This is the base of an 11x11 3D pyramid, and so far the most popular tutorial on Sam's channel. Click the picture for a link to February pictures. We were very reluctant to let him start a channel for obvious reasons. He has been talking about it for some time and I just finally gave in and decided to look into it. I am not connected to Facebook or YouTube other than to just watch videos, so I didn't really have a sense of how much control you'd have over content. I also never anticipated just how much learning would evolve from setting up a channel.

Sam has been using YouTube tutorials since the summer to learn how to make origami, paper airplanes of all kinds, Rubik’s Cube algorithms, and much more. One of our favorites is Rob’s World – he’s a young guy from Philadelphia in dental school. His mantra – “where learning is fun!” And boy is it. He is really neat. Since then Sam has gotten into domino toppling and this is his way to join the maker movement. He is enjoying creating tutorials, learning about analytics (which videos get the most views and why), creating consistently good content, evaluating other channels for their content, and more. It has turned a really insular hobby into something collaborative, which is all the rage now. Did you know that collaboration is a 21st century skill? I think it has always been a useful skill, but we are using technology to collaborate in new ways, sure.  Here is a link to his channel – he hopes you’ll subscribe! He has 66 views already 🙂

Ben – the big talker of the family – is really into making videos now, too. He grabs my camera and sets it up on the floor to watch him build domino tricks. The camera will stay on for 10 minutes just capturing everything! It is so funny – I think only a mom and Gramma would enjoy. Today he made a domino fallback – two levels of dominoes that topple on top of each other. It’s pretty technical, really, all these tricks. He’s really good! I hope you’ll click on the picture above to enjoy some of Ben’s creations. So every night we are picking up 800-1000 dominoes together. Sometimes…if we’re lucky…Daddy joins us to pick some up 🙂

Dave has been getting home at more reasonable hours lately, so we have really enjoyed seeing him at least by bedtime, even if I’m putting a plate in the fridge or oven for him. He’s traveling to Everett fairly frequently (about 2 hours total including ferry) to oversee repairs on a ship. I’m doing quite a bit of analytical work for the district as they review their math curriculum and think about what to adopt for next year. The new Common Core State Standards are being implemented in about 47 states, one of which is Washington, so the teachers are getting up to speed on what that means for their instruction. And I’m really enjoying being a support to them as they profile the district and understand who the students are, what needs are being met well, and what might be considered going forward. There are about a dozen parents and teachers who email regularly providing updates on meetings and researching innovations elsewhere. I am also serving on a district committee along with about 4 other parents, plus many teachers and administrators (about 20 people total). It’s been very gratifying being so closely involved in supporting this district. From health policy to education policy… never a dull moment. I stay up way too late most nights reading and thinking.

BUT – am I the last person to know about Caine’s Arcade? This is just unbelievable! Do take the 10 minutes to watch this short film. I have been talking about the importance of learning entrepreneurship for a couple months. I think we can teach problem-based learning, STEM and build business-savvy all at the same time. But then Dave says I’m a combiner – too many things in the soup pot. I don’t agree…but he’s often right.

Are chickens smart? For a chicken IQ test I thought it would be funny to see if they consistently pick the cleanest nesting box to lay their eggs. Today they did – two eggs in the cleanest box. I am not sure roosters are very smart. One of them can’t figure out how to get back in to the garden once he’s gotten out for a stroll. The other can’t figure out how to get into the run when the other rooster is mating the favorite hen. We have two now – Merlin (big daddy) and Gordon, his son, who turns 1 in a few months on May 22. Any other chicken IQ tests you think I should run?

Good night all! Aloha 🙂