Ten years! Today marks the tenth year I've held Mystery Science in my classroom. I look forward to this activity every year and I talk it up at our Meet the Teacher & the first day of school. The kids came into school today READY for our first science lab.
The kids love the labs because they're a bunch of mini-exploration activities that require them to use four of their senses (no tasting!) to describe the world around them. Some have right answers and some are completely open. I love the labs because they really let me see the kids in action for the first time each year. Who works well with who? Who tends to isolate him/herself from the others? Is the "new kid" making friends? Can the class follow directions and do they know how to handle lab materials?
A couple of things I noticed today - they respected the "keep the lab volume at a manageable volume" rule! Yes! Let's celebrate! I love doing science labs, but I dread them if I have kids/groups that feel they have to talk over each other. And, even better, my kiddos really respected the lab materials. I've got some things in our lab that are quite old - like the birds' nest my mom found back when I was in college (yep, that makes it older than my fourth graders). They used their hands to very gently touch it - exactly as I asked them to. :D
Need a beginning of the year lab for your kids? Download the preview file and grab 3 of the stations for free - as well as the list of materials for the full lab.
