Welcome Back to Brown (1/10/17)

Although my kids might disagree, I am SO EXCITED to be back at school! After spending three hours every week at Brown, it's hard to go a month without.

As you can see, Mrs. Sarenac and I have organized our supplies for the semester and come up with all sorts of activities we'd like to accomplish. Come spring, we'll get to spend some time outside exploring nature, and I cannot wait!

Stay tuned to see where 2017 takes us.

-A. Judge

Celebrate Success! (12/7/16)

Now that testing from last school year has been evaluated, we at Brown Elementary are ECSTATIC to announce that--brace yourself--our rating went from a D to a B! We are so inspired by the work these stellar students have done and want to do everything in our power to continue this progress.

I am so happy to be assisting in such an excellent endeavor as furthering the education of young people and also excited that I got to assist in making this display! Don't worry, you'll see science projects from my students displayed again soon--but for now, we just want to celebrate!

-A. Judge

New Vertebrate Discovery! (11/2/16)

Whoa! Our friends over at Brown Elementary have discovered all sorts of new vertebrate species (in their imaginations, at least). I absolutely LOVE when creativity is combined with science!

Third graders thought up their own new kind of vertebrates, which they molded using clay. First, however, they had to answer four questions:

What family does the vertebrate belong to (ex. mammal, amphibian, reptile)?

What is the vertebrate's name?

Where does the vertebrate live?

What kind of offspring does the vertebrate produce (ex. live, eggs)?

You and/or your kids can try this activity, too! You just need a piece of paper and some clay. Below are some helpful links to help get you started on learning all the things you might need to do to successfully complete this activity.

Learn about the different classifications within the animal kingdom: https://a-z-animals.com/reference/animal-classification/

Learn about how animals give birth to offspring in different ways: http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/classification/kc_classification_babies.htm

-A. Judge

Maker Space at Brown (10/19/16)

Here at Brown Elementary, we are happy to be kicking of the fall season with some new door decorations! Mrs. Sarenac and I have always aimed to create a space where kids can imagine and create, but now we are more explicitly calling our classroom a maker space. I can't wait to see what all the stellar students will make in this space over the next year!

-A. Judge

Kindergarten at Brown: Growth Mindset!

This semester, I'll be working with kindergarten classes at Brown Elementary every week in the STEM lab! To kick off the year, we talked about things we've done before that were hard at first and how we overcame them. Then we watched a really cool video about the "growth mindset," which is really important for learning in any subject! Remember to work hard and learn smart, students!

 

Balloon Propelled LEGO Cars at Brown Elementary

The students' task last week was to build LEGO cars and power them using balloons. We watched a few videos to get ideas about how other people engineered their cars, and then the fourth graders were off to the races!

This activity teaches kids' about Newton's third law of motion: "For every action there is an equal and opposite re-action." In this scenario, the initial action is air leaving the balloon, and the car's movement is the opposite re-action. If you watch the experiment in action (just follow the link at the end of the article), you'll notice that the direction in which the air escapes the balloon is in the opposite direction of the movement of the car. Keep that in mind in case you want to make your own and to make sure you understand the concept of Newton's third law of motion!

If you'd like to make your own LEGO car, follow the link below for inspiration, and then make sure to tap into your own engineering skills to make your car go faster and farther!

-A. Judge

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK1H0lzgI_0

LEGO Engineering Challenge

Since I was out sick last week and didn't want to pass it onto our students, you may be asking yourself "What's next in the world of STEM at Brown Elementary?" Well, besides the kids' ongoing projects, we have the LEGO Engineering Challenge coming up! Third and fourth graders will devise their own LEGO creations with a cool function, like the tiny computer screen you see on the right.

Mr. Darko has engineered some creative LEGO functions already, so these kids will have plenty of inspiration. In the STEM lab, we have a scale made from LEGOs, a virtual percussion instrument made from LEGOs, and motors made from LEGOs (are you seeing a pattern here?).

I can't wait to see the creative, useful ways in which these kids can use LEGOs. This is a prime example of how STEM is not just memorizing facts and using the same methods over and over; science, technology, engineering, and math are dynamic processes that allow for tons of creativity! With experiences like these, our kids at Brown will have the opportunity to grow up to be excellent thinkers and problem solvers.

I will be sure to keep you updated on the LEGO Engineering Challenge, and I hope that my colorful poster (and the mass appeal of anything to do with LEGOs) will draw lots of participants!

-A. Judge