This is the third week that discovery heroes have done “focused free time” in the morning in the studio. They all had a lot of fun reading, doing word searches, practicing math facts and crossword puzzles during the 30-minutes time period. Integrating these activities adds another layer of engagement and excitement for the Discovery heroes.
It’s also fascinating to see how the Discovery heroes have integrated caring for plants into their morning routine. This simple act of nurturing not only fosters the character trait of being responsible but also offers valuable lessons in patience.
One highlight this week was that two of the Discovery heroes earned Spelling and Grammar badges from their core skills badge plans. We all celebrated this great achievement during the Friday badge ceremony. They were excited to complete this milestone in their learning journey.
For communication challenges, Discovery heroes had their second mock debate on Monday and they followed the ‘Debate Game’ process to state their opening arguments, rebuttals and closing arguments on why they think their game is the best in the world. Moreover, the mock debate served as a valuable opportunity for the Discovery Heroes to cultivate self-confidence in public speaking. Meanwhile through giving each other warm-cool-warm feedback, they identified areas for improvement and refined their arguments.
During Civilization, the heroes learned that Henry the Navigator was one of history’s greatest sailors, putting to great use inventions that came before him. One of Henry’s notable achievements was his utilization of existing navigational instruments and techniques, such as the astrolabe and magnetic compass, which had been developed by earlier civilizations. Discovery heroes did their civilization research on these great inventions like the compass, sailboat, the astrolabe etc. Through their civilization research, the Discovery Heroes not only gained a deeper appreciation of the past inventions but also recognized the enduring impact of these inventions on the modern world.
Meanwhile the Community Garden Quest has been so engaging! Discovery heroes collaborated with spark to build the community garden bed together. They assembled the bed, stapled a metal “gopher net” at the bottom of the bed to prevent burrowing pests, filled the bed with soil, and strung their planting grid. Discovery heroes gained a lot of hands-on experience using the drill, staples, and trowels. They had so much fun building the garden bed, and teamwork makes the dream work! As their guide, I am always amazed at their creativity and unlimited potential!
