Image

I teach students in grades K–5 either once or twice a week; each lesson ends with a lab experiment of some sort. That’s around 17 classes’ worth of experiments a week. So how do I run these labs? With everyday household goods, of course! For example, for a unit on matter, my 1st-graders make a polymer, which is a different kind of matter — not solid, liquid or gas. It’s slime! We make it with cornstarch, Elmer’s glue and food coloring. Or I use cotton balls and eyedroppers to teach about clouds and precipitation in the water-cycle unit.

This may sound financially feasible but multiply 17 classes a few times a month — you end up spending a pretty high amount. I must spend at least $500 on materials alone, including clay, aluminum trays, lima beans, potting soil, iodine, batteries, large supplies of paper plates and plastic cups for measuring and mixing substances, soap, sanitizer and endless amounts of paper towels and tissues.

Image