Science AL!VE

One of our recent bi-weekly highlights is receiving the email for the Science AL!VE Girls Club that the Maya and Dahlia attend every other Saturday at SFU.  Although receiving an email sounds like a minor event, especially compared with actually going to the science club, it does present with its own unique set of opportunities.

We're sent a sneak peek at the upcoming topic, as well as a related trivia question which the girls can answer for a chance to win a prize.  Knowing the topic in advance gives us time to explore and discuss the subject, giving the girls a familiarity with what they are going to experience in a few days.  Letting the girls research the answer to the trivia question themselves gives them a real sense of accomplishment and pride. 

This all ties in nicely with our ongoing efforts to teach the girls critical thinking skills.  Because so much of their education is based online, we are really trying to teach them how to use the internet, i.e. Google, in an efficient and productive way.  They're learning the importance of asking questions objectively, by seeing first-hand how a slight variation in wording can greatly change the resulting information (a search for "vaccine safety" vs. "vaccine danger" produces two very different results).

This will be valuable life skill for them, considering they are the generation that doesn't necessarily need to know all of the answers, rather does need to know how and where to find the answers.

So from this Saturday morning science club, and the lead-up to it, comes knowledge, new experiences, new skills, and so much fun! Maya's been attending for a few months now, but Dahlia went for the first time two weeks ago.  I stuck around in case Dahlia needed me.  She didn't.  She was a bit insulted that I stayed.  

It is sometimes hard to believe how quickly they are changing and growing, both physically and emotionally.  It is never hard to believe how awesome this all is to watch!