Coleman's Camp - Weekly Journal Entry: 2/25/2013

Week of 2-25: My Thursday group returned this week after the snow cancellation last week to work on their tessellations.  In finishing the projects the kids are able to see the effect of a repeating, interlocking pattern.  The colors are designs used by the kids are vivid and eye-catching.  The Thursday and Saturday groups both used the recent heavy snows to explore three-dimensional cubes.  My wife had seen a news report explaining that the recent snow fall was particularly heavy, with a cubic foot of the snow weighing approximately 20 pounds!  Both the Thursday and Saturday kids were challenged to build an actual cubic foot using rulers and scotch tape.  They formed groups, had to select their supplies, and then work as a team to build the cubes.  Different strategies were used, with some groups all working on one section at a time while others divided the work of making squares and then joining them later.  The placement of the tape at the vertices (or corners) was crucial.  After kids finished their cubic feet we reviewed the difference between the metric system and the US (standard system) or measurement.  Kids were then challenged to compete against another team to use their newly acquired learning to build a cubic meter.  Finally, kids looked at approximately how many cubic feet would fit into the cubic meter, noting that since we were dealing with two measurement systems there would be "extra space."  The kids loved the activities and the hands-on project!

Coleman's Camp - Weekly Journal Entry: 2/18/2013

Week of 2-18: The heavy snow hit our area and closed down schools and the library; my Thursday group missed this week.  However, by Saturday the library was open again and I was able to meet with the kids, who all were excited to be out of the house and doing something!  We continued to work on our tessellations, finishing drawing over the pencil tracings and then adding colors.  Kids experimented with adding in simple two-dimensional shapes repeating inside the tessellating forms they originally drew.  For the second hour we returned to the audio hide/find challenge from last week, where kids are on teams and hide things from each other.  The team members must listen carefully to recorded directions to find the objects.  The kids continue to learn how to refine step-by-step directions, give accurate and distinct descriptions, and even to anticipate the mistakes and misunderstandings of team members.

Coleman's Camp - Weekly Journal Entry: 2/11/2013

Week of 2-11: Both the Thursday and Saturday groups explored tessellations (http://www.tessellations.org/), creating their own shapes from simple 3x5 cards, tessellating them across a large piece of paper, and tracing over the outlines.  The time working on our tessellations also gives us time to focus on quality work, talk, and listen to music.  The Saturday group also worked on a unique problem solving activity created just for them.  Developing language skills - including descriptive abilities, accuracy, word choice, and correcting from prior mistakes - the Saturday group uses a small digital audio recorder to record directions to team members to help them find an object hidden somewhere in the room.  Kids quickly learn to be specific, use adjectives, and to think from the perspective of teammates who have no idea what the object is or where it is hidden.