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Experiencing nature–educators make it happen for children and other teachers
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Nature play and exploration varies in early childhood (broadly: infant to grade 3) programs and are subject to the local and state licensing regulations, a program’s choice of curriculum, the local environment and…
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Building with blocks, building skills and memories
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I still have the wooden unit blocks that were central to many of my childhood play scenarios. The wooden blocks did not stick or snap together so we had to consider balance and how to make a sturdy base to support our…
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Maple trees and squirrels: a relationship
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The Silver maple tree is flowering, early for the season in my region, but right on schedule for the way the season is unfolding this year. Although the flowers are tiny, the details can be seen with a magnifier. When…
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Big learning from short observations of birds: February 17-20, 2017
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Walk outside with your children, watch and count birds for 15 minutes while recording the names of those you know, and report your bird count to be part of a world-wide citizen-science project to collect data on…
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An ECSTEM conference experience
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An early childhood education conference is an opportunity to meet others who share a passion for improving our science teaching practice, meet our education mentors and gain new insights into why certain educational…
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Weather watching and phenology support using evidence to state a claim
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Noticing changes in the growth and habit of plants is part of the science of phenology. We do this casually when we comment on the buds swelling on the maple tree (yay! not as many branches are dead as I feared) or the…
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A love note to education conferences
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In my suitcase I have a collapsible jug, tube, funnel, glitter, pebbles, foam hearts, sea shells, and empty plastic bottles—all part of the materials I need for a presentation at the 2017 ECSTEM conference (February 3-4…
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Children use technology to send messages
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Children like to share their work and tell their families what they do at school or at other times when they are not together. While babysitting for a friend, I appreciated her 2-year-old child’s excitement when she…
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Citizen science + Photos of signs in public spaces = literacy and spatial awareness
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If you and the children need to be active to stay warm outdoors in cold temperatures, consider walking fast on a walking field trip to locate and document signs around your community. In the September 2011 issue of…
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Seeing the Real Me: Using Loose Parts from Nature to Create Self Portraits
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Guest bloggers Stacey Francois MS, and Hannah Goble presented a poster session at the national conference of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. I was delighted to be able to talk with…
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This week friends who live on opposite sides of the country messaged me to go look at the Moon and a bright “star” in the southern skies, the planet Venus. The Geminid meteor shower is also happening but the urban…
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The seasonal decline in the amount of direct sunlight in North America is bringing an end to my garden growing season. The leaves of deciduous trees in my region are mostly off the trees now. Children have been…
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Positive environments: Early childhood education conferences
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Two early childhood conferences I attended this month, a national conference and a local regional conference, were awash with sessions on science, STEM, and STEAM education. Although science education is my main focus,…
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Equity in Science Education Begins in Prek
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Welcome to my colleague Lauren Allen who co-authored this blog post. Lauren Allen is currently an administrator focused on STEM Integration in the District of Columbia. While originally from South Carolina, she…
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Learning about the landscape around you
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Flying across the country to the conference for the National Association for the Education of Young Children brought many different landscapes into view through the plane window. I saw ridges, meandering rivers…
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