LIFT Members Page: What we did in LIFT- January 8th 2009

January 8th 2009
First LIFT class!

The Sigma class went great this week! I am so excited about spending the rest of the semester working with all of your kids!

Part of the goal of the first class is to evaluate some of the needs, strengths, levels and dynamics of this class!

Here are some of the highlights of this week's experience...

SCIENCE:
We are practicing being scientists at LIFT! We are learning to ask questions, think outside the box, form hypothesizes and test them,
One of the things we did was to conduct our own blind study- ask the kids about it! Your resident scientists :-) might enjoy giving you a blind study at home!

ART HISTORY: We discussed the origins of Art back in biblical times, and created our own cave masterpieces (on the driveway) using natural paints and brushes which the kids made from materials in the yard! I think we have some aspiring artists in our midst!

MUSIC: We listened to several classical pieces of music and then we talked about what we liked/didn't like about them, discussed what emotion it portrayed, which ones were our favorite, and discovered that all the boys preferred Beethoven. Besides an awareness and understanding of classic music, I want them all to really appreciate the depth and beauty and timelessness of these great masterpieces!!!

We also played some phonics games to sharpen skills, fun science experiments, and had some good discussions!

FOLLOW UP:
If you would like to follow up on the things we have learned at lift here are some things to do at home.

With a fun obstacle course, we started learning Psalm 1:1- (NIV). We combined physical dexterity with hiding God's word in our hearts! Over the next weeks we will be memorizing ALL of psalm chapter 1.Review, discuss and look for ways to apply this verse with them all througout the week.

Help them to develop there scientific minds by asking open-ended questions, encouraging curiosity, and promoting imagination!

Encourage lots of imaginative play- with "basic" toys and supplies. This has the mega benefits of developing your child's mind and abilities rather than have a toy or a game that does the creativity, thought, and work of play itself! This also means lots of outside time as well!
Read - read - read - read!!!
Probably the very best thing you could do to increase their attention span and develop their minds for creativity, thought, and learning (in addition to tons of reading)- is to limit any electronic device in their lives as much as possible. The less electronic media - the greater the learning, creativity, imagination, and attention span.

SIGMA CLASS PROVED THIS WEEK LEARNING IS FUN TOGETHER!