Wow! October definitely flew by this year! We have been so busy in the WHAM Fab Lab learning animation with the big kids and the littles have been practicing their Chromebook skills. More about that later but I have to share these pictures with you. The week of Halloween we knew the kids would have some extra energy so Mrs. Lakvold and I planned a fun engineering challenge for the kids. It was amazing to watch the different age levels and how they approached the challenge. The littles (Kinder through 2nd) practiced working with a partner. They wanted to make their "own" broom and having to share the pieces with another kid was a bit uncomfortable at first. The older kids had good communication skills but needed more practice sharing ideas with other groups. I stopped the project halfway through and encouraged them to look around at what other groups were doing that was successful. They initially thought that sharing ideas was cheating but I explained that sometimes when all of our brains are working together instead of in competition we can come up with THE truly best ideas.
I ended the lesson by talking about my first goal of this lesson-the impact of working with a partner and practicing kindness. The other goal of this lesson was NOT to make a thing (broom) but to practice what it feels like to try challenging things. What does it feel like to get frustrated when working on a project? How can we handle this feeling? I used an Exit Ticket at the end of the lesson to encourage the Bigs (3-5) to analyze their work as a partner. They were very insightful in their analysis of their own work as a partner. It is my belief that these skills (perseverance and kindness) will take our kids far in life. The more practice we can give them in using and evaluating these skills the bigger and longer lasting our impact at WHAM will be. I think about the kids going on to middle school, high school, college, and life and how these skills will benefit them and help them have a truly happy life. So the pictures below show the kids making strong brooms that can hold a lot of candy but most importantly, there was some real practice being a good human going on as well. When I moved from kindergarten teacher to the Fab Lab some people were perplexed and wondered, understandably, why. This activity represents so many of the reasons why and helped me overcome my fear of the "big kids." Those "big kids" in 3rd -5th grade were blowing me away but not only with their tech skills. You see, after listening to the story Ish by Peter Reynolds, the kids discussed the Magic of Mistakes and their responses made my heart sing! They were so thoughtful and their depth of understanding was far beyond most adults.
Then as we were browsing some of the avatars the kids were so very kind! At first sight of these avatars, which I referred to as "ish-yous" in reference to our book, there was some giggling. I realized that this may be a good time to practice kindness. Not that there's anything wrong with giggling at silly avatars but I want to give the kids opportunities to practice the Habitudes often. Not to mention that kindness is a muscle that without practice can become weak in all of us. So I talked to the kids about what kind of school they want to go to. I asked do you want to go to a school where the kids are always teasing each other or a school where the kids are usually kind to each other. They unanimously agreed that they wanted to attend a kind school. I talked to them about practicing kindness and that even adults struggle with this sometimes. Then I challenged them to find something they liked about the avatars of the other children and if they wanted to share that with the group. Y'all those "big kids" showed me that they can be as sweet and kind as my little kindergarten kiddos! Have you heard of WHAM's Habitudes? Maybe you have heard them on morning announcements? Maybe your child mentioned them? Okay, maybe you've never heard that word before in your life. The Habitudes are a collection of habits we hope to help foster in the children at WHAM. You see, I came across the Classroom Habitudes book by Angela Maiers many years ago and it was really speaking to me. I knew I wanted to incorporate many of the ideas into my own classroom. Who wouldn't want their students to have more perseverance, creativity, empathy, etc? When I learned I was going to be the Technology teacher, I immediately started thinking about how I could incorporate the best of my kindergarten self into the job. As I thought about STEM and technology in particular, I kept thinking about the Habitudes. Having a growth mindset, perseverance and even creativity are all good habits of mind that any STEM occupation would require. And to be honest those three Habitudes can help kids and grown ups alike when faced with any challenge in life. So I decided that I will be incorporating the Habitudes into my lessons every year. My hope is that when they go on to middle and high school, college, and even life they will have a deep understanding of how to handle the inevitable challenges that will come their way. I hope that they won’t shy away from challenging things but understand that challenging themselves is the only way to grown our brains. And I’ll be honest, I hope they hear my encouraging voice in their head to help them through tough times and encouraging them to shoot for the moon. I love that old saying that goes something like this; It’s International Dot Day!!! Last week and this week we have been inspired by The Dot, a fantastic book written and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. You can click here to listen to the book or check it out at your local library. The book is so good it gets its own special day called International Dot Day! Not bad for a little picture book, huh? Dot Day is intended to celebrate creativity, courage, and collaboration. I tied this concept in with our Habitude of persistence by also teaching the kids about the “Magic of Mistakes.” You can see that Class Dojo video here. The gist is that making and then trying to figure out mistakes makes our brains work even harder which then strengthens our gray matter. Even if the solution cannot be found just attempting to solve problems and figure out mistakes strengthens the brain! According to Peter H. Reynolds’ website; "The Dot is the story of a caring teacher who dares a doubting student to trust in her own abilities by being brave enough to “make her mark”. What begins with a small dot on a piece of paper becomes a breakthrough in confidence and courage, igniting a journey of self-discovery and sharing, which has gone on to inspire countless children and adults around the globe." To help the kids make their mark I chose a variety of activities for the different age groups at WHAM. You can see what the Kindergarten and first graders did in this blog post by clicking here. The 2nd graders used the Quiver app to design a dot and bring it to life. Here’s a video of a 2nd grader who designed her 2D dot as a pizza and brought it to life in 3D form as a pizza sphere! Here’s a link to print more dots at home. Downloading and using the Quiver app is very easy. The 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders made digital dots and some even animated them! This was a fun way for the kids to practice skills like cut, paste, crop, and resize on their Chromebooks.
Check out our little ones in K-1 practicing persistence and learning about a growth mindset. One of my main goals for the kids at WHAM is that they develop a growth mindset. I plan to do this by teaching them about what having a growth mindset means as well as practicing these concepts with STEM. This week the younger kids were introduced to growth mindset in two ways. First, we watched and discussed this short video from Class Dojo where we learned that our brain is "like" a muscle. Muscles grow stronger when we try things that are hard and our brains are similar. When we try hard things that challenge us our brains grow stronger. Mrs. Lakvold read the book Library Lion about a lion who goes to the library and finds out that sometimes you have to break the rules to do what is right. The book is inspired by the lion statues, Patience and Fortitude, outside of the New York Public Library. You can check the book out here. Then we challenged the kids to create a “pedestal” using cardboard tubes and popsicle sticks which could hold up to 10 “lions” or little cubes. Of course, the pedestals fell many times as the kids tried to add their “lions” and that’s when the magic happened. Although disappointed, the kids were able to try again and again encouraging each other along the way. I wish you could have seen how persistent they were and heard how kind and encouraging they were with their partners. According to many studies gratitude can help combat the effects of stress. Well, we have definitely had some stress this past week but where can we find something to be thankful for? It's coming from our kitchen sinks, showers, and hoses. As I prepared for the hurricane I did buy water but I also had strong confidence that I would not need it. I am so thankful to the people at Baton Rouge Water Company for their hard work and smart choices that allow for me to have this precious commodity. Here in Baton Rouge we may have lost electricity but we never lost our WATER!! After Hurricane Gustav I tried to explain to my kindergarten kids what the Water Plant does. Well I forgot how literal they were and realized they thought it was an actual plant, like with leaves and flowers. After I stopped laughing (on the inside, of course) we went to the website and looked around to help us understand how the water supply works. Let's take a look at how the Baton Rouge Water Company kept the liquid gold flowing after Hurricane Ida. Click below to find out just how they do it. So we have water but... considering what has happened in places like Flint, Michigan in the past, it's important to ask, Is it safe to drink? Click here to see the report. I am going to express my gratitude to my water heroes in a letter. Can you think of something you were thankful for before, during, or after the hurricane? How can you express that gratitude? Click Below to learn more about how water gets to your house.
I hope you are all safe and well! After Hurricane Ida hit South Louisiana including our city of Baton Rouge many of us lost our electricity. It can be hard on our kids without lights, TV, games, and favorite toys which are all part of their usual routine. Let's not forget air conditioning which in Baton Rouge feels necessary especially to someone who grew up in Michigan. I know that I'm always surprised to find out how much we rely on this utility and how little I know about how it all works.
I remember after Gustav, my first hurricane, when I returned to school I took time to talk to the kids about electricity. Dr Legoria came and added her wisdom and taught the kids about simple circuits. Talk about a teachable moment! I'm planning some interesting activities for when we return but for now click the picture below for something you can use at home. Hope you find this as interesting as I did. <3 Mrs. Clare
Want to learn more about Earth Day? Use the link below to go to the new Earth Day Padlet. Let me see what you learn by uploading it to our Seesaw page.
Okay my fellow distance learning co-teachers (formerly known as parents) I wanted to take a moment to celebrate you! I don't know if anyone has told you yet but you are rocking this homeschool teacher thing! I know, I know there's so much more you could do if only........well, welcome to teaching. It's a lot like parenting I hear. I leave school everyday and know there are a million and one things I could have done better/differently/faster, etc. I know many of you reflexively just had the thought "Oh Mrs. Clare, but we love you and know you are doing your best." Is that just wishful thinking? Anyway that's very sweet and trust me I truly am. The next time you doubt your skills as a Parent Teacher, I want you to replace my name with your own or your partners. "Hey Self/Partner, I love you and know you are doing your best today."
I'm here for you and working hard to support you as Parent Teachers by balancing all of your needs. Remember the only thing you have to do is breath and love your child. If you have the time/energy after that, well RAZ Kids and math on Seesaw should only take 30 minutes a day. The optional activities are for those of you who just want/need more to keep your kids occupied . We will get through this together. Love you all, Angela Clare |
Categories |