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This week at our camp the nature explorers have been learning so many different things. During math, we have moved from learning about place value, to addition equations with regrouping. To make sense of the movement of ones to the tens place, we have been working with "untraditional" number bonds, that is, with paper plates with legs. The campers have been separating the addends into tens and ones, and then regrouping the tens on one side, the ones on the other, and making new tens with the individual ones. Take a look at the pictures to know what I am talking about. We have also been comparing equations, and figuring out if the comparisons where true or false, and we have been finding reasons why one number wouldn't belong to a group of other numbers. The number sense of our campers is expanding, and setting the base for future and more complicated math problems. During science, this week we have learned why the rivers flow in one direction, and where do they go. We have created a model of a mountain and rain pouring over it, and we have seen what happens when it rains. Take a look! During our meditation period, we have been learning new things about our brains, like what are the functions of the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and amygdala, what is a neuron, and how the constant practice of something reinforces the neuropathways in our brains. We have established the routine of doing our core practice, "mindful breathing" three times a day, that will help us calm our amygdala and therefore, have better access to our memories in the hippocampus, and to make better decisions with our prefrontal cortex. I don't have pictures of the campers meditating, because... well, I am meditating with them. But I do have a very cute picture of the second day of school after the holiday break, the campers surrounding the reunion of stuffed animals :) Enjoy the week! 
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Also, during the week of inspirational math, our explorers have been learning about the importance of making mistakes, how the brain grows when we find challenges and believe that we have the capacity and skills to solve them, and learn from trying over and over, how depth is better than speed, and how real world mathematicians are in fact, really slow thinkers. During our reading workshop block, we have started getting our book bags ready, finding our reading spots, how to read independently, how to read with a partner, and what the teacher will be doing while the students are reading independently. We have had a lot of fun modeling the wrong way of doing things, and then the right way, so the campers know what not to do! These campers are very good actors!  Finally, during our meditation period, we have been taking some relaxing breaks at the end of the day, taking deep breaths, stretching, and learning about attention. We have also learned about the Zones of Regulation, and what to do when we are not in the green zone.
Phew! Sounds like it has been really busy in this camp! And we just got started! There will be more adventures coming, so check back with us soon! |
