Friday, November 20, 2009

If success is measured by learning opportunities

Geography challenge #2 was, if nothing else, fun. I love that the most ordinary activities become exciting with children.

I let each girl pick a destination. My 6 year old routed us from our pick up spot to the "transfer circle". From there she guided us onto our next bus and pulled the bell when our stop was announced. When we reached our destination she looked up at me and said, "Thanks for planning this."

My 8 year old was also able to reach her chosen destination, but it took a little more work. She did not need to switch buses, but she really wanted to. After two attempts at navigating a bus transfer she agreed to stay on the main line and get off at the stop closest to her goal, the library. The ride back to the car went more smoothly.

I would like to repeat this activity. I think that I would be able to tweak it as they get older. Superimpose latitude and longitude type lines on the bus map, give the destinations in the form of coordinates. Also, it would be fun to ask them to be the tour guide for our town and have them plan a tour using the bus system. That idea would focus more on social studies and language arts.

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