1st Grade Update

 We've been super busy since Halloween! It's been a whirlwind. 1st graders have been hard at work with both our Primary Education Thinking Skills and our Green Schools Quest project. 

We've been focusing on convergent thinking like Dudley, the detective.  Dudley uses patience and perseverance to find the correct answer. Dudley uses clues and thinks carefully and analytically. He uses deductive reasoning and does not jump to conclusions. 

Students have completed logic puzzles and other similar activities to think like Dudley. One way to think like Dudley is to build models with step-by-step directions and coding. Coders must try, make mistakes, and try again until they reach a solution. Students tried coding with Osmo and Lego WeDo Education kits. 

Playing games like Mastermind is also great for practicing this type of thinking.

Students thought like Dudley the Detective (logical/deductive thinking) and Max the Magician (visual-spatial thinking) when playing other games like Blokus, QBitz, and Quirkle during one of our sessions. 
Students have also worked on our Green Schools Project.  This year's theme is Biodiversity. We are working to preserve and protect natural ecosystems in our area. After discussing several possibilities, students decided to create nesting boxes and feeders that songbirds in our area prefer. The Missouri Department of Conservation and other sources have helped us understand the how's and the why's of the decline in the avian population.  

Phase One of our project includes creating two types of nesting boxes and feeders. Students researched two types of nests that many birds in our area prefer. Students worked on the first design this past week, with the help of mentor, Mr. Merril. 

Students will be working on the second design after the winter break.  In the meantime, we have begun collecting data by installing a deer camera (thanks to the Davila family) to help us track bird activity before and after our nesting box installation. 


It has been a great quarter in Idea Lab!  I sincerely hope the students enjoy their Winter Break! 

2nd/3rd Grade Idea Update

Our 2nd & 3rd graders were all very poised and represented our school so well at our First Lego League Explore event. So proud of them!

Several more parents reached out to share their creative hobbies/interests! Thank you to Zachary’s mom for coming to our class to speak to us about her creative interest- pediatric emergency medicine. She brought special tools for the students to try out—stethoscopes, thermometers, and flashlights. She became interested in becoming a doctor when her father, who was a doctor, performed CPR on her sister during an emergency. We really enjoyed learning about her creative interest! We've had a couple more parents reach out about their interests. Stay tuned! 

Students are presently learning coding skills with the Scratch interface. Scratch (created by M.I.T.) is the world's largest coding community for children. It uses visual block-based programming to create games, stories, animations, and even lessons.  

Students are creating a game that others can play. Students are welcome to access their Scratch accounts during the break to work on their own for a bit if they wish!

4th Grade: First Lego League Challenge

PROUD is an UNDERSTATEMENT!  These kids were simply amazing at the First Lego League Challenge event! 

The Universal Turtles: 

Team Innovation Problem & Solution: Help improve comfort when playing soccer by creating a special undersock that goes under a soccer game sock and helps to prevent friction and wicks moisture-- therefore preventing blisters. This undersock can also protect the skin from moisture-related problems when using shin guards.

Click HERE to take a look at the highlights video for the Universal Turtles.  
Also here is the Innovation Project presentation for this team in case you missed it.  

The Traffic Transporters: 
Team Innovation Problem & Solution: Help alleviate traffic at concerts and other big events by 1. Creating robots that will help direct traffic and send GPS directions to your phone after scanning your ticket to prevent traffic clusters.  2. Suggesting the creation of an app that if used will give you a 15% reduction in the concert ticket price and will direct you to purchase a subway, metro, or bus ticket to the event. This will help to reduce the number of cars on the road heading to big events. 

Click HERE to take a look at the highlights video for the Traffic Transporters. Click for the Innovation Project presentation for this team in case you missed it! 

Both teams nailed it!  Way to go, Spoede!