Luge

This week students in the Erma Stephenson learning commons were given a challenge after watching this "Inside the Action" video from The New York Times about luge.   Show how luge athletes position themselves on a sled.

 Chloe and Kaya are showing the correct foot position--pointed so the air flows over the body.

 Kayla is checking Eddie's head position.  It looks great--just high enough so he can see the track but not too high to cause a lot of wind resistance.  His legs are lifted so they wouldn't be dragging on the ground.  What team work!

Try it at home!  You will be surprised at how much core strength is needed to lift your legs and head!

Big Boxes - What happened?

When the office got new furniture, the learning commons got 3 big boxes:

 

How many kids can fit in a teepee?

A box on its side can be a quiet reading cave 

or on its side it's a perfect boat for four!

Big kids want to play too!  

Ready to be shipped to an exotic location?

The kindergarteners wanted to decorate the outside of the box.

There was a serious discussion about how big to make the eyes, what colour they should be and where to put them on the bus.  All of a sudden something else became more important than the eyes.

Unifix Cubes - What happened?

No directions....just linking cubes on a table.....

"Look at this helicopter I made!"

Some intermediate students wanted to send this message:

 

I was having a hard time sticking the cubes together to make the  letter S.  A boy suggested I place the letters on the table first to make the shape and then click the cubes together last.  
I found creating letters his way easier and faster.  

The learning commons is about everyone learning together.  
A good teacher-librarian can create situations 
where students are the teachers.  
Children need to see adults learning too.

A close up of the reindeer and sleigh:

Stamps - What happened?

I put out some stamps and paper so students could make a bookmark. What happened?

Students made bookmarks for their friends! Some of them didn't want to use the stamps because they had their own ideas.  Other children saw their ideas and added to them!