The Discovery heroes enjoyed another fun and enriching week!
This week’s highlight was our first Growing Curiosity Quest week, which was entirely planned and facilitated by one of our oldest heroes. The quest theme was centered around chickens, offering a unique and engaging learning experience for everyone. The heroes then held real chicks. They had so much fun and learned how to gently hold the chicks and treat them with care. The heroes also researched easter egger chickens, which can lay a variety of colored eggs, from blue to green and sometimes even pink. They also explored the chicken’s life cycle from embryo to hatchling. Finally, each created their own chicken art project. The chicken-themed growing curiosity quest week concluded with a feedback survey and discussion about what worked, and what the lead hero would do differently next time. In the survey, they all expressed that the facilitator did amazing in coming up with launches and activities related to chicken. They all enjoyed the quest activities and they had a lot of fun with the chicks.
In the mandarin special this week, we first reviewed the pronunciations and handwriting of mandarin numbers 1-10. To make the language learning even more enjoyable, the heroes learned a catchy number song in Mandarin. Music is a powerful tool for language acquisition, making it easier to remember words and phrases.
Then the heroes expanded their vocabulary by learning how to write the Chinese characters for “sun” and “moon.” The Chinese Character for Sun is 日, and the pronunciation goes to the fourth tone (rì). The Character for Moon is 月, and the pronunciation is yuè. At the end, we wrapped up with learning an interesting Chinese idiom story. Chinese idioms, known as 成语 (chéngyǔ), are an integral part of the language and culture. They are often derived from historical events, fables, and folklore, encapsulating profound meanings and moral lessons in just a few characters. Learning these idioms helps heroes not only understand the language better but also gain insights into universal truths.
The idiom story we learned is called 守株待兔” (Shǒu Zhū Dài Tù). The idiom “守株待兔” is used to describe someone who waits idly for luck to come instead of working hard, relying on chance rather than effort. It teaches the heroes the importance of diligence.
In civilization, Heroes learned about the founding of Tenochtitlan, the capital city of the Aztec Empire. Situated on an island in Lake Texcoco, Tenochtitlan became one of the largest and most magnificent cities in the world at the time. Through engaging stories and myths, heroes also learned about the Aztec pantheon of gods.
We brought in friends from Toca Soccer to lead fun soccer games for physical education. The heroes had a great time playing games that were both competitive and collaborative and focused on communication and skills on the field.
In communication challenges this week, Discovery heroes practiced for their upcoming journey meeting with their parents by role playing. As meeting leaders, the heroes prepared a brief presentation outlining their recent accomplishments, areas for improvement, and goals for the future. The “parents” listened attentively, asked questions, and provided feedback to the meeting leader. On Friday, the heroes customized their journey meeting invitations and sent them out to parents either via email or hand-outs. As the journey meetings are approaching, it is exciting to see the heroes present their accomplishments, discuss their challenges, and set new goals with the support and encouragement of their parents!
