Assimilation at its best. Piaget would love watching my boys make meaning.
Phoenix Landing
We had the boys stay up a little past the start of our nighttime routines to watch the Mars Phoenix probe land on Mars. Or, more precisely, we watched Science Channel’s live coverage of the NASA engineers who made it happen.
Future Education
An interactive map, commissioned by the KnowledgeWorks Foundation, itemizing the factors that are likely to influence public education in the next decade. It is divided into five elements—a two-dimensional space listing Drivers and Impact Areas, and the factors classified as trends, hot spots and dilemmas.
Traveling Patterning Shoebox
Our first traveling shoe box was inspired by Anno’s Math Games 2, a book we’ve enjoyed quite a bit, but that is no longer in print. One of the chapters is devoted to “which one is different” questions that are much more thought-provoking than those I remember from Highlights Magazine. An example would be a picture that includes several objects that are similar in color, with one that varies slightly in function.
Triangular Prisms and Centered Learning
Archie: I made a pyramid!
Carter: (still building) Actually, Archie, it’s a triangular prism.
Me: (Inhaling to urge Carter to respect Archie’s joy of learning by not constantly correcting him, pausing because I can’t figure out how to convey my message without constantly correcting Carter)
Archie: (just as gleeful as his first exclamation) I made a triangular prism!
Saturday Science Links
I have a bookmark folder bulging with links Carter and I have used in pursuing his interests in science. My hope is to share what we find weekly. Here are just a few of our favorites: