PPBF: So Much Slime

Happy PPBF; today we're talking about something puzzling.

1

PPBF: A Hat For Mrs. Goldman

Today I'm excited because I got this beautiful treasure in the mail.

From a first grader in Illinois. Can you tell what it says?

Growing character. Isn't that beautiful?

3

PPBF: Stuck

Today I'm thinking about Mindset since that's the theme of my May calendar and today's PPBF. Click {here} for a freebie download.

3

PBLs: Engineering Experiences

As we head in to Joshua's last 9 week of high school, I find myself reflecting on the projects that he really connected with and enjoyed during his days, months and years at Friendswood High School. 

Hands down our favorite from junior year is when he built this boat. 

With these two teammates. 

From cardboard. 

And clear packing tape.

Photo courtesy of FISD

I know it made a splash with Joshua because he chose to write about it for his college and scholarship essays.

After seeing this picture on Twitter and curious about this project-based learning experience, high school teacher & blogger Brian Sztabnik asked to interview Joshua. Here's what our son had to say.

1. What was the assignment? In a team of three or four students, build a boat (designed to withstand the weight of two high school students crossing the school's pool) out of only cardboard and clear packing tape.

2. What unit was the assignment situated in? AP Physics - the Archimedes Principle.

3. What permissions, clearance, scheduling, etc was needed to complete this activity? The teachers had to schedule time in the natatorium for the boating race. We students had to schedule weekend meetings to build our boats from cardboard boxes.

4. What instructions were provided to the students? Click {here}.

5. What content-area learning occurred during this activity? Testing the Archimedes Principle (buoyancy). 

From Mr. McGowan, the Physics teacher: Boats come in all sizes, shapes, and colors. And, some have trouble going the same direction as others. Have you ever wondered how a large supertanker filled with oil can float? Objects submerged in a fluid such as water appear to weigh less than they do when they are not in the water. The liquid exerts a buoyant force on the object. Archimedes is credited with discovering that the buoyant force on an object is equal to the weight of the displaced fluid. He is said to have discovered this principle in his bath while trying to think of a way to determine whether the king's new crown was gold or a fake. Legend says that he ran naked through the streets shouting, "Eureka." Archimedes Principle also applies to floating objects. An object floats on a liquid if its density is less than that of the fluid. For our supertanker to float it must displace a volume of water equal to its weight.

6. What soft skills did students demonstrate during this activity? We had to work together to make calculations, design and draw their boats. After we submitted the initial report and boat design, we had to talk to each other to plan and then schedule work dates. We had to cooperate and be flexible, working around other school projects, activities like band and cross country, and work schedules. The process of building the boat took negotiation and teamwork, for sure. When one of the four members failed to show up, the three of us who did all of the work had to discuss what, if anything, we needed to do about that. 

From Barbara: When I, as the mom of the student who hosted the boat-building sessions, asked the senior in the group how this project has been for him, he answered, "It's been fun; it helps that I have some nice guys to work with." The other teammate, a junior, responded, "Joshua's sometimes in a big hurry and we have to slow him down, but other than that, it's been good."    

7. What does project-based learning mean to you? It's kind of fun to do the projects, but it's the reflection piece that really stretches us to extend our learning, to think more deeply about it, to grow from it. There's also an assessment piece that forces us to take a critical look at our work.

For example, we had four boys, but only 3 showed up. Ever. Except for to the actual race. In the report, we had to grade ourselves. We gave ourselves each a 10 but when we gave the teammate who never showed up a 2, it dropped our scores to an 8 each, even though we showed up every time and did all of the work. (If we would have given him a 1, our scores would have dropped to a 7.5) So we really learned the importance of showing up and being a responsible team member. 

8. Could this learning have occurred in other ways? What was gained in the process? What was lost? We really didn't think our boat would make it across the natatorium pool. At all. We worked really hard to give it a good try, but we remained skeptical. Then on Sunday when we checked our boats in and saw ours compared to others, we thought we'd done a pretty decent job building it anyway. We were pleasantly surprised that our boat made it across in 38 seconds and could have gone back and forth a few more times. We ended up in 7th place out of 50 boats. I was disappointed we didn't land in the top five, because then we'd have gotten extra credit, but being in the first heat, we just didn't know how fast we'd have to paddle to get a competitive time.

9. How time consuming is it to do activities like this in class? We spent about 21 hours of out-of-class time on this project, which counted as a major test grade.

10. What other project-based learning do you do? We haven't really had a lot of these in school; I'd say Science Fair is another significant project-based learning I've done. Senior year we did a Poetry Museum in AP English IV. We had to research a poet, study one of his poems, find complementary artwork and music, analyze the poem, make a brochure and a visual presentation, recite the poem, and present our research in class and at Poetry Museum Night to an audience.

We are so grateful to the passionate educators who engineer experiences for our kids to encourage them to think and grow outside of the {cardboard} box.

What project-based learning experiences do you offer at your school?

1

Kelso's Choice Kit Winner

Today I'm excited because 86 readers entered to win our

Kelso's Conflict Resolution Kit and the number generator selected comment #11. Join me in congratulating Katie!

Here's what she shared about conflict resolution:

 Katie, please get in touch with me via email so I can pass your postal information on to our friends at the Cerebellum Corp.

In the event that I don't hear from Katie by Monday, February 20th, at noon {CST}, our number generator selected an alternate, Jennifer.

Here's what Jennifer does to help problem solve.

Jennifer, we will be in touch if we don't hear from Katie in the next few days.

I was just delighted that so many of you expressed interest in Kelso's Choices to help your superheroes soar and I appreciated reading all of your reflections about strategies you're already using to give your students these conflict-resolution skills.

Need a few ideas on how to use this fantastic empowerment tool? I've blogged about how Kelso helps us at school {here} and {here} and how Kelso can help families at home {here} and {here}. 

Check out this incredible investment for your character building;

I think you'll be hoppy that you did!

0

Kelso's Choice Giveaway

Happy Random Acts of Kindness Week and Valentine's Day.

How are you celebrating?

I'm still on a natural high from Counseling Week;

here's a sample of the heartfelt notes I got from my superheroes.

I love that he feels like the special one,

I'm happy that he finds my puppets joyful,

and I'm touched that he aspires to be like me when he grows up!

I also got this cool Kindness Box!

The adorable little hand-drawn pick-me-ups tucked neatly inside the box, just waiting to warm up whoever picks one, are evidence that it only takes one, one little person, one little act of kindness, one little ripple ... 

... to make a world of difference.

And if all of that kindness weren't enough, our friends from Kelso's Choice have offered to partner with me to give away this AmAzInG conflict-resolution kit to one of my dedicated readers.

Isn't that so incredibly generous and kind?

We love Kelso's Choice because it not only teaches our students to discern between small problems and big problems, but it also empowers them with skills to solve their small, pesky annoyances while giving them permission to seek help with larger, more threatening issues.

If you're in the US or Canada and would like a chance to win this kit, comment between now and this Saturday, February 18th, at noon {CST} with an effective problem-solving strategy that you use at home, at school or in the workplace. 

A random number generator will choose one lucky winner; we'll post that name this weekend with directions on how to claim your prize. 

Good luck and thanks again for coming by the Corner.

This giveaway is now closed; congrats to Katie (comment #11) for winning the kit.

85

The Path To Peace

Today I'm excited because we're having our counseling classes on conflict resolution this week outside on our Peace Labyrinth that former Bales Principal Jay Stailey and his friend Reginald Adams designed for us and helped us paint.

The lesson goes something like this:

First I share this funny and engaging Sesame Street clip, 

featuring the late Robin Williams, 

to show students what conflict is and what conflict isn't.

Then we watch this clip featuring a common conflict, a fight that ensued between two students after one cheated from another.

Before we head outside to the Labyrinth to role play what happens the next day between Jimmy and Max, we talk about what collaborating using the five steps to problem solving would look like on our conflict-resolution Peace Labyrinth.

It's interesting, because as they predict what the steps are, most of the students want to go straight to a solution. Instead, the steps include:

1. State the problem.

2. State your feelings.

3. State the other person's feelings.

{We're calling this one the empathy stop!}

4. Brainstorm solutions.

5. Choose the best solution.

So we head outside, and role play an easy one first, to review the steps: I want to eat at McDonald's, and the student who volunteers to walk the path with me wants to eat at Chick fil A. Then, we select a volunteer to play Jimmy and a classmate to play Max, and we let them walk the path to peace.

We're so happy even our Labyrinth is smiling!

1

PPBF: Turn! Turn! Turn!

Today's post will be short and sweet as we wrap up

The Great Kindness Challenge and get ready to celebrate

National School Counseling Week.

Today's PPBF perfectly complements both.

To everything, there is a season ... 

Title: Turn! Turn! Turn!

Author: Pete Seeger

Illustrator: Wendy Anderson Halperin

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing

Date: September 1, 2003

Suitable for: age 5 and up

Themes: inspirational, peace, circle of life

Brief Synopsis: Based on the inspiration of Ecclesiastes Chapter 3, this book uses text from the Byrds song Turn!, Turn!, Turn! to explore and enjoy the ways people turn through the pages of the book of life.

Opening page:

Resources:

*Read a review {here}. 

*Listen to the song on CD, included in the book.

*Have students draw a time line of their lives; challenge them to make it circular rather than linear.

*Encourage students to write and illustrate another line.

A time to ____ , a time to _____ .

What would you add?

Why I like this book: I've always been a fan of that verse from the Ecclesiastes and this song. Then when my friend Ann brought me a copy of the book, I fell in love all over again. Look how pretty it is sitting on my shelf among my angels. 

To everything, there is a season ...

The circles on every page are beautifully illustrated to put this poetic text into a peace-filled picture. Such a simple yet important concept to remember, especially as we grieve the good-bye of something special and bounce forward into something new.

This week, some of our students worked with our high school PALs to paint a conflict-resolution peace labyrinth and it reminds me of the circular concept in this book.

To everything, there is a season.

We also hosted singer, songwriter, and expert bucket-filler Red Grammer on the Westwood side. Here he is teaching us to use our lids to keep ourselves happy and safe. Click the picture to see Mrs. Quigley's first-grade students teaching him and our audience the motions they use for his song The Power To Change The World.

 And today, we say good-bye to our Principal, Terri, and hello to a new leader, J.T. It's a time of change again at Bales, the perfect time to get quiet and contemplate the circle of life.

Turn, turn, turn.

For more PPBF picks today, turn now to Susanna's blog.

8

Kelso's Choice For Families Review

Today I'm delighted to welcome my friend Heather Salinas back to the Corner on Character to share her reflections on the Kelso's Choice For Families Kit.

*********************

Kelso's Choice for Families is an invaluable tool for equipping children ages two and up with problem-solving and crisis management skills. (The package stated five years and up, but my two and a half year old was able to join in also with the help of older siblings.) We received this kit a few months after Mrs. Gruener re-introduced the concept of the "school" version to the students in my daughter's Intermediate School. The family version is closely modeled after the school version; because of this, my children were already familiar with the language and it became a natural progression into the "home" version.

The materials that come with the kit are very clear, motivating, and adaptable. There is a fun and informative video for families to watch together that explains the program. It includes explanations about what type of problems are considered "big" and "small" and how to successfully manage a conflict. In addition to the DVD there are also supplemental activities, a workbook, reward chart, crafts, posters, and more. It is a very inclusive kit! For my family, watching the video together and starting the program prompted some amazing family conversations about life, family, and faith; it led to some great family bonding moments!

Our home currently has seven children under the age of twelve, and in the beginning this kit was utilized multiple times a day! I think the reason the kit worked so well is that there is such rich, complex information broken down into a way children can easily understand and adapt to their own situations. The days following us starting this program, I noticed the children solving their "small" conflicts on their own and directing each other to the chart when a problem came up -- a built-in accountability! The distinct choices given to solve issues in the kit were extremely adaptable to any "small" conflict that came up. I did give my children the freedom to choose a solution from either the "younger" version or the "older" child version once a conflict came up. I could tell my children gained a sense of pride and empowerment to make the choice themselves. As the weeks went on, I noticed a big difference in my children's independence and desire for responsibility.

I would highly recommend this program to families with any number of children, as Kelso's Choice for Families could also be utilized for extended family, friends, sports teams, etc. I strongly believe these same conflict management skills will help my children in future relationships, in the workplace and beyond. We are very thankful to have this kit at home as my children (and their conflicts) grow and change over the next years.

Author’s Note: I am so thankful to Mrs. Gruener for inviting me to review this product! My husband and I have been married for 10 years and have four amazing children (ages 9 to 1), two dogs, three birds, 10 turtles, 11 chickens, and a yard full of wildlife! Our life never stops being interesting! 

I earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Southwestern University in 2002, and a Master of Science Degree in Journalism from Quinnipiac University in 2004. For the last five years I have run my own full-time dog boarding business that I absolutely could not be more blessed by! On a part-time basis, I also edit criminal court transcripts for Harris County.

******************

Thank you, Heather, first and foremost for your friendship, and then for your willingness to share your thoughts, insights and perspective with our readers.

0

Social Stations

Today I'm super excited because we go back into Social Station rotation in counseling classes this week. Here's what we have planned:

1. In the Creation Station, we'll be writing thank-you notes, like these, only on 3x5 cards, for a volunteer in our community who distributes them when she sees a man or woman in uniform. We must never forget ... 

2. At the Staging Station {with or without puppets}, we'll be role playing different scenarios and working through some common, every-day conflicts.

3. In the Ukulele Lab, we'll be learning our first few chords. In a fun development after a Twitter convo yesterday, we'll be adding ten ukuleles to our lab thanks to the generosity of authors Dave and Shelley Burgess of Teach Like A Pirate and P is for Pirate fame. 

I sure hope Mr. Fred can find us ten more chairs!

Update: Yay - the new UKEs have arrived! 

4. In the Reflection Station, students will be writing and drawing their thoughts about last week's Dennis Lee show and/or our Hometown Heroes pep rally.

5. There'll also be a Gaming Station and a Collaboration Station, both of which will have connection activities to sharpen our problem-solving and leadership skills.

UPDATE: Check out this collaboration!

So there ought to be something for all learning styles and work preferences. Do you use Social Stations to facilitate and nurture your students' social and emotional growth? If so, we'd love for you to share how they work.

Need more ideas? Check out this presentation on Character Centers!

0