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!
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