What a fun first day back to GATE after Spring Break! We started the day with some challenging visual puzzles. We used these puzzles as a venue to discuss the merits of trying challenging things, how people are smart in different ways, persistence, and how to learn from failure. The students loved these, so we will definitely keep them in the rotation for the rest of the year.

We then did a lesson about the nature of air. Students generated a list of things that they already know about air and questions that they have. (Unfortunately this was erased by a helpful student before I could take a photo. Oh, well!) We then read a book about air and had some of the questions answered. Many students were very interested in the idea that different types of atoms connect to each other to form molecules such as carbon-dioxide and water, so that could be cool at-home extension work. The main take-away of the lesson was that "Air is There." Air is not just empty space, but made up of molecules and particles.

The students then took their understanding to the next level by designing and building air-powered vehicles. The original assignment was to build a balloon-powered car, but some students were energized to build a car with a sail or a balloon-powered boat, so in true GATE-fashion, we just went with it! This project reminded us of the morning's challenging visual puzzles because it was challenging work. Plans would be tested, fail, tweaked, tested, fail, tweaked, tested, and finally succeed before being tweaked and tested AGAIN! It took a lot of persistence and learning from failure.

You should also ask your child about the delicious gluten-free brownies I made for them!