{"id":1461,"date":"2014-01-08T14:42:51","date_gmt":"2014-01-08T14:42:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=1461"},"modified":"2014-01-10T19:29:11","modified_gmt":"2014-01-10T19:29:11","slug":"brain-cafe-makes-learning-fun-for-kings-grant-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/brain-cafe-makes-learning-fun-for-kings-grant-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Brain Caf\u00e9 makes learning fun for King\u2019s Grant students"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cali Pearson flops onto an oversized pillow and swipes a swath of dark brown hair from her face before delving into a book. Even at six-years-old, the King\u2019s Grant Elementary School first-grader appreciates a quiet moment to decompress.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nice to get away,\u201d Pearson said shyly from her spot on the classroom floor. \u201cI really like to read.\u201d<\/p>\n

On any given school day, students like Pearson escape the hustle and bustle of the King\u2019s Grant lunchroom by proudly displaying a yellow pass which grants them access to the rain forest-style oasis that is the Brain Caf\u00e9. Once a resource room, the Brain Caf\u00e9 boasts a library of books, puzzles, board games, math manipulatives and other \u201cout-of-the-box\u201d activities that reinforce two important things: learning and fun.<\/p>\n

\"Students<\/a>
Students at King’s Grant Elementary School enjoy the new Brain Cafe.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cClassrooms are so focused now on making sure our students are mastering the skills they need that often the fun of learning doesn\u2019t always have time to be a priority,\u201d said Angie Munari, assistant principal at King\u2019s Grant. \u201cWe wanted to find a way to allow our students to experiment with learning in fun, innovative ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

So Munari focused on carving out a time during the day when students could afford to spend 15 minutes immersed in hands-on activities that support math, science and reading\u2014 lunch time. Each day, two students from every class in every grade level are granted a Brain Caf\u00e9 pass to use if they finish their lunch early and want to \u201cget away.\u201d The passes are rotated through the classes so everyone gets a turn.<\/p>\n

For six-year-old Bill Stetson, the pass is a hot commodity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love it when it\u2019s my turn,\u201d Stetson said. \u201cDoing math with the dominoes is super fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Munari and King\u2019s Grant principal Dr. Sophia Stubblefield initially applied for a grant to fund the Brain Caf\u00e9. When that didn\u2019t come through, the two were not prepared to give up. Instead, they solicited for donations of old furniture, games and more from the King\u2019s Grant community. Putting the special space together became a school-wide initiative and everyone chipped in. One teacher donated a set of puzzles, a volunteer agreed to staff the Caf\u00e9 during the lunch hour and the librarian sponsored a book drive that brought in nearly 400 books.<\/p>\n

Thus the Caf\u00e9 was born.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best part is I get to pick what I want to do,\u201d said first-grader Madison McKendree. \u201cToday it\u2019s a puzzle, but next time I will read books.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the more students like McKendree want to visit the Brain Caf\u00e9, the more they will learn, Munari said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all about the students and helping foster a love of learning,\u201d she said said. \u201cMy hope is that everyone who comes through the Brain Caf\u00e9 will not only have fun, but be excited about the next time they get to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cali Pearson flops onto an oversized pillow and swipes a swath of dark brown hair from her face before delving into a book. Even at six-years-old, the King\u2019s Grant Elementary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1461"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1461\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1472,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1461\/revisions\/1472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}