And then our second son started kindergarten in this, the age of the common core, and I learned that nursery rhymes are, in fact, part of the kindergarten common core. (Which I'm loving.... nursery rhymes are the classic literature of kindergarten (and I'm guilty of neglecting to teach them to my own children) and I am enjoying listening to him recite them while walking around the house).
Suddenly my idea for pairing science activities with these rhymes seems very pertinent! And if I'm too late for this year, it's never to early to start gathering ideas for next year!
These are going to be very simple, stand-alone activities. The idea is that teachers can implement them in just a few precious minutes, to provide a quick science lesson as well as change the pace of the lesson.
Most of these activities are simplified versions of more complex activities. I'll provide links, when possible, to the more advanced activities for those of you who teach older students (so please stick around, even if preschool/kindergarten isn't your area).
The first pairing will be up later this week. Please pass the word on to those who may be interested! Let's get kindergarten teachers excited about including science in their lessons, and in turn, get kindergarten students excited about "doing" science!
Edited to add the picture.