Assignment # 3 : Lifehacks for Kids!

 Hello Gatun Room Students,


Happy Holidays all the way from Peru!

For this weeks assignment I will ask you to think about different lifehacks. A lifehack is a trick that makes a usual process in your life a lot easier. An example of a lifehack is using a toilet paper roll to create speakers!

Step 1 : Watch ¨"lifehacks for kids" on youtube. I'm sharing a few videos from the youtube channel, but I invite you to watch a few episodes and get some ideas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=26&v=xQK4yPsEJsQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DCPkkJSo4M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuPtht9xAfQ

Step 2: Select 4 lifehacks from the videos and attempt them during the week.

Step 3: Create your own lifehack notebook.  Give each lifehack a page and write the title, your materials, your procedure, draw a picture, and write whether YOU think it was helpful or NOT.

Step 4: Think about a lifehack that you want to create for others to use, or one that you have already created and would like to share. This could be as simple as using a toilet paper roll to collect string.

Step 5: Comment on the blog by typing the name of the lifehack you created, and bring your lifehack  notebook to class on January 11th to share with everyone!

Assignment #2: Create your own Holiday Board Game (Monday Dec. 21st 2015)

Dear Gatun Room Students,

I hope you enjoyed last weeks assignment!

This week, I want YOU to be creative and try to design your own board game, I hope that this will be an opportunity for you to use your ruler and some of your math skills! Keep in mind most board games have numbers or point systems.

1. Pick a Game Style -  I'm sure there are a lot of board games you might have played with family and friends (Monopoly? Risk? Clue?), you might even have some at home! Get some ideas!
This link provides a large list of board game https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_board_games. You could investigate one.

2. Look at some Ideas - In this video two kids describe how they created their own board game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QGSxy-72jg. Look through more videos and ideas.

In addition look at how this teacher uses an egg carton to play math games https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCGXEy4RM2g.

3. Write the Rules- every game has a set of rules. On a piece of paper write the rules to your future holiday board game ( Use first, second, third, also, finally, after, etc..) .

Some examples:

- Every player gets two turns
- First you roll the dice, and then you move your piece.
- If you get a 4, you must pick a card.


4. Design and Complete your Game- Find some materials at home, create cards, a board (using paper, colors, cardboard etc..), maybe use wrapping paper or holiday stickers. Does your game involve money and buying items? maybe you need to create a currency.

5. Send a Photo- Take a picture of your game and send it to maria@gamboaschool.org

6. Comment on the Blog- Write as a comment below this post the name of the game you created by Sunday Dec. 27th.

Assignment # 1 : Monday Dec.14th 2015

Dear Gatun Room Students,

I hope you are having a wonderful break so far!

This week in preparation for our January science project, I will ask you to work on your  basic understanding of the scientific method by designing your own science experiment.

Studying Chewing Gum....

Step 1: Watch the following video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NoFC-AokdE and enjoy!

Step 2: Do some research! What is chewing gum made of? Why is it so yummy and tasty?

Step 3: Come up with a research question (mom OR dad can help!) 

You could investigate which brand of chewing-gum has the longest lasting flavor? (Keep in mind young people have smaller teeth and the  flavor may last longer in their mouths) (maybe Test 5 to 6 brands? and use a stopwatch)

Or even take it a step further by investigating whether sugarless chewing gum lasts longer than the sugary kind?

 You may even keep it simple and ask individuals what type of –chewing-gum do they prefer?

Step 4:  Develop a Hypothesis ( What do you think the answer to your question is?)

Step 5: Write a list of materials you will need ( Please do include chewing gum).

Step 6:  Do your experiment!! and record the information you found. You may ask mom and dad to help you and use Microsoft excel (that would be great but not a requirement).

Step 7: Write a nice paragraph ( Yes at least 5 lines my friends!) on what you discovered.

Step 8: Answer the following question : If you could design your own experiment about something that you like what would it be? (Comment with your answer below by Sunday Dec. 20th.)

 

 

Please don't use this experiment as an excuse to eat A LOT of chewing gum, I´m sure you already know chewing gum is not always good for you!

 

My Favorite Color by Mila

Green is a cicada chirping at night,
green is a leaf on a summer day,
green is my life in my heart
I love green, green, green, green my favorite color
Moss is as green as grass, grass is green and so are sea urchins that live in the ocean blue
so now you know green is important too.
I love green.

Poem Blue By: Yago

Blue is the ocean where you swim, in the water that is fresh and clean...
Blue is the rain that bounces like a ball... Blue is the water that you drink like milk.
The fresh one that calms your-self down when you  run through the whole town...

Blue is the beautiful sky that shines with reflecting light..
 Blue Is the pool where you have fun with your friends and other people too....
 Blue is the color of the happiness that reflects in your face.....

Nibbles the Rabbit by Gwendolyn

Nice
Interesting
Busy
Bites sometimes
Lovely
Eats pencils
Sometimes

Blue is my favorite Color by Mahala

Blue is for the sky ,where the birds fly.
Blue is for the ocean ,where the fish swim.
Blue is for the night , and when I go to sleep I snuggle up tight.

How to make a table? by Gwendolyn

 Get a box. Then turn it upside down.After that, put something  amazing on it like an acorn or a table cloth. Then, put some food on it.  When you are done putting food on it, get a friend and enjoy your meal. You can use pillows as chairs.

How to make a secret hide out? by Mila

First, you find a nook and then you make it comfy . After that you have to put a door made out of pillows. You can also put macaroni and cheese. If you want, you can also put signs that say "please don't come in". You can make pictures to put inside. Finally, you have a secret comfy hide out.


 

How to play Agar.io? by Yago

First,you google the game called agar.io, the website is www.agar.io.
Second, if you have an account on Facebook you can login using the account. If you use Facebook you will start with a higher mass.
Third, you start playing the game. The game is basically about a ball that eats other colorful geometric shapes that move.
After a few minutes of eating those colorful shapes you will start eating other players. You can divide yourself using ''spacebar'' and eject some mass using ''w'' on your keyboard.
When you are big enough, you have to find a team. You first eject some mass to someone, if the other player sends you some mass back you have a team. If not don't give him more mass.
Finally, there is one last thing that I have to explain. If you find a big green spiky ball, BE CAREFUL!! When you are bigger than the spiky ball don't go inside, because it will split you in tiny pieces. However if you are smaller you can hide in it.

How can you build a little house? by Mahala

You will need a big piece of metal, four sticks of wood (the same size) and make sure they are a little tall. After that get four big size pieces of wood shaped like a square and on the forth piece of wood cut a rectangle in the middle for the door. Then get wood for the door, shape it and try to open it.  Immediatly after that put the four sticks of wood on the ground. Finally put the metal on the sticks of wood and put the four pieces of wood through the sticks of wood. And if you want you can decorate the house.

How to make yogurt. by Manuel

First, you get one liter of milk. Second, you heat up the milk. Third, before the milk gets too hot (so hot that it burns your fingers) you remove it from the heat.Then, you put a cup of yogurt in the milk and you mix it together. Lastly, you leave it in a warm room for 6 hours. When 6 hours have passed, you can put the yogurt in the fridge and eat it when it gets cold. Enjoy!

Our First Project : GDS Cartography!

 We go to school in a beautiful place called Gamboa. We decided to map the area. Some of us live here too, so we got to visit some of our houses.

First as a class we explored Gamboa. We divided Gamboa into different sections so that we could all be a part of the process. We each had a section to study.
Second, we colored our sections and recorded the house numbers and roads.
Third, we mapped out our sections on a piece of graph paper.
After that, we took a big board made of wood and glued a large piece of black felt.
As a group, we traced and made the roads. We used a different color so that we could all see the differences.
 We also traced the houses. The younger kids at the Gamboa Discovery School helped us by making the important buildings in our neighborhood. These included the fire station, our school, the Panama Canal, etc..
Lastly, we glued and labelled our map! We are very proud of our map and got to sign it!

We will meet Jorge Ventocilla and show him our map. He is the author of the Gamboa book. We can't wait!!

- Gatun Classroom

The Margay by Mahala

My name is Mahala, I am 8 years old and I'm going to be 9 in a few months. I wanted to do this animal because I love cats and the Margay is a type of cat. This animal is in a lot of danger.

The Margay has been seen in forest habitats, both deciduous and evergreen.
They have occasionally been spotted in shady cocoa or coffee plantations and riverine forests.
The Margay lives in different areas of Central and South America. They live in different places including Mexico, The Amazon Basin, Argentina, Uruguay, Belize and Brazil.
They eat squirrels, opossums, different kinds of birds, rats and three toed sloths.

The Margay by Mila

Hello, My name is Mila. I am 7 years old and I like the Margay because they are cute and because I like Ocelots.

The Margay (leopardus wiedii) is a small cat native to Central and South America. You can find them at BCI. The Margay is very similar to the larger Ocelot. This is because the Margay is mostly nocturnal and is naturally rare in the environment. They eat small mammals including monkeys and tree frogs!
It takes 80 days for a Margay to give birth and they usually have only one baby.

Ocelots by Nico

My name is Nico. I am 8 years old and I chose Ocelots because they are very interesting. They also live in Panama and I live in Panama.

Ocelots live in the forest and are never  found in fields. They have very sharp claws and eat snakes. They have a good sense of smell and people use their skin for coats.

Ghost Bats by Gwendolyn

I am Gwendolyn, daughter of Rachel. I chose Ghost Bats because they are so cute and because my mom studies them. I am 7 years old.

 Ghost Bats are bats. The ones I chose to study come from Australia but you can find another species of ghost bats in Panama. They can attack prey. Ghost Bats have long ears for long distance hearing. The females are generally smaller than the males. Ghost Bats are carnivores. They eat mice, small bats, birds, ants and insects. They live in caves most of the time. People have been mining the caves and that puts the bats in danger. Ghost Bats fly in the dark, and when they fly they look like ghosts! I love Ghost Bats!

Jaguars by Yago

Hello my name is Yago and I'm going to write about Jaguars. I want to know how they live and what they eat. I'm trying to learn a lot about them. I hope I can do my best researching them. I'm going to write very interesting facts, so we can all know more about them.


The scientific name for Jaguars is ''Panthera Onca''. They normally weigh between 120-220 lbs as adults. Their height is usually from 2.1-2.5 ft as adults.They have a lifespan of 12-15 years when they live in the wild. Their higher classification is the ''Panthera''. The gestation period for Jaguars is  93 to 105 days. In adult Jaguars, their body length ranges from 3.9 to 6.4 ft long.

.

The Red Tailed Squirrel by Manuel

Hi, my name is Manuel and I am from Spain. I like Tennis and I chose this animal
 because I like it a lot. I love the colors red tailed squirrel have.They are brown, red and orange.


The red tailed squirrel can run through little branches.The red tailed squirrel is a tree squirrel in the genus sciurus that comes from Central and South America. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama,Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. The red tailed squirrel has a big and a large tail.