Ready to dive into the new year with Early Enrichment?

Let’s learn all about the Olympics!

Once every four years countries put together teams of  the best athletes  to compete for a gold, silver, or bronze medals. During the summer olympics, athletes compete in wrestling, weightlifting, volleyball, track, tennis, swimming, gymnastics, and many more sports.

Read about the sports that are part of the Olympics at Wonderopolis.

Read more about the Olympics at Britannica 

If you were to be an olympic athlete, what sport would you want to compete in?

Comment Below!

On May 3, the 25th and final book in the “Elephant & Piggie” series goes on sale. In “The Thank You Book,” Gerald (the elephant) and his pal Piggie thank everyone they know, but not before embarking on one more endearing experience.

–Mia Geiger, Washington Post

Elephant and Piggie books, by Mo Willems have been children’s favorites since they were first published in 2007. Since then, Willems has published 25 adventures with the beloved characters. The final book, The Thank You Book, was released on May 3rd, 2016.

Image Source

To celebrate the Elephant and Piggie books, check out the Thank-O-Rama Website. You can create a thank you for someone special, learn how to draw Piggie, make puppets, and color.

Mo Willem’s Thank – O – Rama

Also try:

1. Elephant and Piggie Mad Libs 
2. Create your own Elephant and Piggie Story 

Before you go, comment below and share your favorite Elephant and Piggie book or memory! 

Our school district is going through a lot of changes, and classrooms will begin to look very different over the next few years. Have you ever imagined your classroom looking different?

Would you have cool seating in your classroom?

Image Source A       Image Source B

What about a place to create?

Image Source C

How will you showcase your learning?

Image Source D

Are you like me, and like quiet areas to read?

 Image Source E

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Here’s your chance to become an architect and design your new learning space. 

Design your dream classroom or learning space. Grab a poster and other materials to create your new learning space. You can add whatever features you think would help your learning, but make sure to include  the following:

(1) A place to collaborate or work with your classmates

(2) A area to create and make things 

(3) A space to showcase your learning

(4) A quiet area to work and read

Share your designs with your EY Coordinator.

We will post the top designs on our Student Showcase!

I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X

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 I just counted to ten can you believe it?! It doesn’t look like I did, because they are letters,  but long ago that is how numbers looked liked. Number like that have a special name,

Roman Numerals 

We don’t use Roman Numerals often, but you can find them on clocks, in books, and even at the super bowl each year. 

Can you figure out your birthday in Roman Numerals? Here is an example:

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809. That is the same as 2/12/1809

2 = II                           12 = XII

(1809 = 1000 + 800 + 9)                           1000 = M                           800 = D C C C                           9 = IX

II – XII – MDCCCIX

Comment below with your birthday!

This week we are going far, far away.

To get there you will be traveling almost 6,500 miles! It would take you at least 18 hours to fly there. Which continent are we visiting? Check out these photos to see if you can figure it out.

Welcome to Asia 

 

More on China:

Modern day China was formed after World War II, and it is the country with the biggest population in the world. There are over 1.3 billion people that live in the country! The capital of China is Beijing (bay-jing), but it’s largest city is Shanghai (shang-hi). To learn more interesting facts about China, check out National Geographic Kids’ country profile and try the activities below.

(1) Learn to count to 10 in Mandarin Chinese— Watch the video and share with friends

(2) Make your own Chinese Abacus—  (Chinese calculating instrument, also called Swan-Pan.)

(3) Chinese Tangrams— Cut out shapes and to create different images

Do you have what it takes to be a math olympiad?

Try these math challenges to find out! 

(1) How many squares and triangles are there in the following drawing?

(2) Draw the following shapes in one stroke without lifting the pencil and without retracing the same line.

(3) Sam lives in an apartment building. There are 3 levels above her and 2 levels below her. How many levels are there in the building?

(4) What do the following letters have in common?

Y M A O T U V X

(5) There are 2 rings and 6 triangles. Move the rings and triangles so that each ring has 4 triangles in them.

(6)  Alphabet Spaghetti Puzzle

Spaghetti is famous for the way it all gets tangled up on the plate. Those of you who think they know their alphabet are bound to get all tangled up with this puzzle too, unless you read it and think about it very carefully!

What letter of the alphabet is the one which comes eight letters before the letter which comes five letters after the fourth appearance of the first letter to occur four times in this sentence?

Comment Below with your answers!

Questions from Math Top 10 and Math is Fun

This week we are traveling to visit one of the largest cities in the world, 

London, England! 

England is a part of Great Britain or the United Kingdom, and makes up the southern half. You can see it below in Yellow. Can you believe London, England is 4,287 mi away from Omaha, Nebraska. To get there you would have to take at least two different planes!

Checkout these activities about London, England: 

1. Read more about England
2. Build your own London Bridge  
3. Learn to draw Big Ben 
4. Design an English castle and try to include at least 5 different shapes!

Share what you learned below or with your EY Coordinator!

Pi

Not, Pie, but Pi! Have you ever heard about it?

Pi is the 16th letter in the Greek Alphabet, and it is also a math symbol used with circles.

Pi equals the circumference divided by the diameter (π = c/d). The interesting this about pi is that mathematicians who have been working on this number believe that it is infinite, meaning that it’s not the quotient of two integers. In other words, the number pi goes on and on and on, and we don’t know where it ends!

Today, March 14th or 3/14 is celebrated around the world as Pi Day! 

Try out this fun Pi Day Early Enrichment activity below. Watch this video about the never ending number and download the Pi Day Grid Art!

Pi Day Grid Art 

Share your artwork with your EY Coordinator!

** Project adapted from Tinkerlab.com

This week, the happiest place on earth, Disneyland, celebrated its 60th birthday!

They planned a huge celebration full of musicians, artists, and sneak peeks

Checkout behind the scenes of Disneyland’s 60th Anniversary Celebration

Can you imagine how much work has gone into making the happiest place on earth? Especially when designing all of fun rides? Like this one:

Roller coasters take a lot of planning, and there are people that have jobs to create new rides. Isn’t that awesome? You could have a job designing roller coasters when you grow up!

Before you can design a roller coaster, you will need to know a little bit more about the different types of energy required. Click here to see how the two types of energy help a roller coaster move. (may require flash, for additional resource: click here).

What two types of energy are there in a roller coaster?

Potential and Kinetic Energy

Try and design your own roller coaster on a piece of paper. If you can, mark down where there will be Potential Energy and Kinetic Energy. Share your designs with your EY Coordinator!

Have you ever been on a trip and wondered…

Are we there yet?!

Traveling  to a new place can take a long time, a lot a planning, and cost a lot of money. What if you could take a trip from the comfort of your seat? What if you could take out the question “are we there yet?” by taking a virtual fieldtrip?

Starting this week, each month Early Enrichment will take you on a virtual field trip to visit places all around the world. You will be able to see the places, read about them, and learn about their culture.

This week we are traveling to visit the ancient pyramids in 

Mexico!Checkout these activities about the Mayan Culture : 

(1) Engineering Pyramids 

(2) Mayan Mathematics

(3) Mayan Culture