Grow Your Mind Day

Monday was our Grow Your Mind Day where we had lots of parent volunteers come in and teach some of their passions and skills.  The day was filled with excitement! The whole idea was to open our minds, work in new spaces, with new people and try things we hadn't tried before.  If we don't try something, how can we know if we like it or not?

Making Letter Boxes

This group worked from start to finish on carpentry skills making letter boxes for the different classes.  So what was the learning going on here?

Visual Arts: We were exploring different materials.

Technology: We were working off a plan, identifying the attributes that our letter boxes would have and making changes were needed. 

Key Competencies: Thinking--we were problem solving, showing initiative, making choices, asking questions and thinking critically and creatively. 

Relating to other--we were taking turns, helping and supporting each other, working together cooperatively, negotiating and taking different roles. 

Not to mention the hands on skills of sanding, drilling, and painting.

Garbage Band

This workshop looked at using recycled materials to create music.  

The Learning: They explored sound, rhythm, beat and tempo.  They listened to music and made music. 

They worked together and took turns. 

Student Sewing Workshop

This was a student run workshop that was around sewing their own animals.  They started by drawing their own patterns on paper, then putting them on the fabric, cutting them out, pinning and hand sewing.  They had to go through the design process thinking about their plans and adapting what they were doing as they went.  They also had to think hard, make choices and ask each other for help when needed. 

Outdoor Games

These guys learned a throwing game called Corn Hole.  They had to take turns, cooperate and play by the rules.  They also had to use under hand throws and aim to try to get the bean bags into the hole or on the board.  They also had to use maths skills to keep score.  1 bean bag on the board was 1 point, in the hole was 3 points and the first team to 11 won!

Diablo 

These guys were learning how to use these sticks.  They had to try to keep the object moving on the string.  They had to watch and take turns, share the Diablo and work on their hand-eye coordination.  It was much harder than it looks! But they kept persevering! 

African Dance

We got to move to the beat and rhythm of the drums.  We learned different moves and partner dances that involved hand clapping.

Gymnastics

This group got the mats out and did forward rolls and cartwheels.  They had to work on their strength and coordination as they moved and manipulated their bodies! 

Pilates

This was another parent workshop in which children were stretching, lengthening and strengthening their bodies.  They worked to touch their toes, activate their cores and focus on their breathing!

More of the Arts!

This group was making prints using potatoes and carrots.  They then used printing ink to stamp out cards.  They were exploring new materials and playing with shapes, patterns and space. 

More Student led workshops

This group was teaching pom pom making! They worked to wind wool around cardboard circles and used cutting and gluing to create their pom poms.

Drama

This workshop involved acting out different animals and moving in different ways.  They attempted to think and move in certain ways and became what they were trying to capture. 

Photography

This workshop got kids behind the lens thinking like photographers and viewing their subjects from behind the camera.  They looked at composition and background. There was lots of playing, exploring and trialling going on. 

Garage Band

This workshop looked at manipulating sound on Garage Band.  Children had a play, creating their own tracks, manipulating the sound of their voices and playing with beats and rhythms. 

Overall the day was filled with excitement, new skills and growing our minds about what we like to do and what we are capable of doing! The more we do ANYTHING, the better we get at it and now we know a few more things we might like to get better at!