UNAVERSE

For my capstone presentation I finished my slide show, my script, and my business cards. I am giving out business cards because after my presentation the audience will be able to visit my blog and read about my capstone experience. Right now I am just working on remembering my script better. The only part I need to learn better is some of the paragraph in the end of my script, the rest of my script I really know it.  We are also sharing our project with the rest of the class. I am really excited to present. I am really excited to present because I worked so hard on my project.

(Capstone is a project that all 5th graders do at the end of the year every year. Capstone is a research project and you get to choose your topic. My topic is playgrounds.)

I finally, after all these weeks of research, I answered my main inquiry question. My main inquiry question is “How do playgrounds and playground equipment encourage kids to use their imagination and be more active physically.” Answering my main inquiry question took a long time and a lot of work. To help us answer are main inquiry question we came up with six sub questions. When we can up with the six sub questions we made a web. In the web we had our topic in the middle and then we split it up into categories. Having the web really helped me come up with the sub questions. But making the sub questions was only the begging. Next we had to answer the sub questions. This took a lot of research but the sub questions also helped organized it. The sub questions helped me organized my research by making categories( so I made my sub questions into categories and put the research that fit into the category). Since I answered my main inquiry that helped me finish my script and since I finished my script, and since I finished my script then I finished my slide show and since I finished my slide show I am ready to present. In conclusion I answered my main inquiry question.

On May 24 I had my Interview for capstone! I interview Matt Aorne. Matt is an park director for Scarsdale. Matt has been a park director for 20 years! Matt has only be working in Scarsdale for 8 months but he has worked in Ardsley and Greenberg. Matt believes that all ages should have recreation. He says that the recreational schedules are very different,’ “we don’t work a 9-5 job like others. We work evening, we work weekends. a normal schedule in an office will seem like 9-5 but, like for example memorial day weekend we have a swimming pool open here in scarsdale so we will be working this weekend. Two Fridays ago we had a party in the park here were we would work the whole night and we had music and dancing and ice cream for the kids.” So recreational schedules are not like regular schedules. Matt believes that parents,babysiters,and grandparents should have a safe place to take the kids to play. Learned a lot from the interview!

For my site visit I went to Hyatt Park in Scarsdale. Hyatt Park was just built. At the park they challenge you physically. One example is that they have a zip line and its hard because as you go to the beginning of the zip line it gets higher and as it gets higher it goes over your head, which is fine but the zip line is a bit different than others. Their zip line you have to stand on it instead of hang. The zip line also challenges you because as it goes up higher there is no pole on the other side that you can stand on to help you get on the zip line when you get it to the begging so you have to get someone to help push you to get to the begging or you just have to be REALLY tall.

Another thing that challenges kids is the spider wed. The spider wed challenges kids because there could be someone on top of you or below you; so you need to be fully aware of your surroundings. Another things that challenge you physically is the rock climbing wall. Now I know you are probably thinking oh that is  not that hard. But it is, this was no ordinary rock climbing wall, this rock climbing wall is shaped like a geometrical dice so kids could be upside down or on top (which is really steep).

Another cool thing about Hyatt Park is that it has play sets which allows kids to use their imagination. The play sets are made to look a bit like houses and they have room for kids to play  with out bumping into each other that much. They have to play sets one for the younger kids and one for the older kids. The play set for the younger kids has two parts and is connected by a rope bridge. The play set for the younger kids also provides a learning experienced. It provides a learning experience because it has a clock that you can touch and change the time and they have math symbols so kids learn and have fun at the same time with out knowing. The play set for the older kids is a bit higher and has two slides and a curly fireman’s pole! What I forgot to say about the play set for the younger kids is that it has two plastic slides and a smaller curly fireman’s pole. Another this about the pole for the older kids is that is is really cool because it could be another way to get up to the play set with out using the stairs. One thing that is really cool about the play set for the older kids is that it has pegs that you can stand on and they are different heights and the pegs connect to a mini rope course. The rope courses was a few ropes connected together and there a three ropes so you have to duck to get through. The rope course challenges kids by making them balance and what I forgot to say about the rope course was that it has little “blockers”that make kids step over or jump over while they balance.

What I learned from my site visit was that when they were designing Hyatt Park they really considered how kids use there imagination and how to challenge them physically.

Choosing a main inquiry question seems hard but really it’s not. Well…it is endless you have a good organization strategy. To help us with our inquiry question we made a web with the topic in the middle and “grow the branches.” What I mean by growing the branches was that you wrote around your topic economic aspect, literature, types of your topic, Art, Heath, and companies related. It really depends on your topic for what you would put. Then you would show examples, for example lets say you were doing shoes, for companies related you would wright manufacturers and then you would write Nike,Adidas, Micheal kors, and Steve Madden.

The process of choosing my main inquiry question was hard. My first main inquiry question was how have playgrounds improved and have an impact on kids? I didn’t know how to improve my question so I went to Ms. Boyer. Ms. Boyer ask me what do I mean by have an impact on kids. I told Ms. Boyer that I meant that how do playgrounds get kids more active and how they use there imagination when they play. Ms. Boyer and I kept thinking about how to shape it and then my friend Rania was waiting in line and helped me shape it. My Main Inquiry question is, how do playgrounds and playground equipment encourage kids to use their imagination and be more active physically? I could never have done it without Ms. Boyer and Rania.

Choosing your sub questions are also not that hard. You just have to think,”hmm….what do I want to explore in that topic?” Witch is good because then you could narrow down a really big topic. Sub questions can help you with your presentation too because it could give you more time for your speech (if it is to short) by explaining what they mean and answering the questions.

NOTE: Capstone is a research project that every 5th grade has to do at the end to the year at our school. You can choose your topic and you do all the research by your self and then you present in front of the whole school when you finish

On Monday we started Capstone. I have thought for a while of what I want do to for Capstone. My Capstone project will be about playgrounds and what does it take to have a good playground. Capstone is a project that the whole 5th grade does. Capstone is a research project and I am really excited to start it! I remember being a little kid and seeing the 5th grader’s projects and I was so excited to start it when I got into 5th grade. For Capstone you need one interview and one site visit. A site visit is when you go to a place and you take notes about it. For example, for me I would go to a few playgrounds and take notes, which playground is more popular, what is the most popular feature, and what is the least favorite feature.