The Secret Pool

What do you get when you put a naturalist and science writer with an illustrator who always reveals the shining light of all mother nature's creatures? Throw in some interesting facts and empathetic energy and you get -- The Secret Pool by Kimberley Ridley and Rebekah Raye. From fairy shrimp to wood frogs, the wonders of ecology are abundant in vernal pools. For a budding 21st century ecologist, I couldn't imagine a more relevant and mysterious book to nurture their curiosity and inquiry. I'm now in love with every smiling critter in the vernal pool and armed with information that could help protect their crucial habitat. Every home with children and every science classroom would benefit greatly by adding this treasure to their book shelf. Brilliant topic to address with children and a validation to their natural tendencies to discover what is there in their world and to imagine what the eye can't see.

Early Math Center

 Build...draw...color...count.

I love this activity as a independent math center. The building of the towers begins with spatial and fine motor skills as well as building aesthetics. Putting the pencil to the paper to copy and draw the tower has participants practicing drawing shapes and requires revisiting, editing, and experimenting throughout the process. You will witness the skill of one to one matching, which transfers to reading text. Of course the coloring is also beneficial to fine motor skills and also the learning and talking about colors and patterns. The counting provides an extra math challenge for the builder. The best part is the happy smiles that cover the faces of the students engaged in this independent math center. It is times like this I really miss being in the classroom and creating meaningful activities that children love and learn from.