In Defense of Craft, Play and Tinkering

In Defense of Craft, Play and Tinkering : Technology is great, but let's make sure that we don't undervalue craft, play and tinkering in our makerspaces.

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

How to Build Creativity (and More ) Through Making

How to Build Creativity (and more) Through Making // The Four C's are a popular trend in education right now. They may be a trend, but they're also valuable skills that students can learn through making - and it doesn't have to be expensive or complicated.

The Four C’s are big in education right now: Creativity, Critical Thinking, Collaboration and Communication.  We talk constantly about how we need to be teaching our students these skills.   I’m not always a big fan of buzzwords – even though I’ve only been in education for less than a decade, I realize that they come … Read more

Being a Maker: Just Create Something Everyday

Being a Maker: Just Create Everyday: If you want to expand your creativity, create something everyday. Even if it sucks. Just keep building the habit. Now go make opportunities for your students to do this.

(Post contains affiliate links.  If you make a purchase using them, I get a small commission that helps support running this blog) Just create something.  Everyday. I love to read books about creativity and the artist’s process.  It’s fascinating to learn the stories of authors, artists and other creatives and learn about their how they create … Read more

How to Run a Recycled Book Art Workshop

How to Run a Recycled Book Art Workshop : A recycled book art workshop is a fun, budget friendly project for any makerspace.

Many educators falsely believe that you can’t start a makerspace without a huge budget.  But some of the best makerspace supplies are free! As part of our new Maker Mondays program, I recently tried out a new activity with my students that went off great.  I only spent around $50 on supplies, most of which … Read more

Read this Book: Izzy Gizmo + Giveaway

Read this Book: Izzy Gizmo - This delightful new picture book definitely has a place in makerspaces. It portrays a young girl of color who loves science, experiences setbacks and develops empathy for others.

While I’ve never worked in an elementary school before, I’m always on the lookout for awesome maker picture books.  Picture books are a great way to introduce a lesson or activity in makerspaces.  We even have a whole chart on maker picture book connections in Challenge Based Learning (check out the resources page to see … Read more

SLJ Post: A Student-Designed Maker Cart

A Student Designed Maker Cart | In an article I wrote for School Library Journal, I describe a powerful collaboration that became the Furniture Challenge, where my students designed a cart for makerspaces, which was later manufactured by CEF>

Note: This post is a brief summary/intro of an article I wrote that appeared in the Septemeber 2017 School Library Journal.  To read the full article, click here. The Furniture Challenge Towards the end of the 2017 school year, I introduced a design challenge to my afterschool Maker’s Club that was one of our best ones … Read more