After a long hiatus to our class blog, I wanted to share some notes about and photos of projects students were working on before and after Winter Break. With a pause in enrichments, we had some extra time to devote to student selected topics. We called this time Genius Hour. Ranging from 40-60 minutes 3-4 times a week, students had ample time to explore a subject they found interesting and get creative in a very hands on way. Some students tried out Makey-Makeys with no direct instruction. Makey-Makeys are simple color coded parts that when combined in “right” order allow electric current to flow through creating a circuit that can run a light or small motor. It was great to see the enthusiasm and even though there weren’t enough sets for each student that was interested to have their own, it fostered collaboration, patience, and teamwork.
Other students went the art route, yet in many different forms. Some students focused on holiday decorations and created a tree, colored construction paper chains, pipe cleaner bows, and even faux presents. Other students worked on a large mural and gained an incredible amount of respect from me when another student accidentally spilled water on it and they had to work on something else while it dried. Another student, when not assisting others, diligently worked on creating cardboard blades from a character in a game League of Legends. By the end, another student had created a cardboard mask/head from a different game. Even projects that weren’t aren’t specific had some type of flair.
Some students gravitated towards cardboard and a group of boys made a jet pack and others laser blasters. Some students created a ping pong ball toss game using cardboard and a few girls took it further and created a target for a bow that shot unsharpened pencils. In the final stretch of time, two more cardboard arenas were created, one for football and one for basketball, including raised hoops for the latter and advertising billboards for the former.
I was even impressed by those who started out simply wanting to play some games. A group of boys started by playing Connect Four, but by the end had created modified rules to make the game more fun and challenging. Another group of girls were simple passing around a putty ball, and when encouraged to think about ways to expand, created a styrofoam bordered arena complete with goals and the ability to play 2-on-2, much like foosball.
The process did require some patience on my end, as well as a willingness to at times let things get a little messy, and even a little more noisy than usual, but the final (and sometimes still incomplete) projects show that it was a worthwhile endeavor. I highly encourage offering time to your children to just mess around. With simple supplies that were found around the class as well as things that were being unused at my home, there was more than enough to stimulate curiosity and creativity. On a last note, if lack of cardboard is ever the determining factor, Costco will gladly give it away when asked. That’s an insider tip, just don’t tell anyone that you heard it from me.
