Wednesday, July 22, 2009

It Starts Early


I've been going through my kids' old school papers and found some relics of their beginning education in science. I was pleased to see that they've been encouraged to approach scientific observation with the intention both to notice and to wonder.

From Second Grade:

Object: "ruelers" (the measuring kind)
I noticed: "Thir are lotts of words."
I wonder: "how they make ruelers."

Object: "nickl" (the 5-cent coin, not the metal)
I noticed: "a hed is on the back."
I wonder: "where is Monticello."

And from Fifth Grade:

Activity: Dissection of a chicken wing.
Daughter's observations: "When I removed the skin of the chicken wing I saw muscle. Lots and lots of muscle. The muscle was pink and squishy - EW."

Now THAT's academic honesty for you.

3 comments:

chris said...

I'm a third-year graduate student in a PhD program with two Masters degrees under my belt, and I STILL think "eww" when I face my bacteria every day.

I've also been known to leave smileys in my lab notebook from time to time. But with luck, by the time that anyone else sees them, I'll be long gone.

Great post, too -- your kids are very fortunate to have such a supportive (and equally-inquisitive) mom!

K. said...

How cute! I'm starting to save their early writings and I can see how wonderful it will be to document their learning and see how they've grown...

T. said...

Chris - thanks for stopping by! Is it nerdy that I actually like the smell of LB broth...?

K. - It's so much fun to look back on these little mementos of their minds blossoming open!