Kinda' like a bad hair day, sometimes you wake up and stuff just turns out fuzzy or a bit out of kilter. Well, that seems to be the case with some of the snapshots of the crew in action this week. Maybe it's because Mr. Bill's own vision has been hazy the last two weeks as sleep has been a precious commodity at his household. But the cause is definitely worth the price...and proud papa had to start this post with a photo of the latest member of Mr. Bill's crew grabbing the sleep his parents have not.
So, if some of the pictures look a bit blurry this week, hopefully you can still sense the excitement and learning that come with being in our crew.
Good Mornin'
No matter how energetic the crew feels upon arriving, morning meeting is a great way to get the school day rolling. Here are a few glimpses into morning meeting this week...a ritual that brings unity to the crew, builds communication and cooperation skills, and offers a chance for people to share what they're thinking.
Stackin' 'em
Two of our crew members, Brianna and Mercedes, had a great start to their morning last Wednesday when they made it into the final rounds of the REMS cup stacking tourney. Hands were flying!
Movin' On Up
Another good way to get the blood pumping is to put yourself in a months-long, death-defying, unremitting test of your mettle and physical condition. Like climbing Mount Everst. As a thirteen year-old boy. Or, at least, you could relive the experience of someone else brave (or foolish) enough to attempt the feat. Far less dangerous, but nonetheless presenting lots of opportunities for students to bump up against their personal challenge zone, is the winter voyage our crew will go on in a few weeks. As part of the preparation, we're reading "Peak" a story about a boy who faces lots of internal and external obstacles to his goal of standing on the top of the world during winter weather.
Goin' All Around
Our global postcard project continues and now the crew has heard from thirty three different people around the planet, hailing from four continents (We're still waiting for Africa and Australia; we're not holding out much hope for Antarctica.) The crew loves figuring out exactly where in the world the cards came from. They also really enjoy composing notes to those we're sending cards to, sharing a tiny snippet of what life in Castle Rock, CO, USA is like.
Reachin' Out
Remember when a long distance phone call was a big deal? ("Reach out...reach out...and touch someone!). Okay, maybe you don't recall that jingle...I'm really dating myself. But in any event, today's access to long distance communication--both verbal and visual--provides learning avenues unavailable even a few years ago. So, for example, after our crew built background knowledge about diabetes, we had a Skype call with an expert in another state who's lived with the condition for over twenty years. Since basic Skype is free, we had all the time we needed for him to talk about the physiological aspects as well as the impacts to his lifestyle (in the old days, the call would've cost about $25). After listening attentively, the students asked many insightful questions.
Drawin' It Out
Something not so high tech, but also quite useful in learning, is reproducing what you've learned while combining it with your own new insights. As students built their understandings about body systems and their interdependence, they carefully constructed diagrams of the systems while inferring how their system affects other systems and what needs to be done to keep a system healthy.
Sendin' it Back
Reciprocation is another powerful way to learn. Reciprocal learning is when a student gains enough knowledge and understanding about a topic that he or she can then confidently teach others. Here are a few crew members who learned a part of a bigger concept and then shared their part with the rest of the crew so everyone could deepen their understanding. Wait a minute...is that Marvin the Martian teaching in a couple of those shots?
