Science

Junior Kindergarten is a place where mistakes and successes happen everyday, and we learn from both. It’s part of the learning process! 

“Oops! Let’s try this again!” is something that children and adults alike are often heard to say in any school setting. Rheta DeVries and Christina Sales’ Ramps and Pathways – A Constructivist Approach to Physics with Young Children is a book that we have found to be a helpful model to use as we help children to learn from and guide the mistakes that they make in the building process. “When people ask for a definition of ...Read more

Much of my childhood was spent outside. I grew up having easy access to nature right in my backyard — trails, creeks and animals of all sorts. My siblings and I spent countless hours every week engaged in unstructured outdoor play, exploring together, making up games, and riding bikes on the “roads” we created. I’m fairly certain my parents were unaware of the developmental benefits of sending us outside to play all weekend long, that’s just what parents did “back then,”...Read more

The global pandemic has changed nearly every aspect of our lives for the past year, including how we teach and our school experiences. As we approach the one year anniversary of the introduction of COVID-19 protocols into our daily lives at Rossman School, I have taken some time to reflect on the impact I have felt teaching Upper School science during the pandemic.

In Upper School science, Rossman students explore topics in life, earth and physical sciences in hand-on, engaging ways. They question, predict, design experiments, analyze results and communicate their findings in...Read more

What children learn does not follow as an automatic result from what is taught, rather, it is in large part due to the children’s own doing, as a consequence of their activities and our resources.

—Loris Malaguzzi, The Hundred Languages of Children

When I think back to when I was in elementary school, I remember my most memorable teacher; you know that teacher. I reflect on what I loved about her, why I was so drawn to her class, and what drove me to work harder and push myself further in her class than I did in others. The...Read more

If you have joined your child for lunch in the dining room lately, you’ve probably noticed the addition of several bins and posters along the side wall. As we’ve settled into our routine here at the beginning of the year, students and staff are redoubling their efforts to make Rossman a more sustainable school. One of the main areas of focus has been decreasing the waste created in our dining room and correctly managing the waste we do create.

When students are finished with their lunches, they carry their trays to the waste station on the side of the dining room. It is here that...Read more

Thinking about elementary school may bring up memories of multiplication facts, phonics, or memorizing state capitals. But what about research projects? For Rossman students, research projects are a core component of education. Surprisingly, the experience may not be all that different from your own experience in middle or high school, with a few modifications to ensure that it’s safe and developmentally appropriate for our students....Read more

“Watch children play in natural environments and you’ll see spontaneous expressions of joy and excitement. Observe children running through a pile of leaves with total abandon, dancing and spinning when they feel the wind blowing through their hair and laughing out loud when they see a toad hopping from place to place. You’ll see unbounded exuberance...Read more

Junior Kindergarten naturally incorporates STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) throughout the school day. This solid foundation for a Rossman education is built through play and developmentally appropriate learning opportunities. As teachers, we provide the materials and initiate the activities, but it is important to know when to step back and allow a child’s natural curiosity, interest and problem solving skills to take over. Excitement for learning is evident as the...Read more

At Rossman, we strive to give our students a well-balanced education and positive skills they will need for the future. Teaching our students to be kind, responsible lifelong learners, thinkers, creators, leaders and so much more, doesn’t just involve standing in front of a classroom instructing or demonstrating to them. It involves giving students opportunities every day to be leaders themselves, giving them choices and immersing them in hands-on experiences that help them grow in all aspects of education.

In Lower School science, I give students the opportunity to develop...Read more