Play and learn about science with Summer Beach from the Sassafras Science Series!

Hi-ya – I am Summer Beach, research scientist, Sassy-Sci supporter, and your host for your first journey through science! You may have heard about me through The Sassafras Science Adventures series, but if you haven’t, consider this our very first virtual-jumping-hug hello!!

A few years back, the Sassafras twins asked me to create an introduction to science that they could share with their peeps. And after much deliberation and a few hibernations, Ulysses and I are ready to open the doors to our lab for an amazing, sandwich-filled, gentle introduction to the wonderful world of science!!

In Summer’s Lab, you will be building a weekly science sandwich that your students will want to gobble up! These delicious lunches will serve up basic facts about animals, humans, plants, weather, rocks, matter, and forces as the students will work on their observation skills, encountering science face-to-face.

Sound like fun? We thought so too!!

The Science Sandwich

In the teacher guide, we’ll give you the tools to build a fantastic scientific meal each week.

We will start with the basics of the sandwich, the meat and the bread, otherwise known as the scripted introduction to the topic from yours truly, a few questions, and something for the kiddos to do.
Then, we’ll add some cheesy additions – pun totally intended!! This section will have directions for coordinating hands-on projects for you to use each week. These scientific demonstrations will help you lead your students to encounter science face-to-face!
Next, we’ll slather on the “extras” – things like mayo, mustard, horseradish, tomatoes, or spinach, which add flavor. In our science sandwich, these will look like art projects, snack options, and extra science projects that go along with the topic.
Finally, we’ll wrap it all up with a few pages from our favorite encyclopedia, the DK Children’s Encyclopedia, as well as a list of optional library books, in case you want to add in some extra reading while you are munching on your science sandwich.

And if all that science-sandwich-making stuff wasn’t enough, Ulysses and I have also included two scheduling options to make your job a bit easier! One is the list schedule option, the other is a grid schedule option. Both show you the essentials for a bare-bones snack, the keys to add for a full lunch, and the optional extras that will make a feast!

The Rest of the Picture

Before I go, I do need to tell you about a few things the peeps on the Sassafras Science team have put together for your students.

The Lab Manual – Our publishers have taken my ideas and turned them into a super-cute lab manual! It contains story sheets, coloring pages, demonstration sheets, and activity sheets. These pages allow your students to create a scrapbook-style lab manual with what they learned in this program.
The Reference Notes – Our publishers have also created a smaller set of reference notes. These sheets contain the stories and a set of mini-books for the students to record what they have learned for that week.
The Audio Stories – The talented voice of Sassafras Science, Christine Myrick, has recorded all of my science stories for you, so you can save your voice while you have Ulysses and I visit your house through the magic of mp3 audio files!
The Experiment Kit – Let’s face it, gathering supplies is tough. Our publishers have fixed that by providing a kit with all the hard-to-find materials for the demonstrations!

Ulysses and I hope that this program will spark your student’s interest in learning more about science as you enjoy a year of sandwich science from our lab!