Last week of school! Next year is going to be exciting for some of the 4th graders in CK school District. I and two cohorts along with the CK school district have come to the end of a two+ year process of creating a science kit to be piloted to twelve fourth grade teachers in the district come fall. The kit, called Connecting Kitsap, contains lessons on local watersheds, drinking water, Wetlands and Streams as well as recycling, and hazardous waste. As you may guess this kit is quite comprehensive. The lessons will give students hands on learning and opportunities to use the scientific process. Plus all the lessons are all very engaging to 4th graders.

When I say we "built" these kits. I mean we physically built them. This involved writing the lessons, purchasing materials and using our imaginations to create hands on manipulatives to be included in the kit. The lessons were written by Doug Dowell and Kim SanFilipe from Ck school district, Pat Kirschbaum from Surface and Storm Water Management and Jo Meints from Kitsap County Solid Waste and me. This was a lot of work on all of our parts as well as a major chunk of our respective budgets. We now know why science kits are so expensive. CK school district and their students are being given quite a gift! Our goal with these kits is to offer science education as well as fostering stewardship for our Kitsap environment. I feel they do the job. Teachers and students will give us their feedback next year.