You Play Too Much! ...Or Maybe Not Enough!

Our students are smart AND playful! The way it should be!

http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/07/gary-stager-tinkering-project-based-learning-sylvias-mini-maker-show/

Don't forget to click on Celebrating Piedmont for great photos and news of the weeks (including Ms. Davis and Ms. Marshall as models of love, our Science Olympiad team playing in Ohio, and Social Studies teachers having students play to learn!) 

When I was walking downstairs to the cafeteria (you know I love cafeteria lunch, right? If you haven't tried it, you should! Those ladies can cook and they put the love in, too!) I heard "You play too much!" from a girl who was chastising her friend for bothering her. We hear that a lot as teachers (and some of us say it) but it reminded me that in education, one thing I love about Piedmont is we do play a lot- and students learn more because of it!

Precicely because we are passionate about teaching, but we play at Piedmont: We play piano recitals, Lego League, Battle of the Books, academic competitions, Science Olympiad Games, sports... Some schools sit their students in desks all day long. They mistakenly believe that rigor is pushing a pencil, but at Piedmont, we know that rigor is pushing the envelope (Think a scavenger hunt on the field for EOG prep,  egg drops and smores in science class , Whirligig, and stop motion movies in combined class STEAM projects, stemball in World Language, Minecraft and living history in Social Studies (in 6th grade, 7th grade and 8th grades! , Angry Birds in math, etc )

One thing I admire about Piedmont teachers is how they have high standards but at the same time make learning fun, even playful.  Check here for info about how the 7th and 8th grade  teachers did that this week.  And check these old posts for a  few other ideas from 6th grade and WL.  If you want to know more about Gamification in ed check here.