A couple of weeks ago I was sitting with my second grade class discussing what it means to have integrity. Some answered; doing what is right when no one is watching, being honorable, and treating others the way you want to be treated. Then one of my students stated, “It is being a problem solver”. It stopped me in my tracks and I stated, “You are absolutely right!” I was amazed that a second grader understood that those with integrity are often able to see a problem and desire to find a solution. However, it seems that many children and adults can see a problem but are unsure how to find a solution. So this month our character of focus is problem solvers. AMW
Videos
Videos
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MathXplosion explains to be a problem solver you have to think creatively. Elementary students listen to a story about a farmer who thought creatively to help animal friends.
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Michael Platt, a high school student, shares that no matter how small you are you can solve big problems. In this video you will hear his story about creating a business to end world hunger. He tells how others criticized him for trying to solve such a big problem but with perseverance and faith he has accomplished great things.
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Hale high school students share their experience participating in a mock vote. They also share the importance of voting as a citizen of the USA.
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Games and Projects
Marble Line: In this game a line of colored balls moves around. You must match the colors in groups of three and shoot them before they reach the hole that swallows them. Be careful to only hit the matching colors or you will add balls causing them to get to their destination quicker. |
Tower of Hanoi: This one is tricky. You must use reasoning skills to correctly utilize all three pegs to move the rings around. Take the rings and arrange them from largest to smallest. Be careful not to run out of moves or you will lose the game. |
Tower Building: Divide students into teams. Give each team equal amounts of spaghetti and marshmallows. The goal is to see which team can build the highest tower. |
Voting: As elections are quickly approaching here is a great opportunity to sit with middle and high school students to discuss the upcoming election on November 8th. You can discuss as a family your values, what you believe, and teach the difference between the Republican and Democratic Parties. Next, share the candidates that will be running. Here is a list of all of the Colorado candidates. Since there is a long list of candidates, parents can pick the top 3 candidates per office so that students can do further research. Start by discussing some of the issues that Colorado is facing in order to find the best person to be in office to solve the problems. Split families into teams to research the candidates in each office. One team could research the US Senate, US House, and another Governor. Once everyone has had a chance to search come back together and discuss what you found about the top three runners and who should be elected. Then create a mock vote and allow students to decide and share why.
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Items you will need:
-4.5 inch Wood Craft Sticks -Silver Paint and Paintbrush -Craft Glue -White Yarn -Plastic Spiders Paint sticks so that they had a little shine. Then cut 6-8 foot lengths of yarn. Tie one end around the center of the form and wrap in each direction so that it looks even. Next, wrap the yarn around each spoke of the web form. You’ll get a better effect if you wrap over the top of each stick rather than underneath. When you fill the form out to the ends of your sticks, tie a knot. Glue on your spider and tie long string on the end to hang them. |
Slime:
-6 ounces of Elmer’s glue– we used white (2 bottles) and glitter green and repeated the recipe 3 times. -Orange food coloring for the pumpkin slime jar -1/2 teaspoon of Baking Soda -1½ tablespoons of Contact lens solution. -Water – add 2 TBSP of water to your glue before adding baking soda if you’d like a stretchier slime Mason Jar Features -Googly Eyes -Black Felt -Glue Dots |
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