A Crabitat

We have been planning our teacher observation since before the holiday break. We have four classrooms and seven teachers involved in teaching a 5 E Science lesson for our principal. We are required to do an observation in Science if we teach Science (you know how I feel about Science!) so we decided that we would join together and do a series of lessons in sequence so our Principal could see an entire unit taught using the 5 E's (Engage, Explore, Explain, Extend, Evaluate). Our class is going on the 3rd day with an "Explore-Explain" of what animals need to survive. The first lesson is on pets, the next of wild animals and our lesson in on ocean animals. My part is to talk about a hermit crab (the entire lesson will be available after we teach it), so I sent an e-mail to the faculty, thinking that I might not need to buy the entire set up for a hermit crab if someone had one that they might not be using right now.

A couple of teachers did respond that they had everything I would need and that I was welcome to use their stuff, so I thought I'd just need to buy the hermit crab! But Carolyn even offered the use of the hermit crab she keeps in her classroom! Woo hoo! That makes it pretty easy, but I also got these responses that tickled my funny bone! I work with some of the funniest, most giving and most creative folks that I know! What a great job!

From Jenny: I can't help you in the hermit crab department, but when I saw your subject line [hermit crab] my heart skipped a beat as I opened the e-mail... I thought, "Oh Good Lord..... their crab is loose in the building!":) Thankfully, my predicting skills were not correct! My advice -- keep a lid on it!

And advice from Haley: My advice is if it dies in the first week, get another one from the store and tell the class that he must of switched shells! We went through 3 hermit crabs in the first two weeks of having them in class. Keep your receipts and they'll give you another one free. Not that yours is going to die, but just so you know. Your kids will love it!