Weekend WOW ProjectsThese are photos taken at Thanksgiving Point at a fun exhibit and outside in the gardens. My son is bravely allowing a bee to come onto his finger which was walking around on my husband's hand for a while. An experience like this can really make a memory and spark something in a child. After this experience, it might be great to have a child read a book about bees or do some research about why a bee might not sting... If your child has found something that sparks their curiosity, I'd like to encourage them to go deeper by doing a WOW project. WOW is an acronym for "World of Wonder" and it fits in well with our class mission statement to "..explore the wild, wild world and get more curious!" WOW projects are meant to be a parent supervised effort. Also, there is a difference between show-n-tell and presenting a WOW project. Unlike the novelty of showing a new bracelet or stuffed animal, a WOW project must be more of an academic teaching moment for the student presenting to reinforce their learning process and to encourage curiosity beyond the usual curriculum for the students listening. Showing something received for a birthday is show-n-tell. Showing the art pieces the student made and put extended time into with the art kit received from a birthday may be a WOW project. This is now something that I can fit into an art lesson. Bringing rocks found in the yard might be a WOW project or a show-n-tell, depending on the research and effort and presentation a student can give that would have academic value, fulfilling our class mission statement. WOW projects need not be extraordinarily formal-- they do need to be purposeful. Models out of clay, mobiles, robots made from a kit in the mail, shoe-box habitats, favorite book reported on a video cast (like Reading Rainbow reviews), a tour of a chicken coup on video, playing an instrument, and so much more can make students express audibly, "Wow!" and "get more curious" about their world. Also, if your family goes on a trip, please make a short (1-3 minute) video or slide show for them to present to the class about what they saw and experienced.
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