A few weeks back I had an idea for an activity for my teachers when we return to school. I hope to help them see that bringing creativity into their classrooms can be easy. I hope to let them see that activities can connect to the standards in simple ways. But I also hope to let them experience the joy that is exploring, collaborating, building, and more with a hands-on #makermovement activity.
Every year on the first day of school, I provide light refreshments in my room. It helps to encourage teachers to stop by, ask for any help they might need, share ideas that might be considering for the coming year, and pick up their SMARTBoard pens. Yesterday I printed labels in preparation for this gathering. The labels read, "Welcome to the new school year! On September 5th or 6th, please bring this envelope with you to #OurSTEAMCafe. Let's build a great year together. ~Mrs. Shields".
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Color, size, shape, angles, & roles vary but we work well together. |
Surrounding the table will be some extra part containers with more Legos. These will be labelled "Community Parts". A reminder that we can't do it all alone. To make something better we may need to reach out to vendors, parents, social groups, consultants, and digitally connected PLN members.
I hope to make some signs reminding us that our shapes, sizes, colors, angles, and roles all may be different. But we have one similarity. We all work well together. Additionally, I would like to print some photographs of samples of how other teachers have been using Legos with their students. This summer I invested in a few books about projects with Legos like storytelling and working with simple machines. These will help decorate the area and offer some idea sparks.
As we build together I will be photographing so that we can see how each group of staff that arrives adds something to the greater whole.