June 30:  It was an awesome last day. Students had to save the pizza from the Pizza Eating Zombies.  They put all their new sleuthing skills to work and seized the day.  We ended the day with games and clean-up.   Our spy disguises arrived a little late, but we still had fun with them! 

Parents/Guardians:  Thank you so much for sharing your student with me this summer.  They are a great group of students.  I hope they made some new friends, learned some new things along the way and had fun.  

Enjoy the rest of your summer, BrainyActs!  Mrs. Blake

June 28 & 29:  Today students were able to help Agent Loafer solve the mystery of S.O.C.K, restore fun in the world and secure the WC.  A lot of hard work was needed to decipher the new secret code using the KEYWORD Cipher.   

Teamwork is such an integral component of solving ciphers.  Today teams had to create the tallest structure with a variety of items that were in their bag. (a can of soup, straws, a die, a tissue tube, a band-aid and a few sticks). 

Yesterday the students learned how to play checkers and Multi.  Multi was definitely the favorite of the day. 

Today watched Shakespeare's Kids perform their play. It was obvious the students had been working hard. They did a great job for their first performance!   

One more day....one more room to Escape....this is will the toughest challenge yet!   

June 27:  Today students solved a new cipher that had them traveling back in time with Galileo, utilizing the Periodic Table of Elements and learning a few Greek words. They also played a game called Order and Chaos, as well as Qwixx and Gobblet.  During the Teamwork Challenge, groups needed to create a 51st state, with state tree, bird, flag, etc.  Very creative. 

We received another message from Agent Sneaker but still haven't quite solved the S.H.O.E. mystery.  

June 23:  Today we traveled to St.Paul to experience a professional escape room at Trapped Puzzle Rooms. One group completed the puzzle for the Wizard's Tower and the other group solved the Video Game Mayhem puzzle.  It was a great experience.  

Afterwards we traveled to a park to have lunch and play some outdoor games. One group or students learned Kubb, while another group played Bocce Ball.  After, some students tried the cookie race, trying to get the cookie from their forehead to their mouth without using their hands. 

Interesting facts about Kubb and Bocce Ball: 

 Gotland — Sweden's largest island — is generally considered the home and origin of the game Kubb. Legend has it that the game dates back to the Vikings and has survived since then on Gotland, but there's really no evidence to support this. (From Kubb World.org)

Bocce Ball: Many people, such as Galileo and DaVinci, played bocce during the Renaissance, seeing its benefits to mind and body. It was also played by emperors, admirals, generals, poets, sculptors and scientists. Bocce was also exported to many countries by Italian migrants, and remains popular with bocce courts and clubs throughout the world. (From: Orderisda.org)