Frank Lloyd Wright, Blocks and Play (Post contains affiliate links.) On a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s home in Oak Park, Illinois, we enter a large room – a sort of study combined with library and a tall ceiling. This was a room for entertaining guests, the children, relaxing in the evening. There’s several built … Read more
Good signage is vital in a learning space. Ideally, your students should be able to walk into your space, look around, and find the things that they need without having to ask for help. Realistically, I know that this isn’t usually what happens, but it’s the goal to aim for. In general, I would say … Read more
Read This Book: The Design of Childhood I first heard about The Design of Childhood: How the Material World Shapes Independent Kids in a NPR interview with the author. It immediately piqued my interest. Design, education and learning spaces are some of my favorite subjects. Bringing them all together in one book sounds amazing. And … Read more
Our libraries are no longer solely the silent, individual study zones that they used to be. More and more schools are recognizing the value of collaboration, and the library can be the perfect place to support it. But traditional library environments (think heavy wooden individual tables, tall, imposing stacks, etc) don’t really provide a collaborative … Read more
When I first started my makerspace at Stewart, I had no idea what I was doing. I just had three bins of K’nex and a vision for what our makerspace could be. Shortly after we got our supplies, we began 6th grade clubs that met during school. I started the K’nex club. The next year … Read more
I don’t normally review fiction on my blog, but Click’d ties in beautifully with makerspaces and would be a fantastic addition to your library. Here’s why: Read this Book: Click’d (Post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using them, I get a small commission that helps support running this blog) Allie Navarro loves to … Read more
I love all forms of making. Coding robots, building circuits, soldering things to make stuff light up. Knitting, sewing, crafting, tinkering, taking what looks like a pile of junk and turning it into something amazing. But sadly, many in education see a distinction between these two types of making. In Defense of Craft, Play and … Read more
It’s a new school year! Some of you may already be back, and some of you may be counting down the last days of summer. Either way, a new year is a fresh start, a chance to change things up and make your library program better. Here’s some things to think about as you get … Read more
I’ve come to realize that I’m an overplanner (my friends are probably rolling their eyes right now). I get this trait from my dad. I love to research places, read articles, make maps, create itineraries. Conferences are one of my favorite ways to learn. And I’m an overplanner. When you combine these two things, it … Read more
Whether you’re already knee-deep into makerspaces or just toying with the idea of maybe adding some LEGOs to your library next year, we can all benefit by making time for creative experiences. Summer is a great time to rest, renew and grow as individuals. Making time for creative experiences and pursuits is one great way … Read more