Ladybug Discovery

By Heidi Towne, Ashley Moreno, Michelle Kilmer, Heather Fong, and Christina Swanson

Recently at Lynhaven, our Kindergarten students were able to experience the life cycle of a ladybug!   In their classrooms and during ELD period, students were learning about insect characteristics and insect life cycles

The ladybugs arrived in their larval stage.  Students were fascinated to be able to see insects up close.  They made observations in order to predict what type of insect they were to become.  To track each stage, they drew each stage of growth and labeled their pictures. 

Ladybug, ladybug fly away home!

At last it was time to release our ladybugs into the school garden.

Dash Robot Materials Engineering

Marshall Lane 3rd Graders

Teachers: Bindi Gill and Sarah Wright

We created and implemented a 10-day project that challenged our students to design multiple mechanisms for transporting various objects (a table tennis ball, an eraser, and a 10g weight) a distance of 1meter. The materials available for their use included: a Dashbot and iPad, Legos, straws, cardboard, rubber bands, and tape. This design process required students to work together in small groups using the four C’s – communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking – while at the same time having fun through learning. In addition, they had to use a pricing chart to calculate the total cost of the material designs, and determine which was the most cost effective. As a group they reflected on the challenges and successes of working together to complete this task. Finally, students self reflected on their own participation in this collaborative process.

Magnetic Forces Meet Kid Power

3^rd Graders at Castlemont Elementary had a chance to show what they learned about magnetic forces with a hands-on design challenge. After numerous explorations and experiments with magnets, they were given the task of creating a magnet-powered car made with tinker toys. Students utilized the design process of engineers and scientists to design, test and revise their magnet powered cars.