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Our STEM GEMS classes walked as a group in a local Christmas parade behind our school's float.
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| School nativity float with STEM GEM kids in lab coats |
I do not mind speaking in front of large groups, but I cannot stand venues in which people just stare at me without communicating with me in a meaningful way. I still get the willies when I remember the time Belk's management made me walk in a fashion show as a teenager. I was mortified. I also do not like the cold or crowds. I have never intentionally gone to a parade except when I had to participate as a member of the marching band. So, yes, I am a holiday party-pooper when it comes to parades, but when a parent suggested that we walk as a group in the parade and the kids expressed excitement over the idea, I agreed. Then I beat my head against the wall crying "What was I thinking?"
I knew I could not possibly make a decent sign or banner, so I begged another parent to do that. I bought lab coats (which were about 12 sizes too big) and safety goggles to set us apart as part of the STEM club, stuffed my pockets with hand warmers for the students (apropos after studying sodium acetate and supercooled liquids earlier in the semester), hats, and gloves, and tried to make the most of it.
Some families actually enjoy parades and all walked together with us.
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| A STEM GEMS Family |
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| Giving instructions to my little STEM nerd while waiting for the parade to begin |
The parade took forever, and the logistics of getting students back to their families with half the roads blocked off in a town I had never explored before was not fun, but the kids thought it was so awesome to be in a parade and see so many people they knew waving at them from the crowds. And at least now the town knows that our classical school is serious about STEM education...well at least the board, parents, and a few teachers are. So I continue to pester, nag, debate, defend, push, and persist, all while loving the students God brings me lavishly, surrounded by unexpected and exceedingly appreciated support from grateful parents.
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As outside activities picked up speed, classroom entertainment and enthusiasm also accelerated. Pictures taken by my son during class suggest that I continue to prefer teaching with my hands and with various multi-sensory aids. I was amused to see how excited I get when explaining math, science, Biblical precepts, apologetics, technology and engineering to these students. I still cannot believe I agreed to do this teaching gig in the first place, but by golly, I think I like it!
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| Describing the rich mineral deposits found at the bottom of the sea, just as God told us 3500 years earlier in the book of Job. |
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| Discovering how pressure & temperature differentials cause underwater volcanoes to erupt |
I tried throwing in more corny jokes and puns as I did last year with my stats seniors, but whenever I make these younger students laugh, it's hard to reel them back in to being fully focused on the instruction. They make me laugh, too. Never too classy for corny science jokes, I asked my students, "What did the volcano say to his wife?" The answer is supposed to be "I lava you very much", but in every single class the students have given me the same response, "Hey babe, you're hot!"
When explaining how white smokers produce & emit methane gas (in a STEM class where the goal is to get students to apply what they have learned to other real world topics), I wished I had prepared myself to answer the question, "How does the human body produce and emit methane gas (flatulence)?" in a way that doesn't make the little boys snicker.
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| Black smoker demonstration |
The oceanography and water pressure units I wrote were lots of fun, and given that I made up almost all of the demonstrations myself, I didn't have to worry about the kids saying, "We've already seen that on YouTube." YouTube is such a buzz killer.
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| Dysphotic zone demonstration: She's wondering if she should trust me with all that water. |
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| Learning how to minimize pressure differentials when diving deep and why it works |
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| Solar salt water distillation |
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| Verifying that water pressure increases with depth |
After months of planning, building, enhancing, revising, rewriting, and refining, our STEM class finally started the unit on air pressure which I would conclude with the human hovercraft project.
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| Comparing air pressure & water weight |
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| Proving that air does not suck |
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| Proving that air exerts equal pressure in all directions and that I have no control over my class (kids on chairs - what?) |
I wanted to introduce the students to the engineering design process, so the students first had to construct hovercraft prototypes. We had competitions for speed, distance, and aesthetics. The prototype work helped them discover the key strengths and weaknesses of their designs and to troubleshoot problems. I also hoped to get them thinking about how they could modify the prototype to carry up to 400 pounds (vs. the 0.8 oz prototype system).
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| Prototype design and build |
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| Enhancing aesthetic appeal |
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| My boy refuels his vehicle |
Let the races begin!
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| Racing for speed |
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| Distance Races |
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| Passionate competitors |
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| Very close distance race finishers |
After troubleshooting the prototypes and figuring out what makes them move in different ways, the students were challenged to consider the hovercraft constraints and to brainstorm ideas for modifying the hovercraft to carry people.
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Then the following week, we finished up our unit on air pressure and I showed the students how we addressed those problems and constraints with the hovercraft prototypes (air runs out quickly, air pressure is not enough to hold much weight, balloon keeps slipping off or tipping over, etc.) while using the same design concept to build a human hovercraft that could carry up to 400 pounds (though we only tested it with 300 added pounds not counting the weight of the hovercraft). The kids were fascinated as they made connections and grasped air pressure principles and engineering design techniques while using them in such a fun hands-on way.
Several parents posted great videos and pictures on social media while expressing gratitude for the impact STEM GEMS is having, but I reminded them that behind every great project in STEM GEMS has been my dedicated, loving, supportive, brilliant husband and his power tools! I could not do this program without him, but I am so grateful for the response it is receiving and for the way the school is embracing and owning it. I wrote a blog series defining STEM as more than the four subjects it represents but as a teaching methodology that is entirely consistent with the classical model and especially beneficial for an education founded upon a Biblical worldview. Now the administration wants to own the program (which means I will be working for them instead of for myself & the parents) and market it as its own. They recently even had me right a blog post about it for the school's website, but now I'm struggling to find more teachers to teach more classes, as I cannot do it all myself, especially now that my consulting business is taking up more of my time. Thankfully, my son's second grade teacher has agreed to assist me next semester. She is far more capable than I am with a long career of teaching professionally at this school and before that. She is especially good at classroom management while keeping learning fun. We have so much fun in this class that classroom management is a struggle for me, so I'm so grateful to have her help.
Not only did this mom
bravely serve as our demo girl, but she also provided extra hovercraft
propulsion with those strong legs of hers. Obviously, she's one of the
CCS Mighty Moms and is one of the most faithful in attendance. [ I'm still teaching the "Mighty Mom's Movement and Muscle Class" and loving it. It's my way of giving back to the school without charging for my time and making new friends in the process.]
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| Instead of using leaf blowers or fire extinguishers for propulsion, I let the the kids propel each other! |
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| Younger sibling and future STEM GEM |
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| Just when I thought my running days were completely over!... |
Our boy (he's the one running next to the craft) pushed and chased a lot
of kids and helped me tote that craft all over the place, but he never
got to take a ride since he waited until everyone had ridden at least
once to take his turn. By then, both batteries had run out of juice. He
didn't complain, though, so now we're considering some automatic
propulsion enhancements just for him, so if we ever gain access to
another flat, smooth place as ideal as this one (our entire neighborhood
and driveway are nothing but hills), he can finally ride the hovercraft
his daddy built for his STEM class, and propel it himself.
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In STEM class during "hovercraft week", we examined Isaiah 31:5 and Genesis 1:2 and considered how God hovers all around us, always right there with us, yet we cannot see Him because He is over us, protecting us, sustaining us, nourishing us. Like a mother carrying her growing baby in the darkness of her womb, God carries us, loving us, aware of our every movement. Like that unborn child in the mother's womb, we cannot see Him, nor are we aware of all the work being done outside of us to protect us, but after we are truly born (or reborn) we can see Him, know Him fully, and better understand.
Over the past
few days, our family has experienced in an overwhelming and tangible way
God's divine protection. That inner nudging to see a doctor for what
was surely just a virus was the Holy Spirit's voice. The willingness of
the medical clinic to call in people after hours to read labs was God's
army obeying orders from their commander. The one stranger remaining
in the waiting area as the office was closing who offered to pray for
and with my beloved family member (aloud at that moment without
hesitation) was God's angel sent to encourage and build faith in the
power of prayer during a time of unexpected need. The over cautious
decision by the doctor to order a CAT scan after calling in antibiotics
for what was probably "just a virus turned into an infection" was the
angel's trumpet sounding the alarm. The timing of emergency surgery
performed only a few hours before an imminent rupture that would have
taken his life was God's declaration that He is sovereign, ever
hovering, ever protecting, working all things out according to His
perfect plan and perfect timing. It wasn't God's time for him to enter
the gates of heaven yet. God will move heaven and earth to bring about
his perfect plans and purposes. Sometimes His plans are not what we want
at the time and sometimes suffering and death must take place to
fulfill a greater purpose we cannot see, but we can trust that He is
still there, hovering, loving, doing what is best for His kingdom and
His glory. And we can know with confidence that death is never the end.
When someone we love so much (my dear daddy in this case) comes that close to sudden death, it makes us think about how ready we are for our last day. Have we told others we love them? Even better, have we shown them we love them? Have we given them the greatest gift ever given to man, the hope, joy, and everlasting promises found in the gospel of Christ? We are not promised tomorrow, but we are promised salvation through Christ and His eternal presence for those who know Him. If you don't know Him, I'd love to introduce you.
When someone we love so much (my dear daddy in this case) comes that close to sudden death, it makes us think about how ready we are for our last day. Have we told others we love them? Even better, have we shown them we love them? Have we given them the greatest gift ever given to man, the hope, joy, and everlasting promises found in the gospel of Christ? We are not promised tomorrow, but we are promised salvation through Christ and His eternal presence for those who know Him. If you don't know Him, I'd love to introduce you.
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Not only did my husband build the human hovercraft for my STEM students, but he also agreed to be our guest speaker during the last week of the semester, and the mere research for that presentation likely put him on the NSA watch list, and the animations will surely put mine to shame. Clearly, love for these students is contagious, and he's been afflicted by the same unexpected virus as I have.
He taught the students some very interesting history behind computers dating back to 200 BC, key components, and how computers think, operate and are programmed. The students learned to convert numeric numbers into binary language and performed various computations. The students finished the class by creating a very basic (in Basic language no less) old school computer program which they compiled and ran.
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