STEM BINS!

As you know, STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. We have combined those skills with creative design, writing, perseverance, and collaboration...and we end up with an excited bunch of learners! 

Each group gets a different bin full of materials. The students are only allowed to use the supplies in the bin, and nothing else. 

Each time, they will receive a photo (as their inspiration for creative design) of an item they must create together. 

On this day, they were asked to create an animal shelter. 

Right now, they are learning to work together to create a cohesive item. Later on, more challenges will be added in the STEM wheel to increase their collaborative learning.

Here are some videos from our second session of STEM BINS. I didn't take any pictures, but I just had to share these video clips with you all because your kids are SO SO CUTE! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

The Power of Sound

The students were asked, "Do you think you can move an object without touching it or blowing on it? Do you think you can move something using ONLY sound energy?" 

Well, we had to find out! 

We have been learning about all kinds of energy in science class, and sound waves were one of them. We put some salt particles on a plastic cup covered with saran wrap. We put our hands behind our back, and said, "Aaaaah" softly at first. Not much happened. Then we leaned over and said, "AAAHHHHH!!!" Wow...the salt particles began dancing, and much of it fell off the cup. We discussed not only the volume of the sound, but also the distance. 

I love simple discoveries like this. Just look at their faces!

We wrote down our predictions first. 

Testing both volume and distance. 

Such wonderful scientists!

PURE JOY in this pic below:) 

We ran out of time to watch this video, so I'm posting it for all of you to enjoy. So cool!!

Continents, Bible, and Craziness :)

Since Max wasn't with us when we learned the continents and oceans, we decided to make a video for him. The file was too large so it didn't send...maybe he can watch it now:) 

They are also doing a great job learning the 27 books of the New Testament. We will tackle the 39 books of the Old Testament soon. They sound so good! 

I do love my crazy bunch (sorry the left corner got cut off!).

Stand Firm in the Faith

The theme for this year is, Stand Firm in the Faith, from the Bible verse that says, "Be on your guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. Do everything in love" (I Corinthians 16: 13-14).

On the first week of school, we talked about what this means. Mainly we focused on the fact that we are always faced with a decision to do RIGHT or WRONG. We have a choice to make. We know that God has given us the ABSOLUTE TRUTH in his Word, and we can stand up for what is RIGHT based on the Bible. 

So I asked the kids, "What right thing can you choose to do today to stand firm?" Here are their answers: