you know what he did? He raised his head and with great animation he told me about his Lego’s. I had struck a note! I didn’t have to confront him about his boredom, all of a sudden, I had touched a topic dear to this kid’s heart and then I suggested, "Well why don’t you bring your Lego's to class one day?"

And you know the response I got from him…was one of jubilation, he beamed with a smile and asked if he can bring his creations the following class I said why not?

The following week he brought his creation and he was so proud to be showing off his masterpiece and so engaged in our class.

With such a small gesture, his attitude had changed completely.

Photo: Оne of our student's Lego creation.

What do you think was the key?

I would say the key is: building a relationship, find out what interests the child, listen with real interest. With that information in mind, you can incorporate his/her expertise in a particular area in the classroom or at home and help him/her own his space and the way he interacts in that space.

What are your stories?

Cheers,

Gilda

Dear friends,

Our Parenting Place will have a table at the Mom's Club Preschool Fair on Saturday, January 7, 2012, come and learn about our programs.

For more information visit: www.pasadenapreschoolfair.com

To learn more about Our Parenting Place program, visit our website: http://www.ourparentingplace.com/

Are Conflicts Good or Bad?

Have you ever asked yourself if conflicts are good or bad? We see our children get into conflicts. We want to avoid them, but should we? It has always been a debate in my mind. I knew for certain that the interests of two people intersect because they have their own opinions and thoughts, so conflicts happen all the time. Today, I have concluded for myself that conflicts are a necessary part of human life and child development. I have decided that it is a good thing.

Phew! Problem solved, right? Wrong. Turns out that it wasn't easy for me to accept this and put it into action. I was so used to avoiding conflicts that it took a lot of effort to change my thoughts and actions. My new motto is: "Every conflict is a door to new opportunities and ideas."

Do we have to resolve conflicts fairly? What is fair for an adult? What is fair for a child? These questions rushed through my mind one day when I was playing with a group of four-year-old children in the yard.

Casey and Lu were in the sandbox together. Lu said to Teacher Kira, "Casey took my pin!" Casey heard this statement. Teacher Kira got closer to the boys. Casey quickly looked at Lu and climbed up the climbing structure. From the top, Casey threw the pin into the rubber pellets under the swings.

Teacher Kira's heart skipped a beat. She thought to herself, "We won't be able to find this pin anymore. Is Lu going to be very upset? How is it going to affect the boys' relationship?"

Lu said, "I saw where it landed. I will pick it up." Lu picked it up.

Casey climbed down and approached Lu. Lu explained, "See Casey, there are two pieces of this pin that go like this..."

Casey grabbed the small piece of the pin from Lu's hands and quickly placed it into his pocket. Teacher Kira was thinking whether she should set a limit and help Lu gain his pin back or if she should observe more. Then, Lu said, "I wonder if Casey is going to give it back to me." This composed question gave Teacher Kira a clue that she could wait and not intervene yet. Lu made a gentle attempt to gain back his pin by reaching towards Casey's pocket. Casey threw it into the rubber pellets.

Teacher Kira thought to herself, "Oh, this time the pin is lost..." However, Lu found it and picked it up. Lu said, "I wonder where I should keep my pin. Maybe it will be safe in this wooden box." So Lu placed his pin into the wooden box.

Casey changed his mind about getting the pin from Lu. Casey and Lu went to play on the climbing structure. The conflict was resolved without Teacher Kira's intervention.

If the adult were to have taken the pin from Casey and given it to Lu, would Lu have learned how to protect himself? Would he have gained self confidence? Would Casey have learned not to take another persons' belongings? These are questions that we try to keep in mind while we guide our children.

How much should we intervene? Should we avoid pushing our adult perspective on the child? It is always a challenge to decide if and when we should intervene, and how to keep a balance between helping the children safely resolve the conflict and stepping back to allow them to problem solve.

Wishing you all the best in the difficult yet exciting journey of parenting!

Cheers,

Teacher Kira

Photo credit (boy in green): Elena Ivanova