It’s Challenging but Worth it

Wow it’s been a long time since I’ve written in this spot. Still trying to get back into the blogging thing, Ive been more into showing and sharing with short videos on Instagram. Easier, quicker and can be done in real time… at least for me.

This year in the maker space we continue the maker challenges at lunchtime which have been a huge hit. Ive found it hard to get into class to doing these things even though they fit nicely with our dispositions such as resourcefulness, resilience, relating and being reflective. I understand that in a busy day and crowded curriculum it’s a hard thing to incorporate.

Last week we did did our 4th challenge this year which as a fun one about forces and design with grades 1 and 2. It was all about building a better parachute (in 30 minutes) at lunch.

We learned and experienced:

• How gravity works
• How balance affects object
• Air resistance
• Teamwork & cooperation
• Resilience
• Resourcefulness
• Balance and load
• Creativity
• {insert more}

And equally as important learners had fun doing math and science without knowing they were ‘doing’ math and science.

You can see the video here Its a bummer I have to UPGRADE my  WP account to insert video….

A lot of our challenges revolve around either learning goals or our dispositions (like Learner Profile in PYP) which allows for what comes afterwards very diverse and open. Sometimes these challenges link to our units of study. Often learners come back to work on their design that failed or want to try again or even decorate their piece they created in the challenge. Never underestimate the power of decoration, it’s important to kids.