0 Comments
So the title might have you wondering just where this is going but bare with me and we will get there fairly quickly. This spring I had the idea to create a digital space where I would house the videos I plan to make for STEM careers as well as possible podcasts. I didn't want something someone else was using since that can get confusing but still wanted it to be unique and understandable. I ended up thinking about the word collaboration which encompassed everything I really wanted and laboratory which conjures visions of everything science. Together they made Collaboratory. But that wasn't unique enough. I wanted to have ownership of it too so The Kollaboratory was born. In Canva, I created a logo that would work for this. In true maker fashion, the letters were pictures of different building and art materials. And this inspired me to try to make something like it for my classroom. It seemed easy. There was a great sale on large paper mache letters at a local craft chain store. I ordered all 13 for less than I would have cost for 6 of them anywhere else. Then it seemed like finding scrapbook paper for them should be simple right? How many times have I seen crayons or pencils or paint when I was scrapbooking? Well, I should have remembered that I haven't actually scrapbooked in years. My experience is old. There are almost no papers out there in craft stores like I was envisioning. Luckily, I have an aunt and cousin who are serious scrapbookers and a room in my house with supplies I hadn't gotten around to getting to yet. (That's another win for the hoarders out there!) Now I have this really cool feature that my room elves put up for me and I love it! I'm really looking forward to what The Kollaboratory will bring out in the future but for now we've got things started. The news is coming out that I was recently selected by the Michigan Department of Education for their Innovative Educator Corps. Part of this amazing opportunity is the obviously the funding and how creative I get to be with expanding on my life with STEM. There are items that I have previously talked about wanting to get and things that I've wanted to do and now I have that opportunity. There will be many more posts about future activities and events.
We will be using this to build some tiny houses out of lightweight wood. We will also be able to plan, draw, and cut things for the houses. I will be expanding also to include a money component by creating and cutting "luxury" items and giving budgets for decorating with patterned paper. I can't wait to do this with my kids. I'm also really looking forward to all of the possibilities that will come up with having this technology available in my class and sharing it with my school.
For those who, like me, are in the Midwest and have had multiple snow days already, what normally would be days we would have more "just for fun" activities are going to have to gear differently. Take Valentine's Day for example. With over a dozen days off and more on the horizon, we really need to be working on and reinforcing the concepts we have been learning. To accomplish that, I have been looking for some Valentine themed activities and came across Education.com's great buildable resources. I was able to get this worksheet to practice division but with a themed border. I also like the extra space down below for students to work out their answers, rather than have it filled with problems. Check out these samples and more.
Kids will love practicing their division skills with this sweet Valentine's Day worksheet treat from Education.com. Lots more educational resources and games are just a click away at Education.com.
|
AuthorThat's Elementary Explains is a teacher with almost 2 decades of teaching experience and a technology degree who is still trying to figure out the new and unexplained. Archives
March 2021
Categories |