The book for this week was, The Thing About Yetis. It is a fun story that shares about what yetis like to do in the winter and that sometimes they miss summer. So for the challenge this week, I asked students to build something with pattern blocks that their yeti (a 3D printed Flockmen) would like to do in the winter and in the summer. I told them that they are now up for more complex challenges as we are halfway through the year, so this time I was going to give them a building restriction. I told them that their design for their winter creation had to fit in the winter box and the design for the summer had to fit in the summer box. I wanted them to focus in on showing what their yeti would like to do instead of building the biggest possible creation.
The kiddos really seemed to enjoy this activity and came up with some great ideas. This was the first time (I believe!) that I saw multiple students creating individually, but using colors and blocks pieced together so that their idea made sense to someone looking at it. For example, one student had the yeti ice skate in the winter and used blue diamond blocks fit together to make an ice skating rink. Previously, several students would have just grabbed a handful of blocks, placed them in the middle and then lay the yeti on top saying he was skating. It is great to see their progression with ideas, design, and aesthetics!