Unless the Lord builds the house, those who built it labor in vain. Psalm 127:1

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Praise be to God that He has worked in and through the ELS heroes when they built all their cities and their playhouse throughout their Architecture Quest! The heroes sought the Lord each morning before they did their work, starting each day dancing to worship songs, singing Bible verse songs, laying their hearts before the Lord in prayer, and spending quiet time in the Word. Thus, the heroes did not labor in vain. They worked countless hours researching about different structures all around the world, allowing their creativity to flow as they sketched designs in their Architect’s Journal, and facing the challenge of constructing buildings using only materials available to them to turn their imagination into reality. All their work brought joy to their families during the Architecture Quest Exhibition. And it brought the heroes even much more joy to build something together with their families. Surely, all the work they accomplished during this quest was not in vain for it is the Lord who works His miracles and wonders in each and every hero.

Architecture Quest 

Week 7

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Launch What does it mean to Love the Lord with all your heart? What would you like to focus on more, loving God or loving others? What does it mean to Love the Lord with all your soul? Think of a time God’s answer to your prayer was yes, no, or not yet.  What does it mean to Love the Lord with all your mind? How do you think good thoughts when a friend makes you sad? What does it mean to Love the Lord with all your strength? What do you do when you feel tired of doing good? How does a hero balance faith and works?
Relaunch What is the main goal of the exhibition: for you to showcase your hard work and creativity, to demonstrate your learning in architecture, or to inspire a high standard of excellence? What is our plan for preparing the studio this week? What do we need to do first? What role will each of you play? What do you want to make sure your parents learn? What is the most important lesson for them to walk away with? How can we keep parents engaged and focused on the tour? What were you curious about the most during the quest? How did you find out about it? How would you make the quest better?
Close Town Hall meeting How did you seek feedback to improve your work? Exhibition What new ideas will you try in a future quest? What risks are you willing to take during the next quest?

Upcoming Quest: Life Skills Quest

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Week 1

Care for Self

 Dressing self buttons, snaps, hook and eye, zipper, buckle, bow, lacing, safety pins

Choosing own clothes to wear

Dress and undress self

  

Brush teeth, comb hair, wash face

Helping with the laundry – putting clothes away, folding clothes

 Know your address and parents’ phone number

Know how to make emergency calls

Family emergency plans

Fire Safety

 Money management – saving, spending, charitable giving Entertaining self while waiting – car ride, waiting room, waiting in line

Buckling themselves in a seatbelt

Riding a bike

Bike day
Week 2

Care for Others

 Make a grocery list

Put groceries away

Arrange refrigerator and pantry

Learn good nutrition habits

 Cooking

Prepare a simple recipe

Make a sandwich and toast

Mix, stir, cut with a dull knife

 Baking

Serving food

Pour milk into a cereal bowl

Pour drinks into a cup

 Caring for the sick

First aid basics

Pet day

Caring for pets

How to set up a play date

Week 3

Care for the Environment

 Setting the table

Cleaning up after meals

Take out the trash

Recycling

Make their bed

Change sheets

 Sweeping

Wet mopping

Dust mopping

Outdoor sweeping

Raking leaves

Weed flower beds and garden

 Wash dishes

Load and unload the dishwasher

Keeping the bathroom clean

Organize closet and drawers

Wash the car

 Exhibiton Quest Reflections

 

Architecture Enthusiasts

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Have you ever seen a group of five to eight-year-olds walking down the street super excited to point out the unique designs of buildings, identifying shapes in the designs, or analyzing the structure of a bridge? You would have if you were in Canal Park today where the heroes caught sight of structures that they have been exploring during their Architecture Quest, like skyscrapers, bridges, and domes. The heroes also had lots of fun playing at the playground surrounded by so many unique architectural structures in Grand Rapids.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Launch Getting to know Charlie Brick who found herself in Architecture

By Joshua David Stein

Do you agree with Brick’s mom when she said, “All great things start small?” Why or why not?

 Getting to know Jack What do you do when something out of your control changes your vision of the end goal? Do you stop trying and set new goals, or do you adjust your plans and keep going towards the original end goal? The world is not a rectangle

By Jeanette Winter

Would you do what Zaha Hadid did with her designs? Would you stick with your design ideas even when builders refuse to build for you?
Relaunch If you were an architect, would you look to the future and try to create something new, or would you look to the past for inspiration? Hero talk

Mr. Simon

 Think of a time when things did not go your way. Did you try new strategies or started over fresh with a new idea? Think about other times in your life that you’ve had to change your vision of the end goal (badge requirements changing, for example, or Writers’ Workshop requirements changing, or a product or creation being destroyed or changed). What positive results came from those experiences? Field trip:

Architectural walking tour
Close Town hall meeting How did a mistake improve your work? How did you put in the effort to achieve a result you are proud of? Think of a time you were stuck. What other ways did you try? How did the field trip help you make your design better?

 

“Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.”

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“Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.”

   Howard Zinn

MHS Heroes have put dozens of hours into their architecture projects.  What a joy and accomplishment it will be to share the final products with all of you!  What will not be displayed is the countless hours these heroes have poured into assisting younger architects, providing feedback and advice, offering reinforcements when others struggled, and teaming with the ELS heroes to assist in structural stabilization.

As remarkable as their academic growth has been, their attention to building character is of utmost importance.  Seeing them lead and serve is a true gift.  Here are just a few moments of heroes assisting with clean ups, creating structure for outdoor play times, and helping fellow architects.

 

 

Warning: Mass Inspections For All Surrounding Cities!

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Heroes are hard at work in order to present their very best work to their clients next week.  Studying and applying many creative marketing and writing techniques have been at the forefront of hero’s minds.  Though focus has been of great importance, ES heroes always find time and prioritize helping their learning community.

Today, heroes met with their ELS buddies to provide final inspections and consultations for improvements.  This quest has greatly challenged all heroes with stretching their time, perseverance, and will power to continue to grow.  We are thrilled to have you all join us this coming week for their exhibition and tour their extraordinary buildings.

Overcoming Challenges with Confidence

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The heroes have been evaluating their work and effort as they arrive at the final two weeks in their Architecture Quest. They recognized the challenges they have to overcome in order to achieve their goals to do excellent work. Many heroes shared about their plans to improve their work and processes. Some heroes admitted their need to focus and avoid distractions in order to demonstrate excellent work.  When heroes shared about some challenges they were facing during their quest, other heroes showed eagerness to give some suggestions and offer a helping hand. Other heroes were grateful for the ideas and help they received from friends’ feedback on their projects. When some heroes expressed their need for materials, other heroes brought materials from home to share with everyone. Even when faced with the challenge of building their very own playhouse using wood scraps, the heroes did not back down and went right to work. There was no challenge that was too big for the heroes because together they had strength, determination, and confidence.

Happy Mother’s Day to our Super Moms!

My Mom’s Superpower is …

Lola … working power because she likes to work.
Stella …. getting me food every day.
Ella … being nice to others.
Nora … loving her children.
Camden … being nice to people.
Carter … working power.
Remmi … being nice.
Amelia … working out.
Myla … when she snuggles me she makes me fall asleep.
Ellery … being kind.
Simon … being fun.
Jack … snuggling with me.
Reaghan … taking me to my favorite places.
Henry … worshipping God.
Eloise … being special to me

ELS Video for Moms link

Architecture Quest

Week 5

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Launch What habits help you make good choices? Think of a time you worked very hard to do your best. How did you achieve excellence? How do you help a friend who feels left out or sad? What ways do you make the best of things when they do not go as you planned or hoped for? How do you learn from your Mom’s Hero’s Journey?
Relaunch Are you happy with your effort so far? Do you feel on track? If you feel on track, what advice do you have for your fellow travelers? If you do not feel on track, what questions would you like to ask your fellow travelers to get the support you need? What will you do today to improve your process to demonstrate excellent work? Share a problem you have faced during this quest. How can we reframe this problem by asking “What if you do this…?” Is it more challenging to solve a problem when you see it as a roadblock, or is it more challenging to reframe a problem as a chance for opportunities? Is it more challenging to be negative, or positive? Are problems discovered or created?
Close Town Hall meeting What advice would you have for other heroes to help them achieve excellence? What problems did you face today that you reframed into opportunities? How do you react to your masterpiece never being fully built? What do you do when something out of your control changes your vision of the end goal?

Upcoming Week 6

Box cities Toothpick structures City block painting Cardboard houses Field trip:

Architectural walking tour

 

Who Needs a Superhero?

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These heroes have superheroes in their lives – our moms! You love, challenge, and encourage your hero daily to have the courage to grow. Today we celebrated and honored each mom through discussions, writings, videos, and poetry. You are loved deeply and constantly show your hero how to use your God-given gifts to be a world changer. Thank you, moms, for being incredibly humble SUPERHEROES! It was a joy to recognize the tremendous role you play in your hero’s life.

Have you asked your hero:

  1. What they enjoyed to share with their superhero mom during Muffins with Mom?
  2. What they have completed on Home By Me?
  3. What has been the most difficult part of this quest (blueprint, Home By Me, elevation sketch)?
  4. What they enjoyed most about the field trip to Century A&E?
  5. About the two hero talks we had this week? (Hint – One is a landscape architect, and the other is a principal architect.)

We had a great time honoring our moms this morning!

 

 

 

 

Purpose Driven Heroes

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All week, the heroes have been doing everything with a purpose: their love for their grandparents. They were driven by their desire to make Grandparents Day be the best for their Grandmas and Grandpas. When they were brainstorming ideas for Grandparents Day, the heroes had limitless confidence in themselves that they could really make this day so special for their grandparents. They didn’t want to just sing some songs, they also wanted to dance with Grandma and Grandpa. They didn’t want to just draw pictures, they also wanted to write letters and prayers for Grandma and Grandpa. They didn’t just want to practice math, they wanted to get stickers in their Badge Books to show Grandma and Grandpa. They didn’t want to just read some books, they wanted to pick the best books so they could read to Grandma and Grandpa. And they didn’t just want to build skyscrapers, bridges, and domes for their Architecture Quest, they wanted to be able to proudly show Grandma and Grandpa all their creative designs and resourcefulness in constructing models for their cities. And they didn’t want to just wear regular clothes on this special day, they wanted to look their best and wear their favorite costumes just to make their grandparents happy. Through all their effort and hard work, the heroes did exactly what they planned and intended to do and accomplished their purpose for Grandparents Day.

Grandparents Day Video link

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Architecture Quest: Week 4

Monday

 Tuesday Wednesday

Thursday
Launch How does 3B4G help you learn better? How would you help a friend who is not making good choices? How do your choices affect your day? What do you do when God asks you to do something hard to do?
Relaunch How do your preferences affect your designs? What part of Architecture are you most curious about? What do you do to maintain curiosity? How do you find answers to your questions about Architecture?
Close Town hall meeting

Grandparents day brainstorming ideas

 What risks did you take today? What do you wish you had done differently today? What fears did you face today?

Upcoming Week 5

Tunnel Challenge Picture your home Picture your neighborhood Field trip: Architectural walking tour Backyard fort construction