Laura Henriques, Kim Watten, and Jill Grace.Working with the 200 kids were 20 prospective teachers from CSULB and 9 mentor teachers from area schools. The teaching teams work together for a week before the kids arrive. They spend that time planning lessons, figuring out the curriculum, lining up guest speakers and on-campus field trips. This year we had funding from The Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation, The Earl B. and Lorraine H. Miller Foundation, LSI, Inc., and The JAPAJAG Foundation. We are very grateful for their support which allowed us to provide financial aid, give scholarships and support programming. Half the students attending this summer were from Long Beach Unified School District's GEAR UP program. These students will be entering 7th grade this fall so their two weeks of human biology ought to provide them with a jump start on the content.
Science Camp was very, very fun and exciting. Mine was about "creepy crawlers." We played with lady bugs, walking sticks, snails, butterflies, and frogs. They are awesome, and gross. One time I played with snails and some green stuff came out. I love the fieldtrips. On the last day of camp, for good behavior, I won a lillypad with a red flower on top. I also won ladybugs and four real caterpillars. I took care of them at home and a week later, the caterpillars turned into butterflies! I was very sad on the last day to say goodbye to my teachers. Then I cheered up when my mom told me I can do it again next summer.
Camp is fantastic! My favorite part was going to the Japanese Garden. I liked it because we got to feed the fish and got a great tour guide. I also liked making terrariums and catching bugs for them. I learned a lot about habitats and ecology. My overall opinion is that camp is terrific.
Over the summer, I attended the Young Scientists Camp for the first time and it was awesome! I was in the 5th grade camp studying "life at the edge of the sea." I belonged to the group called the Beach Combers. I had three wonderful teachers who taught me many things about Marine Biology. My favorite part was dissecting a squid and making paintings of fish using real fish. I still have my beta fish from camp. I named him Lucky and he's now living happily in my room. Science camp was really fun!
I loved camp this year, because 7th and 8th graders got to do CSI!!! It wasn't at all like the show. It wasn't gruesome or disgusting. For me, it was really interesting. Some of the things we did were urinalysis. I never thought about how urine could identify a person. We even went to 2 different police forensics labs. The teachers here at camp are phenomenal. They really know what they are teaching. I love camp, and I would recommend it for anyone.
Ahoy matey! Yo-ho-ho, Walk the plank, Shiver me timbers, and Swab the deck! Welcome to Life at the edge of the sea….with a pirate twist. My name is Sunita Lacy and I had the wonderful opportunity to work as a 5th grade teacher assistant at CSULB Young Scientist's Camp this summer. My team consisted of my Lead Teacher Mrs. Stephanie Bauer, and my fellow teaching assistant Ms. Christina Beaty. As many lead teachers and TA's have stated in the past, the YSC was one of the best experiences I had all summer.
When Dr. Henriques approached me about the YSC I thought to myself this could be a good learning experience before I begin my student teaching this fall. But what I failed to realize, it was to become so much more than that. Working with such a wonderful supportive staff, such as Jill, Kim, and Dr. Henriques, and of course my exceptional patient and knowledgeable Lead Teacher Mrs. Bauer, changed my perception towards teaching as a whole. I learned so much over the three-week period, such as, lesson planning (and actually applying it!), classroom management, time management, and how to handle everyday classroom situations.
We had our 5th graders for approximately two weeks, and what a two weeks it was. As I stated previously, our theme was life at the edge of the sea, and with help from our students we actually converted our classroom into a living ocean. We had creatures ranging from crayfish, which the students did observational experiments with, to dissecting giant squid, seaweed presses, and (I think one of the students favorites) fish painting. Oh, and I can't forget, each student took home a mascot….their very own Beta fish. The students took notes daily on their beta fish. These notes consisted of feeding behavior, water clarity, coloring, size, what/how much they ate, and overall behavior. Our goal by using the beta fish was to introduce the way marine biologist study organisms in the wild, and how they apply their knowledge.
When the three weeks came to an end, I realized something….I was no longer scared or fearful of beginning my student teaching. Matter of fact I could not wait to begin! I felt so comfortable with my students and implementing the day's lesson, I now could just simply enjoy being a teacher.
I have to say thank you to the wonderful, adorable students/pirates that resided in the MLSC-102 over the two-week experience. I hope they enjoyed learning about marine biology as much as I enjoyed teaching them. Thank you again to Jill, Kim, Dr. Henriques, and to my exceptional Lead Teacher Mrs. Bauer... thank you I would do it again in a heart beat.
