Learning Opportunities | Westside Excellence in Youth

Spring is in the air! Learn all about the blooming power of flowers and then do a hands-on activity creating a blooming flower and card to give to someone special.

Step 1: Watch this Mystery Science video about how flowers bloom.

Step 2: Gather needed materials to complete the activity.

Crayons
Scissors
Dot Stickers or Tape
Plastic Paper Plate or Bowl

Step 3: In this activity, you will make a colorful paper flower and a greeting card that they can give to any special person in their life. When placed in water, the paper flower will unfold, appearing to move and bloom in front of your eyes! You may want to use this as a Mother’s Day activity, but you choose who will receive the card, so it can be for anyone special.

Click on the image below to print template and view step-by-step instructions.

Once your flowers are complete, place them in water to watch them bloom!

Extension: You can see for yourself how water moves inside a plant. Fill a glass with water and add a few drops of red or blue food coloring. Place a white flower in the glass. Wait a few hours and watch to see what happens. Look closely at the flower petals. What do you notice? Repeat this experiment, but use a stalk of celery or a lettuce leaf. What do you predict will happen?

π Day 2023

Pi is one the most studied numbers in mathematics and on March 14 (or 3/14), we celebrate Pi Day because 3.14 are the first digits of pi.

Post a comment about something new you learned!

Ancient cities were often built around a fortress on top of a hill. When a city spread to the area below, the high part came to be called the acropolis, which means “city at the top” in Greek. The best-known acropolis is in Athens, Greece. It was designated a World Heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1987.

The buildings of the Athens Acropolis were made mostly of white marble. Parts of some of the buildings, including a temple called the Erechtheum, are still standing today. The Erechtheum had a porch with marble columns in the shape of female figures.

The most famous surviving building is the Parthenon. The Parthenon was built almost 2,500 years ago and was dedicated to the goddess, Athena. Athens was later ruled by Christians who made the Parthenon a church. In the 1400s, Turkish forces took control of the Acropolis and made the Parthenon an Islamic mosque. In 1687, during a war, some gunpowder stored there exploded, destroying the middle of the building.

You can take a virtual field trip to the amazingly historic place! Click the link below to explore parts of all of The Acropolis! Click “Begin” and then note the color coding to click on your chosen spot on the map. Click “go” and have a look around! Make sure to read the descriptions and learn all about this awesome place without actually going there yourself!

https://www.acropolisvirtualtour.gr/

Source: https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/Acropolis/351394#:~:text=Ancient%20cities%20were%20often%20built,acropolis%20is%20in%20Athens%2C%20Greece.

These 3 “cool” websites with some awesome ice inventions!

For this STEAM Mini Spark, check out the 3 websites listed below. Each one has a video and some information to read.

For each website/video, write down:

3 new things you learned

2 things you wonder

1 question you have

Check out this number game to solve and then challenge yourself to explain your math thinking.

Grab scratch paper

Set timer for 5 min

Go to The Mind Reader website created by Transum and follow the instructions

Record all of your math step by step on your paper

Look for patterns

Brainstorm on possible reasons why The Mind Reader is able to predict your symbol every time.

At the end of the 5 minutes, write a several sentences about how you think this game works.

lesson adapted from https://www.transum.org/Maths/Investigation/Mind_Reader/ and Yummy math

Spring is in the air! Learn all about the blooming power of flowers and then do a hands-on activity creating a blooming flower and card to give to someone special.

Did you hear that Scooter’s Coffee broke the Guinness World Record for the largest cake pop?! This mini spark will give you the opportunity to learn more, explore spheres, and maybe even make your own cake pops!

Activity choices for this math mini spark

π Day 2023

Pi is one the most studied numbers in mathematics and on March 14 (or 3/14), we celebrate Pi Day because 3.14 are the first digits of pi.

On this Pi Day 2023, learn about 18 ways that NASA uses Pi! https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/learn/list/oh-the-places-we-go-18-ways-nasa-uses-pi/

Learn about other interesting Pi Facts at https://www.piday.org/pi-facts/

Post a comment about something new you learned!

Alright Stop! Collaborate and visit…

These 3 “cool” websites with some awesome ice inventions!

For this STEAM Mini Spark, check out the 3 websites listed below. Each one has a video and some information to read.

For each website/video, write down:

3 new things you learned

2 things you wonder

1 question you have

This writing contests is simple! Pick an integer and write a 100 word mini-saga. That’s it!

INTEGER:

Could you finish one of these story starters?

Use one of the story starters above or think of your own! Hurry! Entries are Due Feb. 24. For help in submitting your writing, contact the EY Coordinator at your building.

Check out this number game to solve and then challenge yourself to explain your math thinking.

Grab scratch paper

Set timer for 5 min

Go to The Mind Reader website created by Transum and follow the instructions

Record all of your math step by step on your paper

Look for patterns

Brainstorm on possible reasons why The Mind Reader is able to predict your symbol every time.

At the end of the 5 minutes, write a several sentences about how you think this game works.

lesson adapted from https://www.transum.org/Maths/Investigation/Mind_Reader/ and Yummy math

Which era or person will get your creativity flowing? Watch the video above and get inspired to write with history!

Take the excitement of history and mix it with your imagination to create ancient adventures!

From discovering a pharaoh’s tomb, or a soldier in the trenches, to being a president or an explorer it’s a great way to tie in creative writing with history to have a bit of fun, and to create an original short story.

Write your mini-saga on GOOGLE DOCS and then share it with your school’s EY teacher. Share your doc by MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20TH!!

Use THIS LINK to download a graphic organizer to help you get started!

Click HERE and HERE for more information!

We can’t wait to read your stories! Good luck!