• November 29, 2022

    Posted by Lisa Shipley on 11/29/2022
    We've been working hard and learning so much in MOSAICS!  The creativity is alive and well!
     
    In Flight and Space, we are still grappling with Newton's Laws of Motion.  Construction has started on our Newton's arcade games.  There are so many great ideas, I can't wait to play when they are finished!
     
    In Don't Myth Out, students just started their final choice board on their epic heroic journey through the ancient Greek World.  We have explored gods and goddesses, heroes and heroines, creatures and monsters, and now the theme is Things and Stuff.  This one is mostly about ancient Greek customs and culture.
     
    In Creative Thinking, students are busy designing their mystical creatures themed mini miniature golf course.  These are turning out great.  I'm seeing a lot of ingenuity and critical thinking as trick shots are planned, secret obstacles are being set, and beautiful creatures are being constructed.
     
    In Match Stretch, students designed new mathematical operations.  Do you think you can figure out what the operations do?  Try it out...if you dare:
     
     
    In HOT Time, students just learned that Frosty the Snowman is in trouble!  He is outdated and a parent watchdog group has decided that he promotes bad choices for children. Ask your child why! Student teams have been challenged to reinvent this loveable character. Today, they brainstormed ideas to bring Frosty into the 21st century. Be sure to ask your child what they thought of.
     
    Have a great week!
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  • October 4, 2022

    Posted by Lisa Shipley on 10/4/2022
    We had an amazing, wonderful, energized day of learning in MOSAICS.
     
    We started with our top 10 achievements in Flight and Space presentations.  We made it up to 1959, which is a great turning point in the shift from achievements in flight to the space race.  We had a great overview today of many historical moments that helped to shape our world.  I appreciate the thoughtfulness students demonstrated in the process of choosing their top ten.  
     
    In Don't Myth Out, students embarked on a hero's journey into the world of ancient Greece.  Each child will be choosing 12 labors to prove themselves worthy to be the next god or goddess of Olympus.  To apply for the job, they must prove themselves worthy to the great goddess Shiplea.  Gotta love my job, right?  For the first three labors, students can choose from nine adventures where they will learn about the Greek gods and goddesses and make a variety of projects to honor them.
     
    In Creative Thinking, we completed our Doodle stories and will be sharing them next week.
     
    In Math Stretch, we are still working with exponents and radicals.
     
    In HOT Time, the class worked as a team to complete a flight and space themed escape room.  they finished with only 41 seconds to spare.  It was close, but they did it!  Great job, team!
     
    5th Escape​
     
    Have a great week!
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  • September 27, 2022

    Posted by Lisa Shipley on 9/27/2022
    We had a fantastic day in MOSAICS.  We were a little distracted today and it left me feeling like...
     
     
    Anyway, I digress.  In Flight and Space, kids finished their top 10 achievements in flight and space.  Most finished early and had the opportunity to take a virtual tour of the International Space Station.
     
    In Don't Myth Out, we learned about the hero's tale and met Hercules.  Students wrote a 13th ;abor for him.  Little do they know, they will be challenged to their own 12 labor journey starting next week.
     
    In Creative Thinking, we brought the doodle drawings we created last week to life by writing an episode of a cartoon featuring a Doodle.  Some students did this as a comic, while others wrote traditional stories.
     
    In HOT Time, we are still working on logic puzzles that rely on math for the final solution.  These are tricky, but we're getting the hang of it with practice.
     
    In Math Stretch, we started working with exponents and radicals. This work will get us ready for our Equations competition we will attend in the spring.  I'm so excited to be able to take kids to competitions again.  More details will follow soon.
     
    Have a great week!
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  • September 20, 2022

    Posted by Lisa Shipley on 9/20/2022

    We were hard at work in MOSAICS today.  This is such a fun group of kids to learn with.

    In Flight and Space, students are putting the finishing touches on their top 10 achievements in Flight and Space projects.  They have one more week to work, then they will present their projects.

    In Don't Myth Out, we met the Olympians, learned about their domains, Roman names, and symbols.  We also took a quiz to see which Olympian we like the most.  Not suprising--we have a lot of kids like Zeus.  Can anyone say strong personalities?

     

    In Creative Thinking, we played The Doodle Game.  We turned scribbles into characters, gave the characters personalities, and began writing an episode in a cartoon series about our creations.  It was fun to see how inspired kids were by this activities.  These stories should be very entertaining.

     

    In Math Stretch, we are learning to solve linear equations.  The kids are surprised by how easy it is.  Algebra? Easy?  Who know?

    In HOT Time, we are combining our deductive reasoning skills with our mathematical thinking skills to solve plexors. 

    Have a great week!  

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  • August 30, 2022

    Posted by Lisa Shipley on 8/30/2022
    Welcome back to our last year together (unless you have younger siblings in the program, then you're stuck with me)!  It was so much fun to have your kids back in MOSAICS.  They were excited to be here and there was a lot of great thinking going on.  I just can't believe they're in 5th grade already.  #GettingOld
     
    I will be sending updates to keep you informed about all the great things happening in class.  Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, concerns, comments or compliments.  Your feedback helps me be a better teacher for your child.
     
    This year, we will study Flight and Space as our Major Study.  A Major Study is a topic we stick with all year.  Students also chose their Minor Study which is a topic we stick with for half the year.  The kids chose Don't Myth Out, which will take us on a journey through ancient Greece and Greek mythology.  We will still have HOT (Higher Order Thinking) Time this year, Creative Thinking, and Math STRETCH.
     
    Today was all about building our community so that this classroom is a sanctuary of learning where we can take risks with our thinking, make mistakes, celebrate each other, and be free to learn and grow in our own way.
     
    We revisited our class expectations and procedures, then played a fun game of "Would You Rather."  It was interesting to hear why kids made their choices.
     
    We played around with stick puzzles.  Sorry in advance if your kids come home trying to stump you.  For the right bribe, I can hook you up with the answers!  Kidding!
     
    Students had the opportunity to earn their way into the Polar Bear Club.  I'd tell you how it works, but Polar Bears are sworn to secrecy.  I have a feeling you might have some dice in your future though.
     
    We set up our binders so that we are organized and ready to dive into our normal schedule next week.  A few kids did not have their binders today, so I gave them loaners.  If you could make sure they have it by next week, that would be super.  Remember they can reuse their binders from last year if it's still in good shape.
     
    We had a Strong Man (or Woman) challenge where teams had to build a person out of recyclables.  Their person had to be tall and able to hold up a barbell made of a pencil and two apples for 30 seconds.  These were great!
     
    Students tried to cut a notecard in such a way that they could walk through it. It sounds impossible, but it can be done.  Ask your child to show you!
     
    Finally, we wrapped up our first day with a challenge to build the tallest wearable hat.  Be sure to check out pictures on Facebook.  If you haven't joined our page yet, you can do so here:
     
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/144636553006053
     
    Thanks for sharing your amazing kids with me.  I'm looking forward to a great year.  Have a wonderful week!
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