Intro to Geology

Geology: is the science that studies Earth's history that is recorded in rocks.

It is real simple. You sort the rocks and the shells. What I really what the children to gain from this activity is to know exactly what a rock is. What I have learned from experience is that you never assume that a child already knows something. Yeah sure some may know what a rock is the first time they see it others may not. I can't tell you how many times I have witnessed a child working while snot was running down their nose, even though there was a box of tissue at arms reach. When I remind the child where the box of tissue is and then assist them with wiping their nose they are relieved and I watch that child very happily wiping their nose repeatedly for days even after their runny nose has disappeared. The box of tissue that was once full before I showed the child that they have the abilty to wipe their own nose is empty by the end of the day. The child knows that the tissue is there but somehow there is a disconnect that they don't have the understanding that it is alright to get tissue to wipe their nose, or they just don't know how. The reason that I am sharing this with you is because I play this scenario in my head whenever I am about to present work to the children.

It took me exactly twenty minutes to set this up. I purchased the river rocks and shells from the dollar store ages ago. I do have matching rocks included in the bin that are igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary. The rocks have matching numbers, this is for the child to discover.

Lets's Go Rock Collecting by Roma Gans is what I will be reading to gain the childrens' interest. I haven't met a child yet that didn't enjoy listening to this book. The pictures are wonderful. Rocks and Minerals will be on the shelf beside the work, exciting photographs that I hope will get the children to ask me some questions.

                                                              
I have some exciting plans to go along with our studies of Geology if the children are interested.