Perseverance, Positivity, and Possibilites
It's been an interesting few weeks in the world of education. One day, we were in the Collaboratory working on our core projects and the next thing we knew, we were closing up shop, and I was looking for resources to continue our Collaboratory adventures at home through distance learning. There were so many questions and scenarios that ran through my mind. However, one thing that I knew for sure, even in these uncertain times, was that our Collaboratory Cubs know how to adapt and persevere. They will always rise to the occasion and tackle any challenges that come their way. Our staff will, too. We will all focus on the positives and embrace new opportunities. These times are filled with teachable moments for our students, and for us, and I believe we will all come out stronger in the end.
Many students were wondering what would happen to the projects that we were working on in the Collaboratory. Some grade levels had just started new projects, while other grade levels were in the process of finishing up a unit. I want all of our students to know that we will pick right back up where we left off as soon as we are able to return to school. In the meantime, I encourage all of our students to try some of the at-home Collaboratory projects that I've included on my website: https://app.oncoursesystems.com/school/webpage/10867758/737243.
Our students know that you don't have to be in the Collaboratory to think like an engineer or solve problems. Problem-solving, engineering, and creativity can happen anywhere at any time!
I did want to share some of the cool projects that our students were working on over the past few weeks! Take a peek at their hard work:
In Pre-K, our students continued to work on some themed projects to practice the steps of the Engineering Design Process. They made Presidential Pillars and measured them in nonstandard units! They also made Cat in the Hat's Hat Towers in honor of Read Across America Week!
In kindergarten, our students are starting their Coding unit. They learned some coding basics and were introduced to some key vocabulary terms like command, loop, and debug! We always start by taking a hands-on approach to these terms though our Whole Body Coding Challenge!
In first grade, our students were working through the steps of the Engineering Design Process to create Leprechaun Traps! I hear the Leprechauns have been staying home just like us, so I have a feeling they will make an appearance later in the year!
In second grade, our students finished up their Water Filtration Systems, so they were working on some "Maker Break" projects in between their core units. They had a blast participating in some fun themed projects for Read Across America Week! They especially loved designing and creating their own crazy socks for Fox in Socks Day!
In third grade, our students used what they learned from all of our research experiments to start planning and creating their prototypes for their submersible designs. They shopped for materials in the Submersible Shop and began testing the strength of their designs, making some improvements along the way! The students are really looking forward to using their submersible prototypes to pick up sunken packages in our model ocean!
In fourth grade, our students entered the next phase of their "Designing Windmills" unit. They planned and created a variety of different sail designs to see which ones were the most effective at catching the wind. The students tested their sail designs on two zip-lines that we set up, and we used wind from a fan to see how far their sails would go. The tests helped the students to see which materials and shapes were the most effective for catching wind and moving their sails across the zip-line. They will apply what they learned from these tests to start building their windmills when we get back to school!
I am looking forward to seeing more of your at-home Collaboratory projects over the next few weeks, and I am excited to get back to our core projects soon!
