Gifted Hands

Did you love the movie?  I've seen it numerous times and every single time I'm inspired!  (And, shh... every time I watch it, I cry.)  I love Mrs. Carson and how hard she worked, inspiring her children to greatness, despite her lack of education.  I love that she worked to better herself, and didn't settle.  I love that Dr. Carson repeatedly turned to Heavenly Father in prayer, when he knew he didn't have the answers... personally and professionally.

Have you memorized the Characteristics of a Scientist (one of the requirements for earning your Prism)?  I asked you yesterday to pick which one was your favorite to see Dr. Carson exemplify. Make sure you respond to the blog and tell me which one and why!  Here, I'll help you out :)
1. Notice Patterns
2. Wonder
3. Challenge Assumptions
4. Ask the Right Question
5. Have the Heart of a Scientist
6. Embrace Failure and learn from it
7. Read Original Works
8. Whole, not just specialized
9. Make Judgement based on reason, historical & personal experience and revelation (a-ha moments!)

I hope you all have a great Christmas, and enjoy your (almost) month off from Pyramid Project. But remember that January 8th is our next class, book discussion on Inteligro Math, and presentations by Trey, Eric and Adam (?).   *PLEASE NOTE*: One thing we didn't get a chance to talk about because of the shorter schedule this week is that in addition to the book discussion and presentations is that we'll be having a Core Book Exam.  Please bring your Core Book to class to take a one hour exam annotating a chapter of your choice for truth, equations, patterns and lines of logic.

The last day of the semester, final exam (and final day for EVERYTHING due to earn your Prism) is Jan 15th.  That evening is our Parent night/Science Fair.  During class that day, we'll have a math test.  But here's the kicker... you get to write the test.  Each of you is doing math at your own level.  If you're using a program with exams as part of a text book, you could bring that.  But a better option is to write the test ahead of time and bring it with you.  That sounds a little funny, but writing a test can actually be a really great way to learn and review what you've been studying.  You can also bring food to share... and ease any stress of taking a math exam in class.  This exam is more about reaching the goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the year.  Review those and see if you can meet those by next month.

Merry Christmas!  See you in January!

Check out this cool video, and all her "I wonders!"  http://www.sun-gazing.com/physics-girl-unique-crazy-pool-vortex/ I love learning new things like this!

Did you enjoy our field trip?  Did it inspire you to do something different?  Ask new questions?  Did you notice any patterns?

How are you coming with your Prism requirements?  Just a few more weeks until they need to all be done.  Have you done some fun experiments recently (everyone needs to have done at least 4)?  Why don't you respond to this post and tell us about some of them?  Please take a few minutes and look through all the requirements listed in your Pyramid binder, then get going on any that you still need to finish up.

January 15th is our Parent Night/Science Fair.  What will you be sharing with us?  Get crackin'!

Seriously guys, I love this class!  I love learning these things and having all of you in class with Sis. Ottosen and I.  I know that some of the things we talk about or ask of you are a little out of your comfort zone.  But you are great, and I'm excited to see you all earn your prism and share a little of what you've learned this year.

The Heart of a Scientist

Hey Fabulous scholars,
we have an extra week before our next class, lets jump right on things and do any catch-up we should do or <gasp> get ahead. Take some time to analyze what you've done, and figure out what still needs to be done and your plan for doing it. I'm already starting to think of next semester, and it is very exciting!

Flatland related comment: we are NOT STUCK seeing things as we've always seen them. Or being how we've always been. If we do not naturally have the perseverance/heart of a scientist to keep trying things over and over, changing something to see if that has an effect and then going back to the drawing board as necessary, or any other Habit of a Scientist, we can develop it when we understand the principle and conscientiously apply it in our lives.

links to the Chladni figure videos that we watched in class
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tliBfYdddhU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yaqUI4b974

Assignments:

A. Habits: Core book studies, math lesson, write daily in log book

B. Read Inteligro Math & do exercises therein, due Jan 8

C. Permission slip for field trip: completed and signed by a parent

D. Skill Focus: Care/Grow your own Heart of a Scientist. We practiced visualizing who and what we most care about that might help us have the Heart of a scientist. You could continue to ponder this and/or write them down. What are you passionate about?

E. Presentations: Trey & Jared if we have time

I noticed a pattern yesterday: everyone has been here every day of class! And now we will all be absent next week...awww. Have a wonderful, warm, loving, full of gratitude Thanksgiving:-)

Physical Creation

I checked and indeed, the rabies vaccine was made from weakened virus. The rabies was weakened by drying out infected tissue.

RE: Pyramid Project 1st and second semester rewards: You were right, you guys/gal are already awesome! I am so impressed with each one of you...your character, personality, skills and talents, knowledge and eagerness to learn more and to BECOME more, and general awesomeness:-)
What I really meant was that although you are definitely above the general cut for your age; in the immortal words of Mufasa "You are more than what you have become". You ARE wonderful, AND have the potential to be even more. 2nd semester you have the opportunity to work harder and become more, not because of a really cool sparkly carrot, but purely for the joy and self-satisfaction of Becoming More (the internal really cool sparkly carrot;-). We'll get there, but first lets grab hold of what 1st semester has to offer!

Assignments:
the growth inspiring habits that you have hopefully formed and/or are cementing in:
-Core book study
-math lessons
-daily log book entries

Presentations:
at bat this week: Eric

on deck for the following week: Jared

Challenge
set the timer and spend 15 minutes in quiet contemplation/mediation on a problem in your life that you'd like solved...And then ACT on it (you didn't really want to hang on to those problems, right?!) Physically create the systems or actions that will help you solve the problem.

act on SayGoBeDo's that you get (we'd love to hear about them, so feel free to write them down)

Spiritual Creation

First off, in case there's some confusion, our next book is Flatland by Edwin Abbott.  It's readily available at the library and on Amazon.  Here it is for just $2.70 with Amazon Prime: http://www.amazon.com/Flatland-Romance-Dimensions-Thrift-Editions/dp/048627263X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1415043135&sr=1-1&keywords=flatland

Our discussion on The Phantom Tollbooth was interesting.  I think some of you didn't enjoy it quite as much as I did.  But remember, being playful and looking at the world in a different way than you've always done, can yield some wonderful results!

Are you getting all your requirements for the Prism done?  I've looked over the poster and see some holes for some of you.  They're all in the front of your binders.  PLEASE look them over and see where you're at and what you need to do.  How many lecture notes, I Wonders, Patterns, experiments, books and so forth are you finished with?  We're 2/3 of the way through this semester, and I really don't want time to get away from you.

So, that brings us to spiritual creation.  Everything we make or do, was created first in our minds.  We can be efficient and purposeful by really thinking through our plans and writing them down.  We draft blueprints before building a house, we sketch out a pattern before creating a quilt, and adding structure to our days by actively using a planner can help us keep on top of what we want to learn and accomplish.  Do you use a planner?  Have you thought about (and written) what your goals are, for Pyramid Project, for the school year, for the next five years, and more? 

I sure love this class!  I hope you feel a little more like a scientist each week... even if it's in something traditionally considered un-scientific, like creating art, composing music or writing a story.

Will you get the right answer only if you ask the right question?

Actually, every once in a while we do get the right answer when we've asked the wrong question. That is a pretty haphazard way to go through life and science though! We are astronomically more likely to get the right answer by asking the right question. If you want to solve problems: ask lots of questions and use your spiritual eyes to name the real problem (see what others have missed, notice patterns, notice symptoms of the problem, ask what the real problem is/listen, ponder, think, meditate, <pray> /identify the real problem, name the real problem and arrange in the form of a question) and then ask that Right Question! When you get your I Wonders this week, try to focus on asking the right Question!

Assignments:

      Habits

             1) Core Book Study

              2) Math lessons

              3) Write daily in log book

       Skill Focus: Ask the Right Question

We are discussing Phantom Tollbooth next week. The discussion is much more lively, meaningful and personally relevant if you have read the book! Do your best to read it through and have questions and insights written down to bring to class. I thought it was a pretty funny read:-) I can't believe I've never read it before now!

Presentations:

at bat this week: Adam

on deck for the following week: Joshua

Ok, this is a last minute update from last week, with class again tomorrow.  I was in charge of our Young Women in Excellence program this evening and my focus was on that all week.  But the interesting thing is that while I was thinking of the program and my talk, I kept coming back to Pyramid Project.  I wrote in my commonplace book.  I used my 1828 Webster's Dictionary.  I annotated scriptures.  I love what I've learned in Pyramid and hope you do, too!  Oh, by the way, our YWiE theme was Light.  And I even had a couple I Wonders in that process.

Last week, we talked about assumptions.  Did you pay attention to the assumptions made by people around you this week?  How about in your reading?  Did you think about your own assumptions, whether it was during a conversation, while watching a movie or in writing a paper?

How are your experiments, logbooks and core book studies coming?  Who is ready to share some some of their annotations from your Core Book?

Oh, and isn't The Phantom Tollbooth a fun book?  Remember we're discussing it next week, so be sure to get through it soon.

I sure love Pyramid Project!  Even though I've taught it before, I still learn things from it every week... whether I'm teaching or not.  I hope you feel the same!!

I wonder... a lot of things!

Hello Fabulous Scholars!
Hopefully we primed the pump with our game of 'I Wonder' hot potato, and you are paying attention to and writing down all those I Wonders you are having. Its amazing how many 'I Wonders' are discounted and lost because people are used to ignoring and/or discounting them. Can you imagine the great world we would be living in if good people pursued more of their I Wonders?!

Assignments:

      A. Read: Phantom Tollbooth, due week 8 (October 30)

      B. Habits:

           a. Core book studies

           b. Math lessons

           c. Write daily in Log book

      C. Skill Focus: Being curious

Presentations:
at bat this week: Jared

on deck for the following week: Trey

seeking truth

Hello Fabulous and Fun Scholars! Last week sure was fun! My favorite part was the egg drop structure building. It appeared everyone did a great job of embracing failure when an egg broke, in fact that made it all the more lively! I enjoyed seeing everyone searching for patterns and relevance in the 'What book am I thinking of?' game...your brains were in overdrive! Hopefully you continued diligently and consciously seeking out and evaluating truth.

Assignments:

     A. Habits

            a) Core book studies

            b) math lessons

            c) write daily in log book

     B. Skill focus: look for Truth

For anyone who has been reticent to share prisms/insights in class, it might be especially helpful to write down several observations and choose your favorite one ahead of time that you'd like to share. Commit, do and grow:-)

 

Hope to see you all Thursday

p.s. Not to name anyone specifically or anything;-) but if your last name is Prestegard, please reply to this post to let us know that you are subscribed to these blog posts

Patterns, patterns, everywhere

Hey fabulous scholars!  Are you looking for patterns?  And journaling them in your logbooks?  Have you paid more attention to your particular learning style this week?  Did you share your learning style with your parents?  How are your math and Core Book studies coming?  Remember that the first thing we'll do in class every week is our Prism-ing... sharing the patterns we've noticed and insights we've had during our more in-depth Core Book studies, telling about any experiments you've done, sharing from our Commonplace Books, if you'd like, and logging our progress on our Inteligro Award goals. Making it a habit to log your insights in your logbook and/or Commonplace book, and even just carrying your Commonplace book with you, will help you with this and can become a life-long part of your personal education.

We mentioned briefly that we'll have a science fair at the end of the semester (in conjunction with Parent Night).  Have you picked a topic/experiment/presentation idea?  Have you done any other great experiments you'd like to share with us in class (for one of your required 4)?

Remember also, this Thursday will be week 3, and our String, Straightedge and Shadow book discussion will be week 5.  Hope you're enjoying it!

Week 1

Hey everyone, today was great!

Before anything else, I'd like to ask one of you to switch with Alina for presentation on Sept 25th.  By default she got the first 2 weeks of the semester.  Come on, be brave!

Also, would each of you respond comment on this blogpost ASAP, so I know you're all subscribed and seeing it?  Thanks!

Here's a list of the dates everyone signed up, in case you forgot to write it down:

Sept 18--Alina

Sept 25--Alina

Oct 2--Adam

Oct 9--Joshua

Oct 16--Jared

Oct 23--Trey

Oct 30--Adam

Nov 6--Joshua

Nov 13--Eric

Nov 20--Jared

Dec 4--Trey

Dec 11--Eric

Remember to finish filling out your Goal Sheet and School Tips and have them signed by a parent.  Then start/continue your Core Book study (annotating) and math work... and log when you did them.  String, Straightedge and Shadow is due Oct 9th.

Thanks everyone for a great week!  I really enjoyed your insights and thoughts and look forward to getting to know you even more.

Getting ready for the first week of Pyramid

I'm looking forward to our upcoming first class, next Thursday! 

 

Have you all been reading (and ENJOYING) Carry On, Mr. Bowditch?  Have you thought about how you might take a little more control/responsibility for your education?  I thought he was so inspiring!

 

Please remember to bring your Pyramid binder, your copy of the book, and a notebook.  Taking good notes will be important this year, and we'll talk about it in class.

 

Also, if you haven't started a Commonplace book, think about finding something you'd like to keep that in.  You don't have to have it by this first week, but it'll be important.  Without knowing the name/concept of "Commonplace book," I've actually kept a sort of one for over 20 years.  Mine have been in the backs of my journals.  It doesn't have to be fancy or expensive, it could be a simple notebook, sketchbook or journal (most of my journals have cost less than $5 and many were simply steno notebooks).  I've actually found a new system (Arc by Staples) that I'm excited about, because it looks nice, works like a smallish journal, but I can still move pages around and reorganize as the need/fancy strikes me. Look around and think about what would work well for you.  I'm sure Nathaniel's notebooks weren't fancy.

 

 

Test R