What Grows Faster: Carrots or Sweet Potatoes?
carol vandermey
Published: June 20, 2011
Preschool students at Lutheran Social Services of Illinois’ Messiah Head Start in Chicago know. That was one of the experiments they performed this year, thanks to grants totaling $7,000 from the Pritzker Foundation, Leo S. Guthman Fund and the Prince Charitable Trust.
Another experiment the children performed was growing plants from seeds placed in moist paper towels. They didn’t grow; instead, they got moldy. Remembering one of the lessons about soil, one preschooler suggested they be put in dirt, where the plants grew fine. The results from this and other experiments were on display at a June 2 science fair, which was the culmination of a new science curriculum.
During the science fair and accompanying open house, some of the preschoolers sang songs, while others put on a skit about how plants grow. They were enthusiastically applauded by parents, teachers and volunteers. The children then planted petunias in front of their building and flower seeds in a cup to take home.
Since September 2010, teachers at Messiah have had training session with Agnes Kovacs, manager of school groups and teacher programs at the Chicago Zoological Society, to coach them in teaching science to their young students. “It’s been fun watching the teachers learn the cycle of science and watching the kids become scientists,” says Kovacs. “I just love being here.”
Delphine Whittlesey, program director at Messiah, noted that this training’s greatest benefit was “to allow the teacher to be able to integrate science into daily activities.” Also, she says, the children develop a science vocabulary and can become “investigators” by learning how to observe, to listen, see and touch, and ask questions. “They come away with set of skills that other (preschoolers) may not have had in the past,” she says.
Katrina Gardner, one of the parents, notes that her daughter Julia has been in Head Start since she was 3 years old. “Messiah has been doing more and more exciting education during the past couple of years,” she says, adding, “We like little old Messiah; it’s a present for parents here. I’ve been here long enough to like everything about the learning process [for the kids].”
Oh, and by the way, the students found that carrots grow faster than sweet potatoes.
Messiah is one of five LSSI Head Start sites in Chicago. The others are located in the Humboldt Park, North Austin, Rogers Park and Uptown neighborhoods. LSSI’s Head Start programs are for children aged 3-5 years old, with or without disabilities, and programming is designed to develop students’ social skills and school readiness.
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