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The week before break seems like one of the longest weeks of the school year. Thanksgiving break, Christmas break, Spring break....it doesn't matter the kind, the hours and days seem to stretch on FOREVER. To help the days pass more quickly I decided to plan something fun for the kids to do this week before the first long break of the school year. For Fourth grade I introduced an engineering challenge. I supplied groups of four with . a box of supplies- A handful of Popsicle sticks and 8 clothes clips. The challenge was that the students needed to design a Thanksgiving table stable enough to hold a turkey. Our turkey ended being a small bobble head figure I found from the dollar store. The students were a little frustrated at first but were 100% determined and equally engaged in the task. They played with a few designs before deciding as a group which would be the best for the task of holding the turkey. As they tinkered and worked I answered questions about the challenge parameters and encouraged students who showed signs of frustration. One by one each group excitedly waved me over to who me their completed create and request the turkey. As I slowly rest the turkey on top and the table successfully supports it the group members jump and cheer with excitement. This process is what makes Maker Challenges worthwhile. Students puzzle over a task wonder if its possible, they give it a try, rise to accomplish the challenge and feel overwhelming elated in their accomplishment. Its a beautiful thing to see and I can only hope that their success in this small challenge will empower them to tackle more.
Finally our first groups of Kinder-2nd students who achieved ten stars enjoyed their first MakerSpace day. Every time student in grades Kinder-2nd come to the library they have a chance to earn up to three stars based on their behavior. When they make it to ten stars, they earn a MakerSpace day where they can use their library time to explore and create in different stations. Our stations this week included:
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I'm so happy to announce that our library was award $1,500 to improve our MarkerSpace program from the Plano ISD Education Foundation. A MakersSpace is a place that allows students to create anything they can imagine with the supplies on hand. MakerSpaces can be high or low tech, expensive or low budget but through the ACT of creating something new students are challenged to inquire, take risks, problem solve, reflect on their results and even encouraged to apply what they learn to real world problems. The funds from the Grant to Educators award will be used to begin a MakerMondays program where students can visit the library on Mondays during recess or when they finish their class work. Beginning January 2018 the library will be set up with opportunities to explore STEM-tasic challenges such as creating a maze and coding a Dash bot to run through it, engineering structures such as towers and bridges, using geometry to design blueprints, learning about circuitry through LittleBit and SnapCircuit kits and turning scraps into artistic masterpieces in our creative corner. The mission of MakerMondays is to empower our students to discover their creative genius and prepare them for the future by exploring the foundations of science, technology, engineering and math careers. Make sure to stay tuned to see how this program develops!
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