STEM- challenge 2

In April, I attended an Engineering Made Easy workshop. At that workshop, we had to do some engineering projects with our table. Each challenge had guidelines to meet. For example, our race car was made out of straws, tape, and index cards. It had to roll down a ramp carrying a pencil top eraser as a driver. Another challenge was to construct the tallest freestanding tower out of one sheet of paper.

During this workshop, I discovered two things... well, I knew these things about myself, this day just helped confirm them.... 1- I would not like to be on Project Runway type shows where you are given a challenge and only a short amount of time to do them. I need more time to think about my projects than were given. 2-I am more of a visual person that needs to see it before I really know what I am doing.

Anywho, the STEM Academy (what my school will be in the fall) is going to force me to help my little kids to think outside of the box. After this workshop, I took our little projects and made them more kindergarten friendly. I decided we were going to build a car. I gave my kids tape, index cards and straws. I told them it had to have 4 wheels and stand off of the table [so it needed to sit up on its four wheels]. The kicker for this project was that they had to work with a partner! I partnered them up with the person who sat next to them, which generally is someone of the opposite personality... you know a loud kid and a quiet kid, a good reader and an emergent reader, a good counter and a counter... they tend to balance each other out. They were supposed to talk to their partner to decide how to make the car before they did anything. In the grown-up world, we might call this brainstorming or project planning. I didn't want them to just dive in and not have any direction.

It wouldn't be a learning project if we didn't start with, "I don't know what to do?" "how do I build a car?" or "I can't do it!"

For the most part, my groups worked very well together for a first time partner project. Some I had to keep reminding them to talk to their partner. I constantly reminded them I wanted it to have 4 wheels and stand off of the table. This was a trickier challenge than their house challenge but there were a lot of successful groups. Groups that worked well together, groups that had cars that met the requirements and groups that tried without giving up.

We had our struggles too. This partner challenge helped me to see leaders, followers, bossy pants, strong-willed, and those that were happy to let their partner do the work [all of which I probably could have identified before].

One table stood out to me… A and P were partners. They kept forgetting that this was a partner project, even though I kept reminding them and one of their other tablemates, K, kept reminding them too. They seemed to have taken only the materials they thought they needed and tried to do the project on their own. “But I don’t have a straw!” and I would say, “You do but A is holding it. Talk and find out how you two can work together to build your car.” Or “He won’t give me anymore paper.” to which I would say “Well, you two have to share it. Talk and work together to build your car.” It went on like this for the whole time…. Until K pipes in. Here are some of the things I overheard…

“A, if you say you can’t. You really can’t do it.”

“We’re AmeriCANS, not AmeriCAN’Ts” {sound familiar? Remember STEM project 1?}

After a couple more encouraging words from K, A had enough and said “STOP!” K quickly fired back, “I won’t stop. We have to stay as a team.”

I was probably not much help because I stood back and would chime in “Preach on sister” to K. It frustrated A but I did not see any harm in her peer encouraging her and trying to help her see that it was in fact a team project and she wasn’t pulling her weight. But girlfriend had a point so I encouraged her. I did end up going to talk to A under the table and explain how K was trying to encourage her and help her and P finish their project.

Slowly, as groups were finishing their cars, I could be heard saying, "I knew you two could figure it out!", "Look at that car you guys built as a team!" or "Who told me in the beginning they couldn't build a car? It must not have been you guys."

In the end, A and P did not have a team car. They did get a lesson in team work in which I saw it show a little in our third project…

We are still engineering!

STEM- challenge 1

What is STEM? Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.

Why does that matter? Because my school is going to be Liberty STEM Academy in the fall.

How will I do that? I am not totally sure and I don't know that many teachers at my building are.

In January, I visited a STEM school with my principal and two other teachers. After seeing their school, here is my take... what I am doing in kindergarten probably won't change a whole lot. Obviously, kids have to learn to read and write... and younger grades, like kindergarten and pre-k, is where that starts to take shape. I think older grades (3-5) may have a harder time transitioning to this since everything they seem the eat, breathe, and sleep is state testing. I digress... For my classroom, I see more hands on projects that relate to topics we already cover and more independent learning/exploring for the friends. This learning/exploring will be harder for them because many are used to a grown up swooping in and giving them the answer instead of letting them problem solve.

Anywho, on with a story about my little sweeties and our attempt at kindergarten engineering...

My first grade teacher friend inspired me to introduce some simple engineering feats to my kindergartners. She was telling me how she had her firsties build a house out of paper that had to stand up. I thought, "why can't my friends do that?" To which I answered myself saying, "duh. You haven't pushed them to do it." So, we built a house out of paper.

I told the friends we were going to build a house out of paper, scissors, tape, and a pencil. Immediately, they said, "How do I do it?", "I don't know how!", or [my favorite] "I can't!". {to which I immediate respond with, "you are an AmeriCAN, not an ameriCANT. Stop saying you can't do something."}

One of my first friends that said she couldn't was one of the first to make her house stand. She drew a house on her paper, cut it out, and then folded it in half so it would prop itself up. I didn't say how it had to stand, just that it could stand. When we finished, there were 9 houses standing out of 18. Some houses were flat like mentioned before, others were round-ish and a couple were square with a flat roof on top. The next day when the kids came back, some of them were determined to see if they could get their house to stand.

We are on our way to engineering...

11 months

How is it that 11 months have gone by when July 18th, 2012, seems like yesterday?!

Pictures are harder to come by since Kinley has discovered that she can peel the sticker right off of her shirt. "Good thing we just have one more month of stickers," says Dad.

We have a mover deluxe on our hands. No actual crawling but she scoots herself wherever she thinks she needs to go. Kinley hasn't found a food she doesn't like. Not even one that is really spit out or makes her have a sad face. Some new things she has tried are pickles, frozen blueberries, corn, tortillas, taco meat, spaghetti and more! Literally, anything that we eat, she will eat. We have refrained from sharing our sweet stuff. She has mastered signing 'more'! She loves drinking water out of her cup too.

We will start a mommy and me swim class at the Sapulpa pool on June 24. A friend told me the instructor will drop her into the water and I have to count to three before I can grab her so I am definitely not looking forward to that. I do think she will enjoy splashing in the water though.

                                  

Kinley has a lot to say a lot of the time. She often gets the case of the giggles while walking with her walker. She is still always trying to run Tobie over so she spends a lot of time in hiding. After Kinley goes to bed, Tobie reappears for the evening. Speaking of bed, we still have a champion sleeper! Since it is summer and most days we don't have anywhere to be, we tend to stay up later. I doing that, she gets to spend more time with her dad but still gets the sleep she needs. She is a little better about having an afternoon nap. We are working on it in hopes it won't be a brand new thing in the fall.

For three weeks, we went to Jade's for a music a class once a week. Jade is a girl I went to OSU with and taught with for a few years before she decided to stay home with her two kids. So I know she will be in good hands when I return to school in the fall. 

Kinley also finds Tobie very funny. One day Tobie sneezed and Kinley thought it was the funniest thing so, of course, we made her sneeze again just to hear that sweet little laugh. 

Tobie is enjoying the summer weather. She is busy in the backyard trying to catch the gophers and moles so make sure you watch your step. 

Kinley still loves to try and play in the water dish. I say she must get her stubborn nature from her father because that girl will go back time and time again to try and play. :D

Since we are actually in your birth month {17 days away!} I suppose I should post this... As always, blessed to be your mommy!

Splish Splash....

... I was not taking a bath! I was swimming! Kinley got the cutest swimsuit and had to test it out! So... we filled her tub up and splashed away in the front yard while Hubby watered. She was hesitant at first but as you will be able to see in the second video most of her "pool" water has been splashed out.

Here's to hoping we will have more fun summer memories to post about!

9 and 10 months

How can 9 months already have gone by?!? People have always said that time goes by so fast and it does!

Your nine month check up was on April 26th. It was a Daddy/daughter date to the doctor and they both survived the shot too!
You weighed 14.75lbs and were 26.5 inches tall, which puts you in the .72 percentile for weight and 6.57 percentile for height. Little skinny Minnie must get her twiggy-ness from her Dad. The doctor said she is growing good!

We are still rocking the size 2 diapers and six month clothing.

You do not show much interest in learning to crawl. When put on your belly, you get mad and rollover to your back. Then you look to someone for help to sit up. You like to sit up! I feel like you could do it for days. You also love to stand up though! You haven't quite discovered pulling up on things other than our hands but I don't feel like that is too far behind. You have a little walker that we stand you at to practice that I feel like you are going to take off on soon too!

Well, since I have dropped the ball on posting the 9 month update... we will just move on to 10 months!

You love to be behind your walker! Now if we can just teach you how to turn it around when you get to the tile. You are a pro at standing yourself up at it. It is amazing how you know if you are too close to it and need to scoot it forward or too far away to reach the handle. You have really started enjoying the noises it makes too. You like to reach around to press the little sun as you walk behind it. You love, I mean l.o.v.e!, to open and close the barn door. "Let's play hide and seek." And before it can finish saying that you have already slammed it back shut.

We still don't have a crawler. You scoot your self around so much that Tobie is constantly relocating to avoid the loving tugs in her hair. After a few moves, she will forfeit and go to the 'lake house' and hide under the bed. Tobie has also not take our "watch out Tobie! She'll run you over." warnings before getting goosed with the walker.

Food wise, we are very adventurous. Well adventurous in what is in our menu. You have had mashed potatoes, pancake, various flavors of yogurt, bites of Hamburger Helper, cheese, bread, tortilla and queso at Ted's, chicken, broccoli, corn, banana, and more. If we eat you, you will try it. You are down to a bottle in the morning and one at night. You love to drink water out of your cup. You always sign milk when we get it, or a bottle, out. We are slowly learning 'more' too.

You are still a champion sleeper. Occasionally, you wake up at night and cry a minute but can find your pacifier and head back to dream land. May 24th, I woke up and looked at the monitor to find you sitting up in your crib. We lowered your crib all the way to the bottom that night. You had just started figuring out how to sit yourself up and I mentioned that we needed to lower it before you figured it out. You beat us to it though!

We are officially on summer break! We spend time every day pulling the little baskets of remotes off the end table, looking through the Hallmark Dreambook or Parents magazine, banging on the coffee table, walking the room and pulling up and standing at the coffee and end table. As soon as you notice I have put the remotes back, you scoot over there and pull it off again. Now that we are home all day, we tend practice, "no!" with Tobie's food dish.We also say "be gentle" A LOT. I can't imagine why your sister doesn't just love you grabbing a chuck of her fur and pulling.

One day, you stayed with a teacher friend while I went to the dentist. She said about 10 minutes after I left, you looked around and then said, "mama" before getting all weepy. I think you were easily distracted and you survived the whole ordeal, just as I survived the trip to the dentist on my own. May 26th was your first trip to the nursery during Sunday School. They said when you noticed we were gone you again said, 'mama'. And the got a little weepy. But, you lasted the whole time, you big girl. :) {I would like to note that you say mama a lot more than dada, even though Baby Ruth was working on the dada word.}

I think on a daily basis, we say, 'so, what do you want to do for Kinley's birthday?' but that is as far as we have gotten. I can't believe you are almost a one! It has been a very blessed year as your mama and I think God daily for that. You truly are the light of our lives and loved so very much!

It the little things that can make you :)

The birdbath gnome is growing some pretties. Well, one at least.

Silly kids!

While my own baby is super cute, adorable and changing nearly daily.... Her posts take me more time. I don't want to leave anything out and find that I can't just post about her on whim as easily as I can my kids at school. I also think that at the end of the year {have I mentioned there are only 10 days of school left?!?} I need a reminder, through all the busy, as to why I do like my job

I really do feel blessed about the group of kids that I have this year. I mean, they have really gone with the flow with me being gone the first fourth of the year. They are a bunch of tattlers, oh my do they tattle, but they are also very affectionate towards each other and me. One little guy tells me nearly daily as we enter the classroom that he thinks I look pretty or compliments me on my shirt. It is really sweet. Another friend tells me that she thinks I am the "best teacher ever. And I'm not just saying that!" Even another will sneak up behind me while I am sitting in the little kid chairs and just hug me.

Through all the sweet there are still some funnies!
I sent a friend to the bathroom. He was gone for quite some time so my assistant went to check on him. When she returned, she said, "he was definitely in there. (meaning he was in the stall not just using the urinal). When he came in, I asked why he was gone so long. He kind of tried to brush me off and keep walking so I grabbed his shirt, stopped him and asked again why he was gone so long {and she I say gone so long I am talking about 15 minutes}. His first answer was a mumble jumble of words so I told him to speak up. He said, "I was afraid from the toilet." Of course I question exactly what that means. Again, the answer was some what mumbled but I was able to make it out... "I thought there might be creatures in it." Ummmm, okay. The answer just really caught me and my assistant off guard. I then told him that "the next time you are afraid at the toilet to come tell me because I was worried.

The first picture of a picture was done while I was out one day for a training. My assistant documented and kept it for blogging purposes. You can thank her. :) The job was to sound out and draw a picture of a W word...

"Wolfing... You know, throwing up."

The next picture is in preparation for Truck Touch thank you cards. I asked my kids to draw a car and write "Thank you" on their picture. Sweet friend sounded out what she heard when saying it but every time I look at it I see something different...

"thank you"