success with worms and microbes

Yesterday was the best day of computer program ever at Cathedral Hill! Let me just tell you...

the worm activity
The theme for the week was worms, waste and recycling. So I found a couple of websites for kid activities in the computer lab- first we followed an animated worm through a tour of the virtual worm bin. He showed us what worms like for bedding, moisture, soil (did you know that worms eat dirt to aid digestion? I didn't!), food and environment. He also told us some lame jokes, which of course are my favorite! (What did the astronaut say after eating his dinner on the moon? "the food is great, but there's no atmosphere!" hahahaha!) Since Faith had started a worm bin earlier in the year, with Kay's help, the kids could directly relate to what this worm was telling them.
http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Kidstuff/Default.htm

the microbe activity
Next, we went to a page from Clean Sweep U.S.A. that had all kinds of kids activities to learn about waste, energy and recycling. I had the kids click on the compost activity- where you get a compost pile and you have to keep the microbe happy by feeding him, giving him water, and turning the pile. The kids loved it, then all worked on it until they made the microbe happy! Even though it took some of them ten minutes! I guess it helped that I told them they would get a prize... We all had fake tattoos at the end of computer time. Next time I think I want to have prizes that have something to do with the theme...
http://www.kab.org/kids/defaultx.htm

sharing
Since we were down a computer and the iMac is completely useless, we only had three computers for groups of four or five kids. In the first group, one of the kids was really young so it worked well to have him share with an older kid. In the second group, the kids didn't want to share but when two of them agreed to share I let them in first. Then the other kids wanted to share. The pair that immediately volunteered took turns- they switched chairs after every part of the worm tour so that they both got a chance. They did this completely on their own, too! I made sure to tell them how cool they were.

the lesson
Since the composting activity came with a lesson plan for educators, I looked it over and it had a little info about composting and what your compost needs to make it healthy- such as carbon and nitrogen, moisture and aeration. The activity had corresponding messages from the microbe- when the compost needed water, he would say that he's thirsty or parched. When he needed turning, he would say that it was kinda stuffy. My favorite was that when the pile needed nitrogen, he would say that he felt weak. When the kids struggled to make him happy and he would say he felt weak, I would tell them that meant he needed nitrogen- then I pointed to the things that gave the pile nitrogen: coffee grounds, egg shells and grass clippings. At one point, one of the kids (who was practicing reading the microbe's messages!) said, "oh.. he's weak again! What do I do?" A kid from another group said, over his shoulder, "you gotta add nitrogen!" The kid looked lost. He said, "where is that?" A third kid said, "the coffee or the eggs. Or the grass." It was so rad...

facilitation
As the kids started finishing the activity- at different times- I let them play games. One pair was still struggling, and one member from another pair was bored because his buddy was looking at his brother's website. So, since the one kid with her own computer had finished and had time to play a couple games, I asked her to help the group that was struggling and let the bored kid play some games. She protested initially, but when she and the two kids she was helping made the microbe happy, they were all so excited! She went back to her computer and shared with the kid that was on it! I was just amazed. When it was time to go, I gave them all verbal awards and told them how awesome they were. Because they were! Even the one kid that was bored and didn't want to do the activity was sharing and having a great time by the end. This will probably never happen to me again. Ever.

YES!!!
I'd had a lot of trouble engaging the kids and convincing them that there's more to the internet than cartoon network, so this was a refreshing change! They all worked together, shared, and helped each other!!! And they all did the activity, and enjoyed it. Except that one kid, but he eventually had a great time sharing so whatever.

rewards
I think it was good to have an incentive for the kids to do or at least try the activity- I offered the fake tattoo prizes and also I told them before I let them in that the deal was that they would try the activity, and after they finished they could play on the internet. As long as they followed the rules.

why
I think it helped me immensely to be prepared. I don't like to fly by the seat of my pants, or I'm way less confident. I had time to chat with Faith about the theme, and develop something interesting and educational. She also mentioned in the beginning of the program that they should give my activity a try, and not say that it was boring. Then she told me that I could probably come up with something that was more boring, and split the kids up into groups where the "troublemakers" were in different groups. It also was incredible help to tell the kids from the get-go that they would get to play games when they were done with the activity. And the prizes helped. And I think it was really good that I only had two websites, and we all went to them kind of together- keep it simple and more guided. Plus the fact that they were both interactive- the second one way more than the first.

Now that I've written a novel, I'm going to get back to work. Woo! Look at me, all learning and stuff...