Who doesn't love riddles? Combine riddles with a scavenger hunt and you are ready for some real fun. But did you know that solving riddles helps develop critical thinking skills in children? It requires them to think on a deeper level and often means thinking outside the box.

These classes will introduce and reinforce basic preschool through first grade concepts, using riddles and an interactive scavenger hunt. Each week we will cover a different topic, listed below. I will give students a simple riddle (or question). They will  be asked to sit for about 20-30 seconds to ponder the riddle. Then, they will be given two minutes to find something in their home that they think answers the riddle. They will return to their place of learning, with their object, within the two minutes. Each student will be given the opportunity to show what they found and those who want will be allowed to share why they made that guess. If a student knows the answer but doesn't have the item in their home, they will be encouraged to draw a picture of it on paper.

I am a strong believer that social emotional development is the foundation of all learning. Without strong social emotional skills, children are not able to learn at their full potential. Therefore, I incorporate the development of these skills in everything I teach.
Not only will students be learning basic academic concepts and deepening their critical thinking, we will also be working on social emotional skills. We will learn that it's okay if we don't always get the answer correct; that we don't always have to win; how to respect our peers when they are sharing; what to do if we become upset during our game; and so much more.

I begin each of my classes with a greeting. During the greeting, each child will introduce themselves to the others in the class, by saying, "My name is ......" They will also be asked to share something, such as their favorite color. Then, the rest of the class will greet them, by saying "Welcome ......." This is a very important part of my classes because it immediately makes every child know that they are an important part of the class. It also sets the foundation for trust and respect within the class.

After the greeting, we will jump right into our scavenger hunt. Children should come prepared with some paper and crayons, markers or colored pencils. They will use this in the event that they don't have physical objects to answer the riddles. I make every attempt to use riddles/questions in which the answers are common items, within most households.  I will also use some riddles/questions in which there can be multiple answers. However, I recognize that this platform covers children from many different countries and nationalities. Therefore, I want to make sure all learners have the opportunity to share their answer (through drawings), in the event that they do not have the actual item in their home. 

I incorporate a great deal of student interaction in my classes and enjoy having the children unmuted so that they are free to share and interact with other students and me. However, if there is a lot of background noise, in the home, or if a child becomes disruptive to our class discussions, I will ask children to mute and then unmute when they want to share. 

No previous experience or background is required. These classes are designed in a way that will reinforce the concepts to those who have already learned about them and introduce these topics to new learners. I believe one of the best ways children learn is from their peers. They will help each other learn in these classes.

Topics covered will be as follows:

June 17 and 22
Colors

July 6 and 8
Shapes

July 13 and 15
English Alphabet (Letter recognition and sounds)

(Please note: there is no class on July 20)

July 27 and 22 
Numbers (Numeral recognition and counting)

August 3 and July 29
Rhyming

Additional sections may be added later.