What do we celebrate on October 4?

How will you spend Thursday, October 4? It is World Pet’s Day, so you might want to snuggle Fido or Fluffy. In honor of Improve Your Office Day, clean up your work area or add some new decor to your classroom. What celebration is complete without food? Eat some tacos to celebrate National Taco Day. Are you WONDERING yet, why our Education Solutions blog is focused on October 4th? The National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) is celebrating the 8th birthday of Wonderopolis^®!

 

 

Wonderopolis was launched on October 4, 2010! The purpose was to inspire curiosity and inquiry. Over the past 8 years, over 2000 Wonders of the Day® have been posted. Questions have been answered across subject areas ranging from “When Was Pinball Invented?” to “What is Pascal’s Triangle?” and from “What is a Pangolin?” to “Are All Letters Created Equally?”

In celebration of Wonderopolis’ birthday, you are invited to explore Wonderopolis with your students and families this month!

• In classrooms, libraries, and adult education programs celebrate Wonderopolis by letting learners of all ages explore the Wonders of the Day. Take a look at Wonder #366 to learn “Why Do We Blow Out Birthday Candles?” Or read #1757 to explore “What is the Birthday Paradox?”

It’s a purposeful way to practice reading, vocabulary, and comprehension skills.

• Make our birthday wish come true! Share your wonders. Students of all ages need to know and use the question words (Who? What? Where? When? Why? And How?). Encourage students to be curious and generate their own wonders in the form of questions. Add them to Wonderopolis through the Wonder Bank. Your questions might become the next Wonder of the Day!
• Focus Parent Time activities on how to use Wonderopolis at home.  Model for parents how to find and do some of the “Try It Out” activities.  Help families make their own Wonder Jars to encourage wondering offline. Help families understand that asking questions and being curious is positive- even if they do not know the answers!
• In out-of-school time programs, consider using Camp Wonderopolis. Five different versions of Camp are available to help young people explore science, health, technology, and more. There are STEM projects that can bring hands-on learning into your program.
• For more ideas on how to incorporate Wonderopolis and inquiry-based learning into programs and classrooms throughout the year visit the Wonder Ground, the support network for educators using Wonderopolis.

Wonderopolis has grown considerably over the past eight years! There are so many opportunities for young people, classes, teachers, and families to Wonder together.  How are you using Wonderopolis or Camp Wonderopolis in your classroom or program? Share your best idea in the comment section below. Each person who comments will receive (by email) a FREE copy of NCFL’s Wonderopolis Family Event outline complete with activities to bring Wonderopolis to life for your families.