Hi Reader,

What do carrots, a stuffed animal, and a highland cow from Scotland all have in common?

They help children use their imagination!

Here's a fantastic article about the benefits for kids when they use their imagination. It boosts creativity, independence, and problem-solving. There are so many benefits from using imagination. I believe most kids don't get to use their imagination as much these days, so it's important for me to have times in our classroom for them to do so.

The Scottish Highlands

This past week, my class pretended to travel to the Scottish Highlands. They received their packing lists on Monday and were allowed to bring in of the following items: pants, a warm hat, a warm coat, a scarf, or a carrot for the lesson on Friday. All week long they talked about what item they would bring in. Some students knew right away what they were going to bring while other students kept changing their minds.

Friday morning came and the students all came into the classroom excited to tell me what item they brought. They kept the items in their backpacks until it was time for our "trip" to Scotland. About half of the class brought in a carrot, which was perfect because they were going to learn about Scottish highland cows!

Here are a few fun facts about highland cows:

• In Scotland, they are refered to as "hairy coos."
• The females have fluffier hair.
• Males have shorter hair.
• The horns on a female coo grow out to the sides.
• Males have horns that grow in front of their head.

After my class learned these facts about hairy coos, it was time to put those carrots to good use! They took those carrots out and held them up to our own stuffed highland cow and pretended to feed them.

Watch their reactions here:

I was going to have the students share their carrots with the kids who brought in a different item instead, but one student ended up bringing in a bag of mini carrots. Each student was able to hold their own carrot for the "feeding" and then proceeded to eat the mini carrots after we were done. Using real food to feed their stuffed highland cow opened up more imaginative learning for them.

Hairy coos are in Passport Adventures: Scottish Highlands, which was released today!

There are 23 pages of information, seven videos, and a drawing activity included in this lesson. It's designed to have kids feel as if they're exploring the Scottish Highlands. The Kelpies, hairy coos, Loch Ness, Nessie, and more are all included in this adventure. Kids will be using their imagination throughout the lesson.

I'd love to hear clever ways your students have used their imaginations at school. What's something they have come up with on their own or maybe through the help of you? Respond to this message and let me know.

Have a wonderful week!

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