I feel like I’ve said this already this school year, but I can’t remember a time I’ve been so excited about the learning taking place at MJDS. Today’s ETC class added to the enthusiasm both the students and teachers are feeling in anticipation of Maker Fair! 

(If you missed my last post about Maker Fair you can read more about it here!)

Gev. McAdams, Gev. Noorlander and I created three different example kits for the students to try. Last week we had the students sign up for one of our kits and today they tested them out. Whether it was hammering away as they created string art, watching Gev. McAdam’s video tutorial or decorating their new planters, all students were having a blast. 

We intentionally planned three very different kits with a variety of materials and set of directions. I used Google Slides to create a pamphlet, Gev. McAdam’s had a QR code to scan that sent kids to her video tutorial and Gev. Noorlander had a list of directions to follow. We wanted to show the kids that their options are endless when it comes to choosing a project and designing their kits. 

Lastly, we asked the students for feedback as this will be a critical part of their process as well. Our questions were directly connected to the project requirements and parameters. We are looking forward to reading through their thoughts and seeing what project ideas they can come up with on Friday! 

Stay tuned for more excitement! 

PS. Yes — I was wearing noise cancelling headphones! Have you ever been in a space where 8 people are hammering at once? OY!

Can you believe we have started third quarter? That means we are halfway through the school year — ahhh! We have learned SO much but still have SO much left to do! 

About a week ago we wrapped up our Rube Goldberg projects. We (teachers and students) were so proud of the completed contraptions! We ended the unit by inviting teachers and students to view our work, ask questions and provide feedback. Overall it was a really successful unit in many ways. Students continued to build capacity as teammates, we developed our documentation skills and had tons of fun! You can view photos here. 

It will be difficult to top the learning experiences we’ve had so far — but we are confident that third and fourth quarter will be incredible. We are beyond excited to start our next ETC activity! With Home Depot Saturday kid workshops as our inspiration, the students will be participating in a Maker Fair! 

Students will be choosing something (a project, a DIY activity, art, etc.) that he/she would like to learn how to make. Next, they will research a variety of ways to make it and create a project proposal to initiate the purchase of materials needed. After successfully completing the project, the kids will create written tutorials and ready-to-go kits so that others can recreate their newly learned skill. Ah, this is so exciting! 

This Wednesday students will test out the kits we’ve designed as examples. I learned how to make string art, Gev. McAdam’s created a dog toy and Gev. Noorlander learned how to make succulent planters. We can’t wait to share photos!

Oh. My. Gosh.

We love your children. 

Today’s challenge was 100%, absolutely, incredibly, beyond belief magical! Or maybe we just thought so– but really, it was pretty amazing! 

Check out these slides to see exactly how the class played out.

This video also captures the essence of the class. If you listen carefully, you can hear their support for each other. 

It was seriously a dream come true to watch and listen to your children work so seamlessly together. The work they’ve been doing around teamwork, the entire quarter, has been absorbed and is being lived in the 5th and 6th grade.  

In our reflection discussion at the end of class, it came out that even the kids were amazed at how marvelously they worked together. They couldn’t pick just one “I can” statement to reflect upon because they felt like they did all of them SO well in the challenge. They were actually eager to document about the experience on their rubrics! 

They shared that because they’ve been working with their classmates so closely, they feel like they know what they need from each other and how to collaborate so they can find success — even if working with someone who operates totally different from them. 

We asked the kids, “How many of you found it difficult to work with someone on an earlier challenge that you now find yourself working with really well?” Twelve out of our 20 students raised their hands. 

These critical skills– collaboration, communication, planning and managing for results, adaptability, higher-order thinking– are transferring into their other classes and will hopefully stick with them as they are such valuable, important life skills. 

Even as we write this, hours after the challenge, we cant help but smile. We are so proud of the work your kids are doing at MJDS. It feels wonderful to be a part of this kind of teaching and learning.

An amazing thing happened during ETC on Wednesday. Every single group failed! Say what? We are excited about failure? YEP! 

The best part came during our discussion at the end of class. Each group reflected together about what worked, what didn’t work and shared out. Through our conversation they realized they may know what it takes to find success in the challenge. We will try the challenge again on Friday and see what happens. Stay tuned!

Additionally, we saw so many students being 100% honest about their participation within their team. They documented growth, challenges and goals on their rubrics which we will share at student led conferences. Can’t wait! 

Your kiddos continue to impress us with their ability to self assess and reflect. Today we shared a wonderful story, The Dot, where a young girl develops a growth mindset and confidence through a little encouragement and a lot of perseverance. It was a prefect connection to what we’ve been working on in ETC.

The story connected perfectly to our dot challenge– Build the tallest tower using only 50 index cards and a sheet of DOT stickers. 

The activity led to great conversation where we decided that learning really takes place through asking questions.  Groups that had more success (or felt more successful) were constantly asking questions of themselves as engineers and also about the challenge parameters. It was a really authentic learning opportunity that we weren’t anticipating.

Students also shared personal growth toward their teamwork goals and continue to hold each other accountable to our expectations. 

We hope you’ll ask your children about this fun activity!

Who can launch a marshmallow the furthest? Oh, and you have to build the catapult with limited supplies! GO!

But Actually…. Please ask your kiddos about this fun challenge!