Singing in the Rain

Le Jardin Academy is located in a beautiful setting: at the base of the Koolau Mountains. The Koolaus provide a picturesque backdrop to the school... and ensure that we receive our fair share of rain-showers on a weekly basis.

Unfortunately, most students don't bring umbrellas to school. Fortunately, they do know how to be creative and use the design cycle to help them create products and solutions to keep themselves dry when the weather turns. 

Over the past two weeks our 7th graders have been working with the challenge of designing and building "Rain Hats" that would keep them and their belongings dry as they dash from class to class. These hats needed to be constructed out of materials that could be found in the common classroom and manipulated with a few simple tools. Each student was provided 45 minutes of time to fabricate their covering based on sketches they designed and the plans they developed for themselves.

When the construction phase was over, they all gathered on the soccer field for testing... and while it didn't rain... we found an alternative that was just as great! Thank goodness for the modern convenience of a hose and water spigot.

Each student wore their rain hat as Mr. Connors thoroughly doused them with the hose. Amazingly most of the hats held up spectacularly keeping both the students' heads and clothes relatively dry. The action was too good to believe. Be sure to take a look at the slideshow below and be on the lookout for the videos that are soon to follow!

Now, If only I could find my spigot key!