VanDusen Pollinator Days

It is unfortunate that with Covid, our field trip to VanDusen for their Pollinator Days, has been cancelled.  I think that is one of my favourite outings of the school year.  In place of  the field trip, VanDusen has created an online science course, for K – Grade 4 Through their Portal to Nature, students can access the online course Flower to Fruit – an exploration of flowers, seeds, fruit, and the role of pollinators in plant reproduction.  This course uses videos, games, around-the-house activities, and quizzes to keep young learners engaged while also connecting them to nature through a balance of screen time and indoor/outdoor exploration. Many activities are modified from their field trips’ greatest hits, and redesigned for students to do with their families.

As our field trip was already booked and paid for, this online course is, in fact, only available to students from HL, and other schools, who had booked to participate in Pollinator Days.  I have previewed the course and I think it is good.  If you would like this course for your child(ren) please email me and I will send you the sign-in details. A great course to fulfill your child’s Science learning goals!

Engineering and Science Challenges

The Dyson Foundation (yup, the vacuum guy) has created 44 engineering and science activities for children to try at home, from making a balloon-powered car to building a bridge from spaghetti.  The challenges are comprised of 22 science task cards and 22 engineering activities.  All the challenges can be completed by students using common household items.  I’ve been asked about science activities for students by quite a few people, so especially check out the science task cards!

https://www.jamesdysonfoundation.com/resources/challenge-cards.html