When was the last time your children spent time with a random assortment of items, no instructions and the goal of creating something?
If you're like most households, the answer is probably never or at the very least a long time ago. But the joy to be found in those unrestricted creative hours increases a student's perseverance and stamina for challenges and innovation more than any task that involves instructions or a predicted outcome.
Crafts and STEAM are not the same thing-- crafts are amazing and fun and teach important motor and direction-following skills, but crafts involve more specific rules and rarely are used to solve a problem. STEAM projects, on the other hand, are set specifically to olve a problem using a set of criteria (supplies, etc) and constraints (rules, limits to how much tape can be used, etc). While most crafts will end up looking alike, even with very different children building them, STEAM challenges will all be unique-- just like the children solving them.
Why does this matter? The simplest answer is this: careers in STEAM require innovation and self-motivation. Crafts encourage neither of those, while STEAM challenges require both. Students involved in creation and problem solving will become more resilient when faced with failure and also more likely to push their successes even further. In short, crafts can be fun but STEAM challenges build the whole person.
And that's where MAKER MINUTES come in! Minutes will begin in early July (maybe even late June if the space is ready!) and will involve a variety of supplies, challenges, ideas and problems that scientists can work to solve or imagine new solutions. Students can also come in with an idea and work to build or solve something based on that idea (maybe they have a pet that knows how to open the door and they want to build a latch to keep the door shut for the pet but easy to open for an adult with hands full of groceries. . .the list of potential ideas is endless!).
I will be available for each young scientist during Maker Minute hours, but I will not be giving answers or even suggestions-- I will be there to encourage deeper thought and new directions. I will probably answer questions with questions-- the goal is to help these scientists unleash the incredible potential they already possess and learn to use it to innovate, create and enjoy the world around them. And then, when school starts, just think about how much easier problem solving will be in both social and school situations! Oh the power of STEAM Thinking!!!
See you this summer!
~Mrs. Morgan
P.S. Use this coupon to get a discount on your first Maker Minutes purchase! MAKER23
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