Welcome Dr. Sowell!

Today teachers JJ Brown and Karen Meissner welcomed Dr. Scott Sowell to their kindergarten classroom.  Dr. Sowell was named Duval County's Teacher of the Year in February.   The Superintendent described Scott this way - "He has an amazing gift of connecting with his students, and his success is proven through his students' academic performance.  His students master science by doing science hands-on. Instead of starting out with a lecture explaining a topic, Dr. Sowell places the experience first so his students create their own learning by exploring real-life scientific situations. He develops a strong community of learners in his classroom, fostering a climate of collaboration, empathy and kindness where critical thinking and creative expression are valued and encouraged."

So how did a middle/ high school Science teacher end up in a kindergarten class today?  Lucky for us he has nieces at Chets Creek and one is a kindergartner in Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Meissner's class. They invited him in to do a Science lesson with these early learners.

So... if you're wondering how a high school Science teacher did in a kindergarten class, I think the pictures speak for themselves!  The children were totally engaged!

Dr. Sowell began by giving each child a mystery bag.  Inside the bag he had them take out their "tools" for the day - a magnifying glass and a straw!

Next the children took our meal worms and earthworms.  They counted the legs on the meal worms and decided that they looked a lot like the very hungry caterpillar!  Dr. Sowell entertained questions from the children but mostly pointed out how smart their observations were.  They FELT like scientists!

I don't know what was more fun - looking at the worms or watching the kindergartners looking at the worms!  I would say that this high school teacher can come and teach kindergarten Science any day he likes!  Thank you Dr. Sowell for being your niece's hero today and thoroughly entertained us all!  Come back soon!