These last few weeks of school have found our students doing a lot of creative thinking with Science and S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).

Preschoolers in the 4 year old program planted beans from seeds and read “Jack the Beanstalk.”

Kindergarteners are learning from their class tadpole that frogs belong to a group of animals called amphibians, as they are making daily observations about how their class creature/pet (tadpole) is changing and evolving.

Our First graders have ladybugs this year and they are making observations. They students are proud that they learned a new science word, “metamorphosis” so now they can impress their parents. Check out Lucy’s three days of observations from the prompt, “Life cycle that is MOST like your ladybug”:

Our Second graders are learning about the Life Cycle of a Butterfly and how all creatures go through life cycle changes. It’s important to know that the cycle and sequence of those changes is critical to the survival of species. The Second grade classes enjoyed joining together to add to their “Painted Lady Butterfly Observation Notebook.”

Our Third-graders recently explored about magnetism and electricity. Throughout this unit of study, students experienced many hands-on activities. They got to use tools to explore the properties of magnetism, build circuits, and watch how light bulbs and motors come to life at the work of their own hands.

In late March our 3rd Grade class, along with teachers and parents, visited the SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention here in Bellingham. Our community is fortunate to have the museum nearby to provide students with the opportunity to learn more about a topic that is currently being studied in school. They witnessed an amazing show of electricity,  including BIG sparks, and heard a bit about the history of electricity, too.

In a recent Lower School STEM activity students were encouraged to think about the following two questions: 1) How do birds build their nests to protect their eggs? 2) Nests do fall to the ground from time to time, but what materials cushion the fall?

Our students used their problem solving and creative imaginations to engineer a way to protect an egg using only masking tape and a baggie. As a result, our students brought in building materials from home and utilized the STEM cabinet at school to create protective and safe containers. The goal was for their egg to stay intact on impact. Essentially, the Egg Drop was a HUGE success, as our student engineered creative Egg Crates in multi-aged groups of three, and parents came early for pick-up to witness their creations being tested. Thankfully, most of the eggs survived the test drop from the ladder, then the playground, and finally dropped from the roof by our Associate Head of School/ Lower School Director Gretchen Bucsko.

Note: Don’t you just love how the kids and educators are all celebrating STEM.

This week our 5th grade students ventured out to Camp Lutherwood on the North Shore of Lake Samish, the perfect place to support their Ecosystems unit. Through experiential learning, students made connections as they practiced living in community and learning to make healthy choices about their direct impact on the environment. The TREK course content primarily focuses on five concepts: Energy Flow, Cycles, Interrelationships, Diversity, and Sustainability. Each lesson and series of activities through the TREK experience can be connected back to one of these concepts. They also had time and the opportunity to enjoy team building activities (Trip Leaders: Ms. Miller and Ms. McDonnell).

It is clear that hands-on science is fun!