Falling in love with the season
At Motivate Our Minds, we are driven by or mission: Educating Children and Families to Grow and Flourish. This mission started us off in 1987 and carries us still today. We enrich our students' lives with academics and offer experiences that inspire them to keep learning and asking more questions. The last two months, we have been exploring the fall season. Students have been researching topics within fall and doing activities that inspire creativity. On October 23rd from 5:30 to 7pm, we ended this theme with a family night that was attended by volunteers, families, and staff. Students performed a skit, read poems, presented their learning and other activities they did in the classroom. During this celebration, we served a meal to our families that was made possible by Meijer.
Program Spotlight: Technology update
Thanks to AT&T, twenty new tablets and cases are being used by Motivate Our Minds (MOM) students. This addition now provides students in all grades at MOM with access to tablets. Students use the tablets for research and access to various online educational resources like Kahn Academy to develop and test their skills. Tablets help with school work, MOM enrichment activities, and building student proficiency in math and reading. Seven laptops were also bought for the lead teacher in each classroom as well as the three administrative staff positions. This enables teachers to lesson plan and research information at home. The laptops improve staff efficiency because paperwork and collecting data can now more easily be shared via technology. This frees up more time and attention for teachers and staff to maximize time with each student. AT&T and the AT&T Foundation is committed to advancing education, strengthening communities, and improving lives. This grant was given by AT&T to help eliminate the digital divide of non-access to digital tools. Today’s students are being taught to research, take tests, and conduct all levels of classwork online. This helps prepare students for the 21st century world.
Fall Experiences
At Motivate Our Minds we believe in offering our students experiences to enhance their learning. During this theme, our students had many experiences in the building from nature walks, leaf rubbings, leaf sorting, letter writing, and so much more. On September 26th, we traveled to Westwind Farm and Fiber. While at the farm, students got to pet and feed animals, play games, and learn about shearing sheep and turning it into usable fiber.
On September 27th, our students traveled to Ball State University’s Field Station and Environmental Education Center. This field trip took students through the Education Center to learn what native species were indigenous to Indiana. Then students toured the Rinard Orchid Greenhouse to learn about what plants grew in a climate, like the rainforest, that didn’t experience the changes in seasons like fall. Originally this field trip was also supposed to include a walk through Christy Woods but due to weather, we were unable to include this part of the tour for our students' safety.
On October 22nd, Hoosier Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation visited our building. Ms. Rebecca Orr brought her animal ambassador, Squirtle and taught the students about wildlife rescue, animal adaptations and Indiana Wildlife. Students were able to ask lots of questions and even pet an eastern box turtle. We hope that in the spring, we can invite her back after other animal ambassadors who have come out of hibernation!
Upcoming events
Here are a few dates to remember in November and December!
November 12th: Book Club informational meeting @ 11am
November 13th: Muncie Children’s Museum Field Trip
November 27th-29th: Closed for Thanksgiving
December 13th: Club Presentations
December 17th: Save the Date - Student Showcase from 5:30-7pm
December 20th- January 3rd: Closed for Winter Break
Social Media
If you want to learn more about what happens day to day at MOMs, please check out our social media platforms. We are on Facebook and Instagram as Motivate Our Minds. Make sure to like and share our page with your friends!