The Sky Is the Limit Learning

When you ask a child what they are thinking you can get a wide array of answers. Some children will respond "not much", others might list a few items that come to mind while still others may list a massive amount of thoughts that are going through their heads. Above is a photo that was drawn by a nine-year-old girl in response to, "what are you thinking?" She was given 20 minutes to draw a picture of what thoughts came to her mind. When I look at this picture I can't help but smile as it is full of creativity and imagination simultaneously sprinkled with loads of color and energy. That is the mind of a child that has been given the freedom to explore their thoughts, reflect on their thoughts and let the mind go on an amazing journey.  We are all on a learning journey and when learning is approached as a never-ending journey with infinite possibilities it becomes deeper and more meaningful.  With purposeful learning knowledge sticks and creativity flourishes

Math and Fractions great youtube video I thought I would share along with a Mindshift article to get you thinking. Math as Language What Neuroscience Can Tell Us About Making Fractions Stick

I have been reading several articles lately emphasizing the importance of executive function, (link to one such article from Edutopia https://www.edutopia.org/article/executive-skills-struggling-reader-kelly-cartwright?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow ) Executive function is ones ability to sequence events prioritize and act on decisions to get to foreseen or expected results. Executive function can be broken down into more detailed bits but the outcome is; one has the focus and control to stick with a problem and work through the details to solve a problem and/or successfully implement knowledge and strategies. Improving executive function by improving ones ability to focus has been a very effective strategy when tackling issues for student’s stuggling with reading and other academic and social issues. It is my experience that when learners are better able to focus they are better able to successfully move through tasks requiring the use of their executive functioning.