This is another skill that sadly is disappearing. Even in adult conversations, people do not know how to listen or respectfully disagree with one another. Many are not even able to share their ideas or opinions without getting upset and hostile. So this month, the month of love, we are going to focus on the skill of collaborating. When this skill is practiced it allows students to learn from one another. As students work together to conquer problems, students’ confidence, problem-solving skills, creative thinking, communication, and resilience skills grow as well. Have fun as a family collaborating! -AMW
In this story, students will read about the Tuttle twins and their teammates getting into a heated rivalry when competing. It isn’t until Chief Ron teaches the dangers of aggression, revenge, and blowback—and why peace and friendship are important principles! You can find this book at TuttleTwins.com and many other great books that teach morals and values. (Elementary)
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If your student enjoys time traveling and adventure then take a look at the Imagination Station series. In Poison at the Pump cousins Patrick and Beth travel back in time to London, England, during the cholera epidemic of 1854. The cousins join Dr. John Snow, Florence Nightingale, and Curate Henry Whitehead in a scientific adventure to discover why this disease was killing people. Students will discover whether the cousins can help Curate Whitehead put together the clues to keep this deadly disease from spreading. You can find this book and more at Focus on the Family. (Middle School)
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If your student enjoys time traveling and adventure then take a look at the Imagination Station series. In Poison at the Pump cousins Patrick and Beth travel back in time to London, England, during the cholera epidemic of 1854. The cousins join Dr. John Snow, Florence Nightingale, and Curate Henry Whitehead in a scientific adventure to discover why this disease was killing people. Students will discover whether the cousins can help Curate Whitehead put together the clues to keep this deadly disease from spreading. You can find this book and more at Focus on the Family. (Middle School)
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Here are a few projects to try and test your collaboration skills.
COMMON THREAD: Give students five minutes to chat among themselves and find something they all have in common. Whatever the common thread, the conversation will help them get to know one another better. After the group has come up with their common element, have them work together to create a flag that represents it.
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THE PERFECT SQUARE:
This activity requires verbal communication and cooperation. All you need is a long rope with the ends tied together and something to serve as blindfolds for students, such as bandannas or fabric strips. Have students stand in a circle holding the rope in front of them. Signal them to put their blindfolds on and set the rope on the ground in front of them. Ask students to try to form a perfect square with their blindfolds on. Set a time limit to make it more challenging. |
COLLABORATION DRAWING
As a team, students use collaboration to create a drawing. Start by picking the color markers that your students would like to use in their drawing. Then attach strings to each marker. Have students each take one end of the string and gather around a table. Together, they will need to communicate in order to manipulate the pen and draw the desired image. |
BLINDFOLDED MAZE
Print out the free printable maze or have students create their own to give to a partner. Then have students pass their maze to another student facing down (so they cannot see the maze). One person will be giving instructions. While the other person will be trying to complete the maze blindfolded. Manually move their hand to the starting point. Begin giving voice commands to lead them through the maze successfully. Then see who completed their maze successfully. |
Lucky Little Learners is an amazing math curriculum for students K- 2nd grade. I have personally used resources within my classroom and my 2nd graders absolutely loved the videos, activities, visuals, and games. LLL truly provides students the opportunity to not only practice math in a fun and enriching way but lends time for collaborative math learning. Angie the owner shares that according to one study, students who worked together to complete a task exhibited more exploratory behavior, learned faster, and completed tasks better than if they worked alone. To access all their resources you can pay monthly $11.99 or yearly $119. To research more about their curriculum visit Lucky Little Learners.
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If your students enjoy video games then they may like Minecraft education. It has a math educator’s guide that’s sure to intrigue young gamers who could use an extra incentive to practice math skills. When using this program it allows students to collaborate on projects with classmates in multiplayer mode, has features and tutorials to support educators, gives safety features to play in a secure environment, provides learning content and curriculum guides across subjects, and is available for Windows, Mac, Chromebook, and iPad.
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Hooda Math provides FREE interactive math games to practice a wide range of skills. Students can practice geometry, probability, economics, fractions, calculus, and many other skills.
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Black History Month
This month is black history month. Here are a couple of African Americans that have contributed to our country.
George Washington Carver was a scientist and an inventor who found many uses for peanuts. He experimented with legumes to make lotions, flour, soups, dyes, plastics, and gasoline but not peanut butter! At a young age, Carver worked on the farm of a family that took him from slave raiders. His curiosity about plants, soils, and fertilizers gave him the name “the plant doctor” as he could nurse any plant back to life. When he was about 13, he left to attend school and worked hard to get his education. In 1894 he became the first Black person to graduate from Iowa State College and later earned a master’s degree in agriculture. Later, he went on to teach at the Tuskegee Institute. There, he continued researching peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans. His love of botany and fungal disease advanced agriculture. For more information visit Kids National Geographic, PBS for videos (for teens), and History Channel.
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Katherine Johnson’s great curiosity and achievement in math pushed her ahead several grades in school. By 10, she was attending high school and by 15, she enrolled in college. Once she graduated, Katherine took a job teaching. Later she took a position at the West Area Computing section at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics’ (NACA’s) Langley laboratory. In just a few weeks she was moved to a higher position helping with NASA missions. Katherine’s brilliant math skills were called upon to help put John Glenn into orbit around the Earth. She also worked on the Apollo Moon Landing project as well as plans for a mission to Mars. Her remarkable math skills helped NASA missions, sending astronauts into orbit and back home safely. For more information visit Britannica and video.
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Calling all builders! Visit your local Home Depot store to participate in a FREE hands-on workshop designed for children ages 5-12. They will be held on Saturday, February 3rd from 9am to 12pm. They will be building a Valentine Box. Register and order your child’s workshop kit Click Here.
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Kelver library in Byers will be hosting Library Lover's Day. Teens can celebrate their love of books and libraries by creating their own tote
bag, bookmark, and miniature book earrings/keychain. WHEN: Saturday, February 17th at 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Register by visiting Kelver Library. |
Visit Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum for a family learning workshop! Families with children aged 2-12 are invited to participate in hands-on crafts and activities. At the Geocaching at the Museum Workshop, learn about Gladys West and her scientific contribution to the development of GPS through a Geocaching adventure. WHEN: Monday, February 19th at 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM PRICE: $5 per person (up to four people), $3 for each additional person (use code “Discovery!” at checkout.) Register by visiting Wings over the Rockies |
-Sunday, February 11, FREE day at the Denver Zoo. -Thursday, February 22, Free day at the Plains Conservation Center
-Tuesday, February 13, Homeschool Day at the Butterfly Pavilion -Sunday, February 25, Free day at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science
-Tuesday, February 13, FREE day at the Denver Art Museum -Thursday, February 29, FREE day at the Clyfford Still Museum
-Thursday, February 15, Meet Your Legislator Day
-Tuesday, February 13, Homeschool Day at the Butterfly Pavilion -Sunday, February 25, Free day at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science
-Tuesday, February 13, FREE day at the Denver Art Museum -Thursday, February 29, FREE day at the Clyfford Still Museum
-Thursday, February 15, Meet Your Legislator Day
As iron sharpens iron,
so one person sharpens another.Proverbs 27:17 NIV
so one person sharpens another.Proverbs 27:17 NIV