Thinking Big

Pencils & papers have their place, but sometimes you need to get outside of the page to get outside of the box.

One way that I try to activate thinking is through the option of using a different workspace and medium.  I painted the top of an old table that we had around the house in chalk paint. 

 

Now, the kids can work at the table and do their "scratch work" in a more fun, engaging manner.  They are able to easily fix errors, because it's a simple wipe and not an erase that turns into a mucky looking paper.  When finished, they either transfer the work or I take a picture and save it to their file on my iPhone.

 

This method helped two kids on the "edge" of a breakthrough really grasp the concepts we've been working on.  They use a table to organize their work, and it opened up their thinking.