BrainyActs

Grade levels

4-7

Description

Calling all sleuths! Your help is needed! We have puzzles to unravel, codes to crack, mysteries to solve, games to play, and rooms to escape. No experience necessary. Just brain power, perseverance and perhaps a little wit. Join me this summer as we engage in a variety of activities that will test even the most experienced detective. In between all our sleuth work, we will also develop our skills in playing strategy games such as Chess, Pente, Gobblet, and Nine Men’s Morris. These games will sharpen your mental acuity and challenge your thinking. Come join the crew at Mrs. Blake’s Detective Agency! It is not recommended to take this course a second time.

Instructor

Joanne Blake: Mrs. Blake has been teaching for 33 years. She currently works for the Pine City School District. One of her favorite parts of her job is coaching groups of students for Knowledge Bowl, Math Masters,and leading Book Clubs. When she is not teaching, Mrs. Blake loves to play board games with her 4 boys, read, and solve puzzles.

Extended Day Plan

Trapped Puzzle Room in St. Paul

*Requires an additional $10 payment to help cover transportation/admission costs.*

Class Updates

BrainyActs - Day 11 (June 26): We had a little trouble getting into our classroom as Zombies had taken over the room! I had a pizza party all planned but Zombies wrecked it. There was one pizza left! Fortunately, the students were able to rescue the last pizza, find the zombie blaster and escape! And then eat some pizza!

BrainyActs - Day 10 (June 25) : Today students worked in teams of different puzzles. One team is working on the National Parks mystery and another team is working on a myster of stolen jewels in Ireland. We still have some work to do but hopefully we will solve the cases before time runs out.

Game time was a game called Cribbage. Definitely a new favorite game for many students. A game that has lots of parts to it, but they were catching on quickly!

BrainyActs - Day 9 (June 24) : Today students were trapped in the 8-bit world of Minecraft. Fortunately good teamwork and thinking helped them escape!

Game time was a game called Qwixx.

BrainyActs - Day 7 (June 20) : We had our most challenging puzzles today. Science mixed in with a little secret code mixed in with Greek mythology!

For the games, students learned to play Gobblet, Quoridor and Danger Noodle!

BrainyActs - Day 6 (June 18) : Extended Day Fun: Trapped Puzzle Room - What a great day!.

So thankful the weather cooperated so we could enjoy some time at the park after we completed the puzzle room.

They gravitated toward the one slide that had the mud puddle at the end!

BrainyActs 2024

BrainyActs - Day 5 (June 17) : Students learned about the Navajo Code Talkers. In addition, their new cipher was a transposition cipher. They had a chance to decode text and encode text.

Students learned how to play chess today. For the beginners, they play a series of mini games which helps them learn how to move the different pieces.

BrainyActs - Day 4 (June 14) : Students learned another substitution cipher called the PigPen Cipher.

Today we did our first full in-house breakout activity. Students had 5 different locks to open based on a variety of puzzles. Prior to the start of this puzzle, they did a team challenge! They really got into the challenge, so we will do Chess next week.

BrainyActs - Day 3 (June 13) : Students learned a new cipher called the Atbash Cipher.

Using the program, Breakout EDU, students helped the Aliens get back to their ship.

Pente, based off of an ancient game called Go, was our new game today.

BrainyActs - Day 2 (June 12): Today students learned how to play the game Othello. After they tried it, they could then choose between playing Othello and Mancala.

The students also learned how to work the key lock, the 4 digit lock and the direction lock. They did a great job of unraveling the puzzles to figure out the codes. On Friday, they will have their first full Puzzle Room to solve.

We also did more work with the Caesar Cipher.

BrainyActs - Day 1 (June 11): A great first day! Students learned how to play the ancient stone game called Mancala. The word mancala is a generic name for this type of "count and capture" game and stems from the Arabic word which means "to move". It is believed that the game originated in Africa. Examples of this game have been found in Egyptian ruins dated from 1400 BCE. (Source: The University of Maine)

The students learned how to work the 3-digit lock and the word lock. They had a challenging puzzle to unravel to figure out the codes.

The students also learned about famous Polymaths and their first cipher.

May 21, 2024: Hello and welcome to Project Seek - BrainyActs! Are you ready to have your brain tangled? I am looking forward to our journey together as we explore a variety of puzzles, games, brain teasers, riddles, and mind-benders.

Our 12 days together will be very busy with a variety of fun activities and challenges.

Students are asked to come each day with a positive attitude and a growth mindset!! Some puzzles will be easy; but many will be challenging.

There are no supplies that you need to bring for the class. I will be providing a folder, a notebook and a pencil for all students.

I am excited to meet each one of you and look forward to spending time together engaging in a variety of Brainy-Acts! Mrs. Blake

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