Because I am a STEAM lab, I have certain "goals" I want to meet.
I am trying to have a science objective, an art objective, and an engineering objective each month.
I am also trying to honor the Reggio inspired philosophy and balance it all.
The fun part is: I can choose my own lessons and create my own pacing.
The hard part is: I can choose my own lessons and create my own pacing.
September was a short month for the lab, focused on procedures and rules...
I see Kinder-2nd grade during the week..which totals 345 kids, and 27 groups.
(This is also part of the FUN/HARD part equation).
For October, I decided to choose COLOR as the art theme...
We practiced with mixing water and then moved on to mixing shades of orange.
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| This particular group of kids discovered that when water was mixed in the center tray...they looked like planets. This was "Mars". |
What I loved about the activity was the kids' reactions.
They couldn't believe they were making orange.
Two students actively argued back and forth about the "right" way to make orange.
My reply to most everything in the lab is "there is more than 1 right way".
One student was convinced you had to start with red paint, the other said yellow.
After a lot of back and forth, I challenged them both to try it their own way.
The conclusion?
A very happy, " I guess we are both right!"
