Unit Study:
We started some research on our U.N. Country of choice using CultureGram from Cobb Digital Library. The kids are beginning to find relevant information to learn about the strengths and weakness of their countries. The conversations generated through this research were insightful and filled with curiosity!
We also did an interesting simulation of the impact of poverty. It was called, "Stack the Deck" and involved two volunteers each with a deck of cards. One volunteer had a variety of obstacles to experience as the experience progressed, while the other experienced a variety of good fortune as we went on. For each situation, one volunteer gave up higher cards and received lower cards in return. The other volunteer gave up lower cards and received higher cards in return. At the end, each shuffled their decks and drew the top 4 cards. The points were added to get a total. This total was multiplied by 1,000 to determine each volunteer's annual salary. There was much outrage and discussion around how unfair this situation was. The kids definitely got the message about how deep the impact of poverty is and the importance of working toward it's elimination.
Affective Skills:
We continued our Mindfulness Practice with "Mindfulness Bells" and "Fear vs. Anxiety". The kids enjoyed both!
No HW this week
Until next time,
Dr. Kraeger