1st Grade P.E.T.S.

I’m excited to share the awesome learning experiences your children have been engaged in through our Primary Education Thinking Systems (P.E.T.S.) program! We’ve been working on developing our thinking skills in fun and innovative ways, finding areas of strength and identifying opportunities for growth. 

Mag the Magician: Visual-Spatial Intelligence
Our first focus was to enhance visual-spatial intelligence, with a variety of games and activities to develop this skill. Here’s a look at some of the games/activities we’ve explored:
Tangrams: This classic puzzle involves rearranging geometric shapes to form a specific image, helping students improve spatial reasoning and problem-solving. Click the picture above if your child would like to try tangrams at home. Students also have a paper set that we sent home for practice.


SET: A fast-paced card game that sharpens pattern recognition and logical thinking as students race to find sets of three cards with matching or contrasting characteristics. (Click the picture below if your child would like to play the game SET at home.)

QBitz: Players recreate patterns using cubes in a time-based challenge, which boosts spatial visualization and memory skills.


Blink: A quick card game where players must match shapes, colors, or numbers, promoting visual processing speed.

Katamino: is a versatile puzzle game that challenges players to fit geometric pieces into a grid, enhancing spatial reasoning, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills for all ages.


Quirkle: A tile-laying game that encourages strategic thinking as students match colors and shapes in rows and columns.
Kanoodle: A brain-teasing puzzle game that requires students to fit different shaped pieces into a grid, challenging their spatial logic and planning.


Dudley the Detective: Logical Thinking
We’ve also started thinking like Dudley the Detective, focusing on logic and critical thinking through a variety of puzzles and games:

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Mastermind: A code-breaking game where students must use deduction and logic to crack their partner's secret code.

Sudoku: The kids’ version of this classic number or picture puzzle helps students develop logical thinking by placing numbers or pictures in grids without repeating them in rows or columns.

              
Other games you can encourage your child to play that will help with Logical-Deductive Reasoning: Chess, Clue, Guess Who, Rush Hour, and Rubik's Cube.  

These games and activities allow us to strengthen our minds while having fun! I’m so proud of the growth I’m seeing in each student and look forward to continuing our learning journey.

 

4th Grade is SUBMERGED!

We are excited to dive into our First Lego League Challenge: Submerged Season! Our students are eagerly engaging in activities that not only enhance their STEM skills but also foster critical thinking, teamwork, and creativity. Here's what we've been working on...

 

 

Robot Mission Builds:
Students are constructing robot missions for the Robot Game Table. Many of our younger students have commented on how cool these look when they walk into our room! These missions are designed to solve challenges related to underwater exploration, where students practice programming and engineering skills using LEGO SPIKE Prime Robots that they are building. 


Robot Training Camp: 
Students have been building foundational skills in robotics and coding. They are learning about the gear systems, motors, and sensors for the SPIKE Prime Robot. Students are using code to make their robot move, turn, lift and drop objects. Students are learning to use loops and conditionals that will allow robots to make decisions and repeat tasks as needed. 

   Exploring Ocean Layers:
In our research, we are learning about the different layers of the ocean, from the sunlight zone, twilight zone, midnight zone, and even further into abyssal mysterious depths. We've created species in each layer to transform our classroom. 

Innovation Project:
Soon students will embark on the Innovation Project adventure where they will choose a problem to solve in the ocean's depths and create a solution with their teammates. 
Ways you can help:

• Encourage curiosity by asking your child about the Submerged season. 
• Reinforce teamwork by discussing how they’re collaborating with their peers to solve problems.
• Stay engaged with the season by checking our updates and photos from our projects!

We’re proud of all the hard work and excitement our students are showing, and we can't wait to see where their imagination takes them during the Submerged Season. Click HERE to learn more.

Save the date for our Challenge Event: DECEMBER 7th!