All students in grades K-4 attend enrichment once a week.  I use the Primary Education Thinking Skills Program (PETS) for first, second, and third grade students.  PETS serves the dual purpose of helping in the identification of academically talented students and teaching students higher level thinking skills.

      All students participate in two to three lessons for each of the different units.  The students will explore the following thinking skills:  deductive thinking, analytical thinking, creative thinking, visual/spatial perception, and evaluative thinking.  A character from Crystal Pond Woods introduces a high level thinking skill used in his or her job.  The character reinforces the type of thinking in the whole class activity.  Dudley the Detective uses deductive thinking strategies to find the one right answer and Sybil the Scientist uses analytical thinking strategies to examine attributes and classify objects.  Isabel the Inventor uses divergent thinking strategies as she brainstorms and invents while Yolanda the Yarnspinner, also a divergent thinker, creates colorful stories.  Max the Magician, a visual thinker, explores different spatial perspectives and mentally manipulates shapes.  Jordan the Judge utilizes evaluative thinking by determining the best solution based on factual criteria.

     The kindergarten students are introduced to the characters and thinking skills.  The thinking skills are incorporated into lessons that relate to the themes that the students are learning about in their classrooms.

     The fourth grade curriculum is comprised of several different theme related units.  I continue to emphasize and provide activities for all of the higher-level thinking skills that were taught in earlier grades.