The weather has continued to be gray and damp in the morning and our garden, it turns out, is feeling the effects of it. One of the children asked, “Why are the leaves getting all white?” A fellow gardening mom suspected powdery mildew but none of us really knew. So it was time for a trip to the Sunset Nursery in Los Feliz to learn what was causing our trouble. The weather turns out to be the culprit; it allows the growth of powdery mildew because the plants are getting too much mositure and not enough heat from the sun.
Children observing the world around them, asking questions, creating hypotheses, and learning more is science in action in our preschool. Conversations about science are a daily occurrence. The garden is a regular source. But of course there are many other opportunities, both created by us and by nature and events, to learn about biology, physics, chemistry, and the physical world.
The children began the year with an interest in bugs. First the scream, BUG, then some run away, but all return. Out come the magnifying glasses or the cups to hold the subjects, briefly.
The dead ones get put in petri dishes and are saved for viewing under the big magnifying glass.
Rocks have been another fascination. We have developed a good collection of rocks, crystals, and “gems” to look at, sort, and look up in our books. Using resources to learn more is a natural part of our investigations, be it the local nursery, a book, or a visiting expert ( see article on crystals).
Our spring was filled with butterflies and silkworms ( see earlier articles). 
Here we are launching the last of the cabbage white butterflies, that came from the caterpillars we found on our cabbage plants. Very big eaters, those cabbage whites.
This summer we have been talking about the children’s trips to the beach. Ty created a pretend beach, complete with towels, sun glasses, stuffed marine life, hats, sandals, and shells. The shells were so beautiful to look at and everyone tried to hear the ocean in them. The science table offered a chance to explore a little further and match them to the ones in the book.
Water has been another summer science investigation. Turkey basters pushing the water through tubes to learn about force or tubes held up high to learn how gravity works are very popular right now. Color experiments, tornadoes and fountains in a bottle, oceans in a bottle, and bubble blowing give children lots of ways to consider the physics of water.
Cooking is another wonderful way we explore how the state of something can be changed, be it juicing lemons and making lemonade or creating popsicles from our juice.
In a experiential school, children learn by exploring and doing, asking questions, and learning more from the resources available. As teachers, it is a most exciting way to be with children, supporting and facilitating them as science discoveries become a natural part of daily life.
The last two weeks have been filled with the fun of Teddy Bears brought from the children’s homes and lots of activities with them. There have been bear stories and story writing, bear food tasting, dancing with bears, bear hunts, sorting bears; it all ended this week in a parent/child teddy bear picnic.
