I am a Media Assistant at an elementary school in Maryland. The library has become so much more than a place for just reading and borrowing books. One of the programs our students have loved is a Makerspace. We are currently 100% virtual and our interactions with students is very different than before. As an assistant, my position virtually looks quite different and I have been assisting in kindergarten and missing my time with other students and books! I decided to run a virtual club during students lunch break and wanted to share more about it with you. Whether this is something you want to try with your school or if you are a parent and are looking for some fun activities to do with your kids, I hope this post gives you some ideas!
I'm sharing below the information that I presented to students about my club. In order to ensure I did not have too many students I am doing 4 sessions each 4 weeks long. I broke it up by grade levels - so K & 1, 2 & 3, 4 & 5 will meet together. We meet for 1/2 hour two times a week.
This is a chance for you to explore, create, open your imagination and be challenged! Each Tuesday we will share a story together and then a challenge will be presented and you will have an activity to complete by Friday. I will ask that you consider the challenge, design a solution and create using any objects you have access to. If you are unable to create something, a drawing of your design plan will work just fine! On Friday, we will share our projects and ideas with our friends! REMEMBER: these are open-ended activities, do not come with instructions, and there is no requirement for a specific outcome!
In this club we will practice skills of:
Growth Mindset
Perseverance
Inventive thinking
Design, planning
Creating without limitations
Decision making
Conversation
Imagination
Problem solving
SUGGESTED MATERIALS
While these activities are designed to be open-ended and creative, it’s always helpful to have some materials available to help with creations!
Clean recyclables - toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls, jugs, cartons,
bottle caps, newspaper, egg cartons, boxes
Loose Parts - popsicle sticks, rubber bands, paper plates, plastic cups, q tips, foil, plastic wrap, toothpicks, straws, coffee filters, skewers, index cards, marbles, pennies, sponges, marshmallows, paperclips, spaghetti strands, clothes pins
Art Materials - glue, scissors, tape, paper, clay, playdoh, crayons, markers, pipe cleaners, pom-poms, yarn
Natural Materials - twigs, stones, leaves
Here's a break down of some of the books and extension activities I have planned:
Leaf Man by Ehlrert
Personification - nature - use leaves to create something
Perfect Square by Hall
Square piece creation -2D or 3D
Can you create something new out of a square?
Along a Long Road by Viva
Yarn road, map
Otter in Space by Garton
Create a way to get to the moon
Engrinerds (chapter) by Lerner
Create a robot
Bonaparte Falls Apart by Cuyler
Build a better skeleton
Balloons over Broadway by Sweet
Float - puppet - marionette
How to Catch a Unicorn by Wallace
Create a trap
What to do with a Box? By Yolen
create something useful out of a box
The Great Pig Escape by Christelow
Create a disguise
Design and create a playground
Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon by Lovell
Make a tall structure
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