Ariel and I are taking a class called “Math and Science Together” right now. It’s through the Ready to Learn Project, and we’re having a lot of fun with it.

Now, this isn’t heavy duty stuff… in fact, the goal is to show parents how well they can prepare their toddlers to learn math and science in school. For example, today we put vinegar in a bottle, used a funnel to put baking soda in a ballon, then put the ballon over the mouth of the bottle, dumping the baking soda into the vinegar. The vinegar fizzes up, and the balloon is filled with gas. Kids love that stuff, of course.

It’s really nice how the kids are allowed to explore on their own, and parents get ideas for what to do with them. We are separated into 4 groups, and we spend 15 minutes in each one of four rooms, and there are several projects for the kids to try in each, so there’s no pressure if your child just isn’t interested in one particular project.

This is aimed at 3-5 year olds, and I really feel that 4 is about the perfect age. When we did the Readiing and Writing Together class a few months ago, Ariel was interested in nothing other than having me read to her. I think if we did it together now she might take more of an interest in the writing and storytelling part.

There’s homework too! We’re measuring the roots of a young spider plant growing in water, we grew a bean in a ziploc bag in the window, and we get handouts with a variety of suggestions.

I think one of these days here soon I’ll make a section going over some of the ideas I’m getting from these classes. After all, what parent doesn’t need ideas to keep the kids busy?