Morgan Modesitt, left, with her mom, Rachel Canfield, right, are 7th grade science teachers at Hubbard Middle School. (Jennifer Scott/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

The Hubbard Middle School seventh-grade science lab is a vibrant family affair, led by veteran teacher Rachel Canfield and her daughter Morgan Modesitt.

Together, the duo inspires the next generation of scientists, transforming the subject into an adventure filled with curiosity and discovery. Their collaboration nurtures young minds, guiding them toward potential futures in science.

Canfield has spent 31 years in the classroom while Modesitt found her love for teaching later on in life, joining Hubbard in 2021. Now, the mother-daughter pair are colleagues and partners as they create engaging lessons for their seventh graders.

“We do plan our lessons together,” Canfield said. “We talk about what we want to do, how we want to present the information, and then we decide on the lab activities.”

Recently, they introduced their students to a lesson on solubility.

“We thought we’d try a Kool-Aid lab,” Modesitt explained. “But (rather than) Kool-Aid powder, we opted for Gatorade powder instead. The kids mixed it in beakers and poured it into little cups to taste. They added more water to see how dilution affected the solution. They documented changes in color and concentration — whether it got lighter or stayed the same as they added more water.”

The pair create lab lessons they hope will make it easier for their students to understand science.

“A lot of students learn differently, at different speeds, at different capacities so we wanted to create something that was not only fun for them but really learn from it,” Canfield said.

Canfield’s mother, a former educator herself, has often shared valuable ideas and insights, enriching the pair’s collaborative efforts in the classroom.

“She’ll pull out her dusty old lesson plans to give us some stuff too,” Canfield said.

In the newly constructed middle school, the mother-daughter team shares a well-equipped science lab, while eighth graders have their own dedicated lab on a different floor.

“We didn’t have hot water in the old school,” Modesitt said. “We had a coffee pot and ran hot water through it … and there was a bucket in the sink. The students would put the scissors, scalpels, whatever they used in there and I would clean in-between classes.”

Not only does the new lab have several sinks — with hot water — but a dishwasher as well. The sinks make it easy for students to wash their hands and clean their equipment, promoting hygiene during experiments. Meanwhile, the dishwasher streamlines cleanup, allowing for a more efficient transition between activities and fostering a hands-on learning environment.

“Coming into this new lab, we don’t even know what to do with ourselves,” Modesitt laughed. “We’re able to have everything set up the night before … instead of having to be at school at like 5:45 in the morning. We dreaded having to do that and now we can get things done and ready in between classes and it’s not such an ordeal.”

In their third year of working together, the mother-daughter’s relationship dynamic allows them to support one another by sharing insights and refining lessons to create the best experience for their students.

“It’s not a job for us at all,” Canfield said. “We enjoy it. We go home and hang out there … we go on trips, we shop together; sometimes we even dress alike. We’re going to remember this as such a fun time in our lives that we’ll look back one day and remember.”

Some mother-daughter relationships can be fraught with conflict but for Canfield and Modesitt, they’re so close they say it’s impossible for them to have major disagreements.

“We don’t get offended by each other,” Modesitt said. “We’ll argue sometimes and … have a little back-and-forth but we’ll take a break and walk away for a few minutes and then come back. So, I would say it’s nothing but positive with us.”

A favorite memory they have of working together was dressing up as Mrs. Frizzle from “The Magic School Bus” for Halloween — the same day they dissected frogs.

“It was a big deal,” Canfield said. “We combined our classes and we did it together. It was a lot of fun. We had several adults come in to help monitor and teach the kids as well.”

Canfield has a teaching career that spans three decades, while Modesitt initially took a different route. With degrees in science and nursing, she felt overwhelmed after her studies.

“I got my degree and was just so burnt out from school,” she said. “I thought I’d wait and see what I was supposed to do.”

During that time, her husband worked as a travel nurse, allowing her to travel with him while she stayed home. It was then she received a call from her mother about a teaching position that had opened up at Hubbard. When Modesitt was interviewed by former Hubbard principal Geoffrey Sherman, he asked her mother if she was sure about working alongside each other.

“I was like ‘Yes! We’re not going to have a problem,’” Canfield said. “It was the best thing ever when he hired her.”

As a third-generation educator, Modesitt feels at home teaching, carrying on a legacy of passion for learning and inspiring others.

“I knew I could always return to nursing if I wanted,” Modesitt said. “But I definitely feel more comfortable as a teacher than I ever did in the nursing field.”

Together, the environment Canfield and Modesitt have created fosters not just knowledge but a love for science they hope their students will carry into the future.

“I don’t know what I’d do without her,” Modesitt said. “Working together … it’s not something we take for granted. We enjoy it very much.”