The fifth grade science classes recently completed a unit on invasive species in California. Invasive species are plants, animals, or other organisms that are introduced to a new location outside of their native habitat and cause harm to the native species in the habitat that they have invaded. Since invasive species do not have natural predators to limit their reproduction, they can populate quickly and threaten the biodiversity in their new habitat.

To further explore this topic, each pair of students created a "Wanted: Dead or Alive" poster, which offers a reward for anyone who finds one of California's invasive species and returns it to its native habitat. The posters provide information about the original habitat of the invasive species, its new habitat in California, how it got here, and the impact it is having on the state's native species.

The fifth graders also conducted a hands-on experiment, which demonstrated the impact that invasive species have on the food chain. The students were divided into groups representing four types of birds. The first three groups tried to catch as much "food" as possible using a spoon, a magnet, or a hook as their bird "beak. " After two rounds, the invasive bird group, which used their hands as their "beaks," was introduced. These birds were able to capture much more of the food than the native birds. The reduced food supply for the native birds could eventually cause them to die off and become extinct. The students graphed their results throughout the experiment and had a lot of fun during this competition for survival!

Science in Early Childhood classrooms is exciting! Through science learning, the children have a better understanding of the world, and they develop skills for, and a healthy attitude towards, learning. During two recent science lessons, two of our ECE teachers, Morah Tiki in Pre-Nursery and Morah Andrea in Kindergarten, engaged the students in the scientific process.

Morah Tiki asked the children, "If I put oil and a wick in the cup and I light it, will it stay lit?" The children answered, "Yes!" She lit it and then asked, "What if I take the white drink we had for snack this morning?" The children yelled, "Milk!" Morah Tiki put it in a cup with a wick and she lit it. It lit! She then moved to the third cup, and right at that moment, the wick made a sizzle sound and was extinguished. The children screamed, "Morah, look what happened! The candle is not burning anymore." This experiment was a great way to teach the children the difference between flammable and non-flammable. Morah Tiki then had the kids squeeze oranges, lemons and olives to get their juices. The children were engaged, attuned, and even made predictions if it would stay lit or not. When I asked Morah Tiki why she was doing this experiment with such young children she replied, "Children's curiosity about the world around them is natural! I was just helping them explore a way to build their skills in learning."

In the Kindergarten class, the children were talking about wind and how strong it can be. Each child received a bag of objects and was asked by Morah Andrea if they could predict what would blow away and what wouldn't. The children made predictions and Morah Andrea graphed their predictions. The next step was for the children to take out one item at a time and blow it with a straw. After each item, the children filled in the chart noting if it blew away in the wind or not. In some cases, their prediction was right and in others, it was wrong. When I asked Morah Andrea why she spent so much time tracking and charting data, she replied that by doing this, the children not only discovered the answers themselves, but also used important skills, including working with a friend, fine and gross motor skills, and early math concepts.