Experiencing World War 2

It’s been an eventful week in the EMS studio! On Thursday, our heroes went on a field trip to The Silverside Museum in Muskegon, where they walked through a submarine (used during World War 2) and learned what life would be like serving our country. The heroes not only walked through the submarine, but also had the opportunity to hear stories and ask questions to satisfy their curiosity!

Not only did our heroes enjoy a hands-on experience at the museum, but on Friday, they also had the opportunity to try a military meal (pre packaged) and cook it using hot water. While I was somewhat concerned that the heroes might not  like this experience, they came with open minds and were willing to learn what life would be like in the military-including participating in some work-outs!

Throughout the week, our heroes were immersed in several other World War 2 related activities. They learned about propaganda during the war and created their own posters, read a novel, and posted events on our quest timeline all the way through the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Some of our heroes also began creating model planes that were used during World War 2.

In addition to experiencing more of history, our heroes have also been working hard to meet a stretch goal this session. A stretch goal is simply a challenging goal that our heroes create for themselves to encourage their perseverance and personal growth during Core Skills. Stretch goals are set for each subject area; reading, writing, math, and spelling.

To further encourage and inspire one another towards meeting goals, our heroes discussed how they might strengthen their current accountability system. Every week, our heroes meet with a buddy to ask each other questions about goal-setting and progress. However, some of our heroes have been feeling their running buddies have been hovering and haven’t been as encouraging. For this reason, the heroes came up with a few questions they want to ask each other during running buddies. While they are still working to improve running buddy time, these are a few of the questions they came up with:

• What do you want to accomplish?
• Do you need help in any area of learning?
• How do you feel you can improve?

A few other discussion questions this week included:

1. What questions would motivate and inspire your best work?
2. Which habit of success do you want to focus on this week?
   1. Plan Ahead
   2. Set Goals
   3. Use time efficiently
   4. Know what you need to do
3. If you were born and raised in Japan and had joined the military during WW2, would you go on the mission to Pearl Harbor? Remember, you have lived in Japan your entire life and it is all you know.

To end this week, our heroes actually threw me a surprise birthday party (which they’d planned all on their own). I was highly impressed with the planning and thought that went into this-and proud of them for it too! My heart is full of gratitude for the kindness, cards, and gifts (I’m assuming our heroes had some help with this part). Thank you!!!! God bless you and your families this weekend!