In the spirit of the upcoming holiday season, the third graders welcomed their families to campus to share two integrated, cross-disciplinary projects that combined science, art, computer science, math, language arts, and social studies. The morning began with the lively Kindness & Gratitude Robot Parade in the Main Building hallways and continued with the Book Float Extravaganza back in the classrooms.

Kindness & Gratitude Robot Parade
In science, students partnered up and used the engineering design process to brainstorm and plan their parade floats. In computer science, they learned to build and program robots, coding them to carry the floats along the parade route. Art class brought the floats to life as students used materials from the Inventor’s Workshop, applying techniques for building strong, stable structures to creatively express their messages of gratitude and kindness. Back in science, students deepened their understanding by exploring electric circuits, with each float featuring its own unique lighting system. In recognition of Thanksgiving, each float represented an act of kindness or a meaningful expression of gratitude.

Book Float Extravaganza
Over the course of six weeks, third graders read a fiction book, wrote an essay about its main character, and designed a creative book float for a special showcase modeled after the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade—just for books. Each float was displayed alongside the student’s character essay and a written reflection about what drew them to the story. A beloved third-grade tradition, this project continues to be a meaningful way to inspire students to take ownership of both their reading and writing.