Gaming and Learning?!

Sit with students at lunch or chat with them around campus and you can see that the lure of gaming is, for many kids, very strong. While parents worry about the distraction factors and time spent away from other worthwhile activities, there are many educational merits being argued:

http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/12/5-digital-games-that-teach-the-art-of-persuasion/

What are your thoughts? I'd be curious to hear and discuss as I am in the thick of it as a teacher and parent.

What You See in the Moon?

Here are some of the creative ideas the third graders came up with in response to this question!

Lunar Exlorers

The third graders are starting their moon studies. Here, a student outlines some images she sees in a projection of a full moon.

Navigating to Africa

The second grade compasses are beautiful and functional! They are off on their journey with some helpful tools.

Happy Groundhog Day, I think?

So how are we feeling about winter now? Should we all acknowledge that we'd get very different answers from students, parents, teachers and school administrators (not to mention meteorologists?!) Personally, I have serious cabin fever but am grateful for a little bit of catch-up time as evidenced by this long post!

First off, here's a link from one of my favorite websites #www.nationalgeographickids.com pertaining to today's date on the calendar, Groundhog Day, followed by some great (indoor) teaching and learning moments in science class in the Clark House STEAM Lab:

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/groundhog/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=link_FB02022015kids-groundhogday&utm_campaign=Content&sf7227569=1

PreSchoolers have been studying animals in our community, and, since birds need our help to find food right now, the class made sunflower seed-infused apple bird feeders and watched the birds enjoy their work outside their classroom window. The student honed their fine motor, observation and communication skills and the birds were very happy!

How tall is bamboo? The first graders could tell you all about bamboo (5 first graders tall, by the way) as well as the giant pandas to whom they made many science connections while "visiting" Asia. 

It was built over 2,000 years ago and is over 6,300 km long. How would you design and build a model of the Great Wall of China? The first graders have lots of great ideas!

What happens to the ability of a vehicle to move when you add weight to it? Ask a third grader and have them prove it with data that they have recorded and graphed.

Before heading off to Africa, the second grade has been practicing the use of compasses and exploring magnetism in science class. The good news is that they can find the magnetic north pole and so should be set for their journey!

Science meets art as the kindergarteners explore chromatography and the color wheel. Stay tuned for their Frank Lloyd Wright inspired sun catchers hanging around campus.....

The PreK paleontologists have been hard at work too! They have studied fossils and the tools of paleontology in science and STEAM to go along with their in-class dinosaur studies. Here, a PreK student is excited about his fossil model!

Stay tuned for some warm and sunny posts soon, I hope!