STEAM
Meet Engineer Gabriel!
I’d like to introduce you to Gabriel, the astounding engineer of the Fanbot 3000 that heartily greets every young engineer as he or she enters our room this year. As one of my former Sunday School students, I offered him an engineering challenge this summer, and he took it on with great skill. He is a passionate investigator, questioner, artist, and more. Stay tuned for more blog posts from him.
Cliffhanger: I “paid” him with engineering supplies such as wires, batteries, and switches, and wait until you see what he did as a scribblebot followup!
Math is Everywhere!
Here’s a summer challenge for your brain. Look around today and see if you can spot math in an unexpected place.
We had to have some trees taken down around our house this week because they were making the roof rot with their shade and they were dangerous in storms. Watching the loggers take them down safely was amazing. One logger used a skidder and a very long wire cord. The other did the saw work. They had to be really careful because it is on a hill with the house on the downhill side, and the trees were very close to the house.
They planned their angles, used signs to communicate, tied the cord around the tree (you can see it if you look closely at the picture), and sawed the bottom of the tree with a wedge-shaped cut. Then the skidder would pull on the cord to help the tree go in just the right direction. It reminded me a lot of our Crazy 8s math club with the Stuffy Zip Line, using angles to make the stuffies go the fastest they could.
What math questions come to your mind? For example, we took down seven trees. How many cords of wood do you think we got for this winter? What additional information would you need to solve that problem? (Another problem is how much water do you think we have had to drink while we’ve been cutting up all the logs and branches to clean up the neighbors’ yard? Ha ha!)
Maybe you could share an unexpected math encounter with us on your blog or in the comments. Math is everywhere!
Tinkering Champions
Two of our dear PreK buddies from last year took advantage of the new Tinkering exhibit at the Montshire as part of their summer fun. Hooray for engineering!
Thank You, START!
START Week 3: Transportation Continued . . . .
Another great week with our START volunteers!
START Week 2: Transportation
Another magnificent START experience took us zooming about as we learned more about transportation. From Transportation Mad Libs to Transportation Dance Off, our vocabulary grew and our dramatic interpretations helped our brains expand. Ending challenge: Use recyclables to create a train, plane, truck, or bike as a team. To be continued . . . .
START Revs Their Engines!
Our annual volunteers from START have arrived! Welcome, Emily, Annie, and Emily! These sharp ladies from Dartmouth College are here to infuse our studies with the arts in a special way. The theme of our six weeks together is “Put the A in STEM!” and we are so excited to see what STEAM (science/technology/engineering/art/math) concoctions they will share. Here is a glimpse of our introductory week.
Warming up our brains with a shake!
Gears, wheels, levers, and more–becoming a machine!
Turning our human ice cream machine into a book!
We just can’t wait until their next action-packed visit! Thank you, START!
Green Thriving
Here is a newsletter article from the MVCS Monday Monitor that I neglected to post. The Leave One/Take One shelf has been a big hit, so I decided I should still get this news on the blog, even belatedly.
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The second and third graders are enthusiastically plunging into STEM (science/technology/engineering/math) by participating in engineering projects that match each science unit throughout the year. During their biology unit, they discussed so many connections to their study of our great Creator and our responsibilities as stewards. Ideas overflowed as they reflected on their Go Green: Engineering Recycled Racers designs. They decided to invite their preschool buddies to come try some engineering with their assistance. They have looked for opportunities to engineer at home. They are on the lookout for great stewardship ideas all around them.
Sarah spotted a great example of stewardship in Hanover, and her idea is ready to be put into action at MVCS. She stopped by the little mailboxes put out by Howe Library marked “Leave One/Take One”, where you can give a book you are done with and choose a new book to read that becomes yours. As soon as she described this to her class, everyone was intrigued. “Here is a way we could better use the money God entrusts to us while still having lots of books to read!” they exclaimed. Of course, libraries are the ultimate “re-use”, but sometimes we buy books too. So the class asked Miss Hellickson what she thought about the idea, and the answer was, “I love it!”
Here’s how it works!
Where? In the elementary school milkroom, there is a crate where you can drop off a book in good condition that you are finished with. Be sure your parents have given permission to give it away and that it is an appropriate selection. The 2nd/3rd graders will get the books ready for the bookshelf.
Then? Once you have given a book, you can choose a book from the shelf to have as your own. They will have a special “Leave One/Take One” sticker so we don’t get them mixed up with classroom or library books. Any book is fine. For example, you can leave a picture book and take a chapter book. When you are done reading that book, you can keep it, or you can “Leave It” again. We also decided to add family friendly videos and puzzles with all their pieces to our shelves.
Questions? Ask a 2nd/3rd grader!
Check out the 2nd/3rd graders’ video of the Recycled Racer project on their blog at https://missblessings.edublogs.org/2014/11/30/go-green-engineering-recycled-racers/. Then stop by the “Leave One/Take One” shelf. While you celebrate using God’s resources wisely, happy reading!
