Branching Out

Today we spent our outdoor time searching for tree branches of all shapes and sizes. Although the cold air cut our time short, we still made some pretty interesting finds on our branch quest. The children were well equipped with all five of their senses, as well as magnifying glasses in case they wanted to get a closer look at anything else that interested them. I always encourage them to use all of their senses to explore nature, not just vision. It was refreshing to observe them not just looking at the bark of the branches, but smelling and feeling it.

They were very perplexed by why these particular branches could not be pulled from the ground. This will definitely evolve into a new inquiry later on this month.

Yaaay!!! Finally some branches that we can collect!

A.F. was very intrigued by the texture and color of the bark on this branch.

K.K. enjoyed using the magnifier to check out the details on her branch.

T.T was very excited to see buds on his branch.

Our branch collection is all ready to be painted tomorrow.

Yoga Surprise

This week one of our yoga experiences was inspired by our Trees inquiry and the A Tree is a Plant book. After a picture walk and a visit to our "wonder window", there was a discussion about the movement of trees and what causes them to move. The wind, rain and other elements of weather were mentioned, as well as, different animals. I thought it would be fun to connect their thoughts with creative movement to keep the momentum going, so an impromptu yoga session was born!

We begin our yoga experiences on small cushioned squares to encourage the use of individual space (the children often associate the mats with tumbling). Body length mats will be used once the children are familiar with more yoga concepts, spatial awareness and self-control. Although the peaceful and meditative aspect of yoga has not been fully embraced by our "gifted minds", the energy and physical exertion involved inadvertently encourages them to relax and unwind afterwards. So it works!

We always begin yoga by "catching the sun."

The "tree" pose was a lot harder to do than it looked. I especially liked this one because it strengthens their balancing skills and ability to stand on one leg. It was fun to watch them figure out that their arms could be used to balance their bodies. 

The "cat" was really exciting to watch as the boys took the more aggressive approach. They weren't as enthused about the "kitty cat", they wanted to be ferocious lions.

The "monkey" position was also fun to watch as they re-enacted the arm movements and pretended to climb trees.

The boys were inspired to create their own yoga position. They named it the "tree ball".

Morning Joy

Today is Friday and I've had a week full of runny noses, tummy viruses and achy heads. Yet, the minds and spirits of our "gifted minds" remained resilient and full of unwavering joy, despite the fatigue and fevers. Often times, as adults, we lose sight of JOY, it's origin and it's staying power. As the weekend approaches, recall the simple things in life, recapture your childhood innocence and get a little "wacky" with your little ones.

This weekend, I challenge all of my parents to DANCE during your Home Extension Activity Time (H.E.A.T)! Yeah I said it.....DANCE! When you wake up Saturday morning (or when the kids wake you up lol) take 5 minutes to dance around the room to your favorite song. Put on some James Brown and scream, rock out to Red Hot Chili Peppers, pop lock to Run DMC, reminisce to LL Cool J or "drop it low" to Usher. Dancing invigorates the body, jump-starts the heart, warms up your muscles, forces you to laugh at yourself and makes you feel silly. Whatever inspires your entire family to laugh and smile is the key to your morning JOY! Sometimes the tone we set as parents in the morning will resonate for the remainder of the day. You will be surprised at how a wacky, fun-filled morning can encourage cooperative, helpful and mindful children. Be the change that you want to see!

Below is a link that is REQUIRED to complete your HEAT. Please be sure to watch the video on a large screen (ipad, computer, etc.) with the entire family. Although it is required, the purpose is to INSPIRE and jump-start the JOY I have been speaking of in this post. Participate, Create and Enjoy!

Home Extension Activity Time (H.E.A.T) Video

Happy Friday Gifted Minds Families! Don't forget to DANCE!

Inch by Inch

Today's book of choice was Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni. We've been digging deeper into our Trees inquiry and the illustrations of branches and leaves throughout the book peeked the children's interest. After taking a picture walk and reading the story during Morning Meeting, the children were inspired to use measuring tape to measure building blocks and our writing table. They were tickled to make the connection between the inchworm in the book with the inch found on the measuring tape.

All of the excitement about measuring lead to K.K wanting to build a bridge with building blocks for the inchworm to walk under. A.R joined her and the teamwork began. They both seemed to identify the size and strength of the bridge as too weak for a car or truck, yet they still tested it's ability to hold various objects at different heights.

A.F. decided to place chairs around the bridge to catch the towers if they fell.

During afternoon exploration, our 2's began weighing bears on the balance scale. Both K.H. and  K.K. were  intrigued with how difficult it was to load the scale with the bears already in the measuring containers.

Today our "Ponytail Palm" tree inspired drawings with colored pencils. K.H. experimented with different types of pencils to create circles (leaves) and lines (branches). 

Overdue and Overjoyed!

Welcome to the Gifted Minds Home Learning Academy blog! I am exhaling with both relief and first time blogger butterflies as I type the first post of many. I am Kaila J Gordon, Owner and Family Edu-Carer of Gifted Minds HLA. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, which is one of the contributing factors to this late night post and long overdue blog launch. So just know that I am overjoyed to be throwing my perfectionism to the wind and just going with my 11 hour work day, never ending mom and wife day, with a side of trying to lose 30 lbs and taking part-time continuing education classes flow! Whew! Now that you've had a peek into my window, follow me as I open the doors to the world of our "Gifted Minds."