Just Pencils and Paperclips

Put a handful of pencils and paperclips on the table.

The challenge is to make something -- anything. If it has articulated components that is even better!

Good luck.

Hook and Ladder Solutions

Congratulations to the only engineers brave enough to complete our challenge:

Boo and Zee.

You can read more about their solution here.

Here are some awesome pictures of some fantastic hook and ladders!







Ish joined in and did a marvelous job! Read more about his creation here: http://whatlittleboysdo.wordpress.com/2010/01/21/make-a-hook-and-ladder/

Hook and Ladder

The challenge:

Build a hook and ladder using the following materials --

a cereal box
2 toilet paper tubes
a handful of straws
a handful of toothpicks or paperclips (not both)
string
tape
2 pencils
2 index cards
a handful of pushpins

Good luck!

Lots of Clever Self-sufficient Fishermen(women) Out There!

Check out these fantastic fishing rods:

Congratulations to Josh and Jacob. You should be proud:






And here are some great pics from T. You can read about her solution here.







And, as always, Zee did a great job. You can read about his creation here.

Elevated Egg Solutions

Check out this solution by Zee, or Zeedini, the only one brave enough to submit his elevated egg picture! Magnfico! You should be proud for sticking with it!

Animated Animal Solutions

Check out this awesome animated animal that the Langdons created! I hope you are proud!

Gone Fishin'

Your challenge is to build a fishing rod with a reel using the following materials.

5 paperclips
a toilet paper roll or paper towel roll (not both)
6 feet of string
a stick or pole of your choice
5 inches of duck tape
a pin or a brad
an index card
a pencil
1 object of your choice (but if you use this option, you must leave out one from above)

Reel something in and send us your pictures!

Happy New Year!

Animated Animals

Your challenge is to create an animated animal using any/all of the following:

cereal and/or the box it came in
4 cans
spaghetti
marshmallows
table knives
gum
string

Good luck!

Elevate an Egg

Your challenge: raise an egg off the ground as high as possible using the following:

paperclips
a roll of pennies
4 pencils (be careful!)
2 spoons
2 forks


You can use a hard-boiled egg if you'd like, but it is more fun to use a raw one!

Houses of Cards Solutions

Check out these awesome houses by Pierce and Braden! Great job guys!

Oil Rig Solutions

Check out these fantabulous oil rigs! Congratulations Boo and Zee!



You can read more about their thinking process and see more pictures here.

House of Cards

This is a version of a challenge we've done earlier -- build a house of cards. The challenge is to use either a deck of cards or a stack of index cards to build a house. You may use paperclips in your construction but nothing else. Try to do it without paperclips -- or do it both ways and send in both pics.

Oil Rigs

Your challenge is to build an oil rig that will remain in the same location in a bed of water. It must be at least 24 inches tall and 12 inches wide. It must remain stable in at least 12 inches of water. If you want a real challenge, make sure that there is a working crane on the rig. Send your pics -- this is a hard one!

2 rolls of pennies
24 inches of string
a box of straws
2 forks
a spool
tape
a cereal box
4 sheets of paper
1 object of your choice

You may use other materials in construction, but not in the final project.

Tall Tower Solutions

Congratulations Luke and Noah on your tall tower of 23 inches! You should be proud!



Sebastian also did an amazing job! Hope you are also proud!





Bodhi also did a marvelous job with this challenge -- you should be proud!!!




The challenge is pretty hard if the toys you pick are soft! Check out the super work of Boo and Zee here. Hope you are proud of your successful Think!ing strategies!

Puppets Solutions

This one is harder than it appears!

Making puppets is challenging. Making them move is more challenging. Making them with these materials is even more challenging.

Congrats to Zee and Boo for doing an amazing job!



To read more about their solutions, visit Journey into Unschooling.

Tall Towers

Tell your student to select 10 toys. Do not tell why --

Once the toys are collected, tell the student to create the tallest tower possible using the 10 toys -- send in a pic, include your measurements. To make the challenge harder, build the tower on the clothes dryer and then turn it on and see if the tower still stands.

oops -- this posted early for some reason -- oh well. Consider it a bonus challenge!

Thanksgiving Games -- Solutions

Journey into Unschooling created this marvelous picture when they played this week's Thanksgiving game -- read about their creative process here.

I love it!

Puppets

Your challenge is to make a puppet using the following materials. You must use all of them and your puppet must have at least 3 moving parts:

24 inches of string
4 straws
2 objects of your choice
4 paperclips
4 index cards


Markers may be used in construction. Scissors may not. Good luck.

Thanksgiving Games

You've probably played a game similar to this, but this is a great activity that can start Thanksgiving morning and last all day. If you're not in the US, the game is the same -- there's nothing that makes it Thanksgiving-specific.

In the morning, place a poster somewhere that is accessible. Draw one line on it and invite others to add one line at a time. Do not give any other instructions. You may not talk about what you are drawing at any time during the day. You may only add 1 contiguous line at a time. You may not add another line until someone else has added a line. The more people that participate, the more fun this is.

If you join in the fun, send me a pic. I'll post it. I promise!

Check out the creation at Journey into Unschooling if you need some inspiration -- they colored theirs!!

Where I've Been

Several of you have emailed and asked where I've been. I have been pursuing a life dream of opening a school for economically disadvantaged middle school girls. We will open our doors in August 2010. You can find the school online at Charlotte Community School for Girls. Girls at CCSG transition into young women who appreciate the power of the individual to impact her family, community, city, state, nation, and world. CCSG is a family. We attend to each girl's needs and we celebrate and value differences. Scholars learn to think, to treat each other with respect, to appreciate the benefits of cooperation, and to balance the needs of the individual with those of the community. We provide a demanding environment for learning. While mastering the fundamentals in English, math, history/culture, science, and Spanish, our scholars engage in class discussions, experiments, research projects, presentations, and performances. Every scholar has her own laptop and develops confidence and competence in the use of technology. Enrichment classes in art, music, drama, technology, world topics, special topics, physical education and service learning complete each girl's learning experience. Our scholars will break the cycle of poverty that plagues our nation's cities. They will close the global achievement gap. They will live their dreams in this great country that we call America.

I am in the process of uploading challenges that will post weekly again starting next Thursday. I will post all solutions received as they come in, but prefer for you to send your solutions in within in a week.

Thank you for your patience, understanding, and support. Our school will have many needs. If you'd like to be involved or learn more, please contact me at cathy@charlottecommunityschool.org.