This ongoing class will allow students an opportunity to explore several different science topics, all of which are centered around a "weird" holiday from the week. For example, during the first week students will be learning about the feet of animals, including humans. They will discover the importance of feet and how different animals use their very different types of feet in many kinds of ways, depending on their specific needs. This first week's class will be centered around August 17th's "I love my feet" day.

My teaching style is a combination of direct instruction and student centered exploration.

These ongoing classes will begin with an activity or discussion aimed at getting students to explore their prior knowledge as it relates to the lesson's science topic. This will be followed by a brief period of direct instruction about the topic, highlighting any pertinent details the students are not already familiar with as evidenced by the prior student discussion or activity. Following this period of instruction, which will include input from the students in the form of guiding questions, students will take part in an activity, either in the form of a demonstration, experiment, or craft that will highlight what they have learned and discovered. Lastly, students will discuss with the class what they observed in the demonstration/experiment or what they created in the craft and reflect on how their findings or creation represent what they have discovered throughout the lesson.

Students will get to interact with the teacher and their classmates during most of the class time. They will have opportunity to share their prior knowledge and experience at the beginning of the class, will be asked guiding questions during the direct instruction portion of the lesson, and will be able to share their findings or creation at the end of class. 

The science topics will be different each week and will flow with the "weird" holidays that correspond to the week within which the class is taught. The first section of this class, which will begin in August, will include the following classes:

Feet - how different animals use their varied feet adaptations to serve their specific purposes (based on I love my feet day on August 17th)
Ice Cream - The science behind how ice cream is made and why that works (based on Banana split day on August 25th) 
Wildlife - the needs of animals in the wild and how those needs are met in their environments (based on Wildlife Day on Sept. 4th)
Ants- All about ants, their colony hierarchy, life cycle, and body structure (based on Ants on a Log Day on Sept. 18th)
Peanuts and Play dough Creativity - what peanuts need to grow, their many uses, and being creative with play dough to demonstrate understanding of the peanut plant (based on a combination of Peanut Day, Live Creative Day, and Play Dough day on Sept. 13th, 14th, and 16th respectively)
Dance - how bodies are able to move in so many different ways, and why movement, such as dancing, is a healthy thing for bodies (based on Dance Day on Sept. 19th)

There is no prior knowledge necessary.