Make Something!
Cultivating a Makerspace Frame of Mind w/Elementary Students
Projects, Passions, Peers & Play
Our Makerspace serves students in kindergarten through grade 5 for class projects, weekly makerspace activities and family events. I received a small, local grant and advertised a list of requested items from our school community. This interview with Mitch Resnick from the MIT Media Lab, Dr. Jackie Gerstein's makerspace presentations/research, the AMAZING work of Colleen Graves & Zeina Chalich's Maker as Learner infographic inspire the philosophy & practices of my elementary makerspace.
1. Process > product2. Copying is okay.
3. FAIL = first attempt in learning
4. Constraints lead to creativity (Students don't have free reign; they follow rules & with some projects, specific steps to get started)
5. Students, & teachers, need time to explore, discover, create & share.
Regularly Scheduled Makespace Activities
Design Studio
Student led lunchtime popups
Thursday Crafternoons
Family Events at the Makerspace
Dot Day Monster Mashup
Eat, Play, Build
The Big Draw
Let's Do Design Challenges!
A Few Resources...
Search #MakerEd #Makerspaces #NationOfMakers #inventionliteracy
on Twitter & Instagram
DIY.org
My students LOVE comic book art, so I integrated it into the makerspace:
Mana Comics
Create comic book characters with Sketch.io
*Visit Pop Culture Classroom for standards aligned comic book curriculum. ($, but reasonably priced!)