Making time for Creative Time

In these first few days of school I wanted to give the students the opportunity to be creative and create something out of common house hold "junk" that I placed before them. As I collected the materials my own mind began to create possibilities of what these things could be. All of the possibilities that I came up with were nothing compared to what our students created. I was impressed by what they made, as well as how they made it. Another side-effect from this creative project was that the students loved it! 

All of my students, kindergarten through fourth grade, participated in this exercise. I changed the parameters for the different grade levels as needed. To make it more difficult for my older students, I required them to work together to create one item. They also had to use at least one of all the items in the tray. 

I encourage parents and teachers to give your children and students time to create and to be creative. They will amaze you!

That was the easy stuff

So it turns out that the mess in my room proved to be much easier to deal with than my next job.  First, let me say that I work with the most outstanding group of teachers. They create outstanding learning environments for our students and I am blessed to work along side them. Our classroom teachers have been teaching science in their own classrooms. This curriculum was based on thematic units through our Language Arts curriculum and the older science standards. As we moved ahead with plans for the STEM lab we decided to base our program on the new science standards just released by the National Science Teachers Association. We still wanted to have connections to our Language Arts curriculum as well as maintain some of the units that were traditionally taught in certain grade levels. I am sure that you see by now how complicated that was going to be.

Well, after many hours pouring over lots of documents and information, I was no where. I had no idea how we were possibly going to make this work. As a result we contacted a classroom teacher from each grade level and asked them to meet with me one on one. Even though it was summer they were more than willing to come to school and meet with me. With their great ideas and a willingness to be flexible we came up with some outstanding units of study. There is absolutely no way I could have done it without them.

You know the saying "it takes a village to raise a child". Well, it takes a group of teachers to create a dynamic and engaging STEM curriculum too. Our students arrive on Wednesday and I can honestly say that in my twelve years of teaching I have never been more excited. 

A Hot Mess

So I have accepted a new position at my school to be the STEM lab teacher. My fellow teachers were asked to bring science kits that they have used for years in their classrooms. There were multiple kits in each of the 22 classrooms. The kits were filled with everything from rocks to chemicals as well as a variety of instruments. As more and more of these large boxes filled my small space the more overwhelmed I became.

                     

These pictures show the magnitude of the hot mess that I was faced with. It took many days and many hours to sort through all the boxes and mess. By combining like materials I was able to eliminate many boxes that were no longer necessary. This allowed me to keep all the things I needed as well as make room for the new things too. Here are the pictures of the finished lab. This whole process has taught me that anything is possible with hard work and a positive attitude.

      

You want me to do what?

To understand this post it is important to know a little about me. I have taught for 12 years. I taught one year of third grade, the rest of my experience is in first grade. I am also a reading specialist. I always thought that if I left the classroom it would be to be a reading specialist or a reading coach. I am passionate about helping children find their way to being a reader. It is funny how when you have a clear goal in mind you miss other opportunities or possible paths.

I was presented with a new path this spring. I was asked to create a STEM lab for grades kindergarten through fourth grade. You could have blown me over with a feather! I was shocked that I would be considered for this since I don’t think of myself as a science person. I was told that my love of technology, organizational skills, and ability to create a curriculum is why I was chosen. I love a new challenge so I was interested right away. After thinking about the possibles, the drawbacks and advantages I decided that I would accept this new challenge.

In future blogs I will share with you the journey that this new path has taken me on. I will share with you the successes and the pitfalls that I have encountered. I hope that you will find it informative and entertaining.