Spotlight on Real-World Practice 

Puddle Ponderings 

Criselda Lozon, M.A. 

Chadwick School, Palos Verdes, California 

Criselda Lozon is currently the Lead Teacher at Chadwick School in Palos Verdes, California. 

She also served at the Chadwick International School in South Korea as the Early Childhood 

Director. Cris has taught internationally in Tokyo, Japan at Sacred Heart and the American 

School in Japan and also at the American School in Milan, Italy. She is a frequent speaker and 

author within academia on matters of early childhood education. Cris Lozon is the new future 

Director of the Early Childhood Development Center at St. Margaret’s Episcopal School in San 

Juan Capistrano, California. 

 

 

 

 

“Will it float?” 

“You need to make it lighter to make it more floatier!” 

“What? How come my boat started to sink? I’ll wash it. It might be the mud.”  



“I think my sail made it move faster than yours. I’ll help you make one.” 

“Where did the puddle go? We were just floating and now the puddle is getting more little.” 

 

 Science, language, critical thinking, creativity, cooperation, all this learning comes from a 

simple puddle. Today was the first day of heavy rain in a long time at our little school on the hill. 

When a spot of sunshine showed up a treasure of puddles came with it. Our kindergarteners had a 

wonderful opportunity to learn from a simple floating and sinking lesson. Their only parameters 

were that their boat fit in the little basket at “testing station” before they go out into the puddles 

and that those with no boots on ask a friend with boots on to help them get their boat out of the 

middle of the puddle. 

 We talked about going back to the drawing board if their boat sank and we talked about how 

not every experiment will work the first time. The children were off and running, grabbing items 

from the creation station, paper from the communication center, and miles and miles of tape from 

the supply shelf. The children designed, tested, observed, discussed, hypothesized, retested, and 

redesigned. They watched plastic float and cardboard sink. They pondered about the depth of the 

water, the speed of the boats, and the disappearance of the puddle. But in the middle of the science 

lesson, they showed compassion as boats floated into the middle of the puddle, helping each other 

to retrieve boats for the no boot friends or offering a popsicle stick for friends who didn’t have 

any. The children called each other over to share their new discoveries or to show each other how 

to add something new. When the experiment was over, they found wet clothes on their bodies and 

they offered each other their extra dry clothes if they didn’t have some of their own. 

Our youngest learners will have a rich curriculum with the hands on experiences we provide, 

but they also receive an education that honors them as learners and brings the culture of friendship 

and compassion to the forefront. Educating the whole child is more than the curriculum; it is the 

child’s opportunity to use knowledge in an engaging, challenging, and safe environment supported 

by caring, perceptive, and qualified adults.