I love the process of a new phase of my pedagogy. Love, love, love reflecting on how my own experience as a learner, parent, and teacher come together to send me on my next passion. In fact, I'd say that my life has been blessed with passion projects, from pursuing my love of art and poetry to digging into how people develop number sense from toddlerhood to sixty. And then the miracle that is TpT! It's never been easier for us to share our passion projects in education and legitimize them! Don't even get me started on my newfound love of Pinterest boards! In fact, based on the virtual worlds I belong to, I would say passion projects are the norm among all humans. Or at least dreaming of your project. Again, I've have been blessed to not only dream but to have access to the resources (or is it because I have resources that I dream?) to pursue my interests.
It is in that thought that my next adventure can be found -- Genius Hours and Maker Spaces. I am so excited and nervous to start this journey with my first graders. Will it be everything I imagine? Probably more and not at all. This is the type of unknown where, no matter what, we will all be better at the end -- and if everything goes as planned, it will really only be a beginning for the students and for myself!!!
Stages of my journey so far...
...needing to differentiate for ranges of intermediate students in a way they could manage and yet individualize led me to create these resources: Create An Amusement Park, Create a Compound, Create a Machine and First Grade Factory. Create a Machine is the true genesis of my next project-- gathering materials and supplies to have a Maker Space. And then my nephew had a birthday party at this amazing space called Tinkertopia -- holy cow. Watching our kids ages 5-11 create amazing things (jet packs, houses with treadmills and creatures to live in them, and even a marionette puppet) made me realize if I provided materials and time, my students would create.
...then we went to our daughter's Hi-Cap meeting where we saw a video on Rube Goldberg machines to kick off the theme of this year: Maker Space with purpose toward solving a real world problem. Ah ha! So many things coalesced in my mind and it was like a cartoon light bulb was floating over my head for the rest of the spring.
...but as I sat listening to the Hi-Cap plans, I realized I wanted all my students to have these experiences. ALL my students -- those who finish early and those who are pulled out for services hours a day. Those who could just move up a couple grades tomorrow and those who are working on the skills of previous grades. Those who ask for extra projects to work on in their homework and those who don't have pencils to do homework, let alone know where they are spending the night or if there will be electricity or dinner in that environment. ALL students should be given those minutes to plan, create, fail, and rise back up.
... and then, most recently, I realized I needed to not just provide stuff for free create (still very important) but provide time and structure to pursue individual passion.
...then my goal to have engaged students and not just compliant students has merged into staff professional development and framing our work in ways to engage adults as well. How did we decide to do that? By having staff determine and lead groups based on their passions.
Genius!
...so my next adventure: Genius Hour in Primary. What will my role be? I'm still researching that. But since it is my passion, I love the process and will enjoy my journey!
Check out my Maker Space and Genius Hour board on Pinterest for a collection of ideas from around the world!
