About Me

Welcome from Momma Owl!  I am so pleased you stopped by!

I am a former science teacher and momma to three little girls.  My oldest, Sydney, is 6 years old and is loving, sensitive and has the memory of an elephant. Seriously, she does!  She loves science and calls herself "Syd the Science Kid" after the PBS show on television.  Maya, who is 4 1/2, is an independent soul with a wicked little sense of humor.  My littlest, Gabby, is 1 and a happy, happy baby that has the determination of Maya and the love of social interaction like Sydney - quite the combo!  I had been thinking about starting a blog for a while (see Welcome to Momma Owl's Lab) as a way to help me structure all of the science ideas I have but often don't get around to doing and finally took the plunge.

While I am very lucky to be staying at home while my wee ones are little, the teaching of science is a passion for me and I am thrilled to share some of the things we do.  After majoring in biology and policy studies at Rice University (I won't mention my grad year because that will make me feel OLD!), I participated in the Teach For America program and for two years taught a comprehensive science class at Newark's amazing Arts High School.  Inspired by my creative students, I was bitten by the teaching bug and decided to devote myself to the field of education.  After a brief stint in college admissions, I returned to the classroom in an alternative classroom in New York where I taught a variety of classes, including: middle school science, environmental science, biology, health, earth science and computers.  Upon moving to Michigan, I took a job as a curriculum specialist in a local pre-college engineering program, GRAPCEP.  We have just relocated to Southern California and are utilizing our science skills as we try to identify the local flora and fauna in our new environment.  Because of my experiences, I have a huge base of resources on a variety of science topics to share!

In my spare time, I also really enjoy cooking (I'm a messy cook, I admit it), gardening, playing outside with my kids, and working on all sorts of crafts - both with the kids and without.  All of these interests may pop up from time to time on the blog.  Oh, and I really like power tools!

I hope you enjoy the site.  I'd love to hear about your experiences and suggestions for improvement for any activities that you may do.  I love comments and will try to respond to all in a short amount of time.  You can also email me or follow me on Pinterest - I try to post some of the Momma Owl activities as well as use it to organize some of the ideas I have for upcoming posts.

Follow Me on Pinterest


8 comments:

  1. Hi Rachel! I found your blog through Matt's FB and LOVE Momma Owl! My boys are only 8 months old so they are some way from understanding density, even through your awesome experiment, but I can't wait to share your ideas with them. Awesome! I'm linking to your blog from mine (teamlovebo.blogspot.com), which is way boring in comparison. It's great to see what you've been up to!

    Bryn Lovejoy-Grinnell (IHS 1998)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bryn! So good to hear from you! Your boys are precious and I can't imagine how you do it with twins! Thanks for linking to Momma Owl. I loved looking through your pics of the boys and reading your birth story. (I love reading birth stories, especially as I get closer to #3...) It is great to reconnect!

      Delete
  2. Ok Rachel, Its official, you're my new best blogging friend! Welcome to the blogging community, and I for one, am thankful to see another mom focused on the process of science, not facts. Having littles ones makes to so obvious, doesn't it? They are curious, and you see their little brains working things out! My 5 yr old naturally prefers to be "right", (what 5 yr old doesn't?) but so we do a lot of predicting, and make things a game, and we're working on the idea that is ok to be wrong!

    It sounds like you have a lot of really cool science and engineering experiences that will provide a wonderful environment for your kids! Again, I'd love if you linked up at my STEM-themed linky (http://www.stemmom.org/2013/02/stem-themed-linky-party-2.html) I like to do a lot of positive PR for those who link up. I'll promote "Momma's Owls" on my FB page, twitter, and Google +. And I would encourage you to make a Momma's Owls FB page, as it seems that's how people connect these days!

    Again, Welcome to blogosphere, from one new blogger to another!

    Darci the STEM Mom

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Darci! You totally made my day! Thank you for the kind comments and I'm so glad you found me. I've spent the last hour or so browsing around your blog and it seems like we have lots of similar interests. It's always so nice to find a kindred spirit! I'll definitely link up; thank you so much for the opportunity. I am very much still feeling my way around this blogging thing... =) All the best, Rachel

      Delete
    2. Ahh I love your page too! Keep up the good work ladies.

      Delete
  3. This is so great! We definitely need to get kids interested in science early on. I will be trying most of these projects with my nephews

    ReplyDelete
  4. I came across this video on how to make "water marbles" and found it intriguing. Hope you and your kids enjoy.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MljsHsKHWro

    ReplyDelete
  5. hi i think ur pretty cute or whatever. we should like idk like maybe go to a movies or something idk.

    ReplyDelete