[Activity 2] Make Something!

Hello! I hope this counts :D I made an exploration space for Toddlers (1 year old learners).
It was a corner of the room, with white boxes and tubes covered in white paper, and a projector with a video of colorful circles moving around. The idea was to create an interesting environment for the babies to investigate their shadows, the different shapes, the projection on the surfaces (and on themselves!).

The idea was inspired by light ateliers from Reggio Emilia. My biggest challenge was finding a place that was dark enough, so the projection could be seen better. If I had more time, I guess I would try to expand the space with more projectors, more objects to interact with!

8 Likes

That’s so cool – I bet the toddlers had a blast!

1 Like

I’m working to teach sustainable design to young people with a focus on addressing climate change. Air pollution requires a little chemistry to appreciate, so I made a “sketch” of a hydrogen atom in action.

4 Likes

I’m loving this… :heart_eyes: Actually have been thinking about doing something of this sort at some point, having an animation projected on the walls for my son. Something very vague in my mind yet, but this project of yours is inspiring!! :blue_heart: Thanks for sharing!

1 Like

Hello -

My two sons and I are huge fans of Legos - all colors and sizes, and our household is full of them. We have thousands.

Typically, my boys spend about 1-2 hours a day building. From after school to waking up to get dressed for the day or spending a few minutes before going to bed… they aim to create, etc.

While the environment is somewhat “free play” or “free design,” I wanted to help them imagine something and build it while understanding there will be delays, mishaps, tearing down, rebuilding, and reevaluating. Additionally, we can still have fun while aiming to accomplish a goal that could be a lengthy project.

I asked my Pre-K and K boys what they wanted to build, and they stated a bridge. High up, connecting from one Lego table to another, expanding across an entire room wall. Simple on the surface, but coordination, understanding of weight, usage, length, and more were needed… something my boys got a “rude-awakening” about.

How did you get the idea?

I asked my boys what they wanted to build, and a bridge came to mind. Autonomy is essential, and at times, with guidance, a roadmap, and an understanding of the possible outcomes.

What was a challenge you encountered?

My boys can be impatient. They can be competitive with one another. Teamwork begins on a positive note, then one elects to choose another path, abandoning the other. Sometimes their idea, albeit the same, can still be different. So, just bringing them together can be challenging at times, and like a book, having a beginning, middle, and end to a project, requires a lot (i.e., focus) despite the inherited fun.

What would you do if you had more time?

Time is not an issue. Persistence, not giving up, etc., and related perspectives/attitudes could help the progress of a project. All that said, they are kids. Learning is over time and requires grace.

How did the suggested constraints influence how you approached the activity?

I exuded more grace, a cheerful attitude, coaching approach and attempted to temper expectations while not deluding the possibilities. Lead with love but push for greatness! It’s incredible how something so fun taught us a lot about ourselves and life. Legos were simply the unit of analysis.

1 Like

My colorful flowers!

My idea for a project, is paining flowers and using different shades, then add a watercolor effects to my digital piece. The watercolor effects completely changed the looks and made a nice touch to the bright shade.
I will keep experimenting with different techniques.

Happy painting! :art:

6 Likes

@JayElf , I love your idea, building a project and keep adding details to create a scene. Let your imagination run free in coming up with nice details :joy:

2 Likes

@creative3d_render beautiful! :hibiscus: :blossom: :cherry_blossom:

1 Like

I had the opportunity to bake some cookies and bring them to class to my students. I wanted them to think of the connections between those cookies they ate and the digital ones.

The result was amazing.

4 Likes

In our county/school district we have an ample supply of Chromebooks. Sometimes this can be seen as a blessing & other times as a curse. :) We also have access for each student chromebook to connect to Microsoft’s Minecraft EDU edition.

What I’ve been working on, albeit slowly, is a maze for students to attempt. If they solve it, they get to build in a place of their own where I’ve created a barn, small garden & treehouse.


I had an issue with my account that prevented me from accessing the world so that caused the delay in the response.
I look forward to working with my kiddos on this over the next few weeks!

2 Likes

Love it !

@steggie thinking Nina’s beautiful project might interest you too : )
ニーナの美しいプロジェクトもあなたの興味を引くかもしれないと思っています

1 Like

Arka planınız harika görünüyor.Dijital tasarımlarım için Canva,'yı kullanmak isterim fakat bu konuda çok acemiyim.

Leí a mis niños el libro “El maravillloso sombrero de María” les gustó mucho y empezaron a platicar de qué les gustaría que fuera su sombrero, con lo que se me ocurrió hacer un proyecto Maker. Lo vamos a empezar la siguiente semana, les adjunto la plantación.

6 Likes

Since last weekend I’ve been going over this activity and the beautiful spiral of little projects that emerged, each one taking inspiration from others and carrying it further. It’s truly inspiring, and the kind of things that sometimes happen in LCL-World, this beautiful and warm space we’re creating together :earth_africa:

All this to say… that I’ve been spiraling again. I was struck by @OLVL’s beautiful poem and the story behind it. It got stuck in my mind, and taking @tarmelop’s wise advice, I decided to translate it to Spanish, my mother tongue. On Monday I was actually singing to it :notes:

So I’ve recorded a little song, and would like to share it with you people :green_heart:

Here’s the Spanish lyrics:

Construyamos una casa -
Hagámosla de papel,
Mas todo lo necesario
Pongámosle:

Las ventanas bien abiertas -
Para mejor respirar,
La pequeña chimenea -
Para podernos calentar.

Nuestros sueños se mecerán
Junto a la ventana del ático,
Y desde la puerta abierta
Comenzaremos nuestro viaje.

Llevaremos con nosotros
Esa casa ingrávida -
¡Y estaremos siempre juntos,
como en nuestro hogar!

And here’s the music:

The melody came surprisingly fast, in a way that I love when it happens: just being there, doing other things, without instrument or paper or computer. I had done a more or less literal translation, and setting it to music made me do some small adjustments.

The rest has been more complicated. I only had a real piano for an hour or so on Thursday, so I had to sketch the best I could, and later do a false recording at home. I had to record myself with the computer’s mic, but I don’t have anything else with me.

The most difficult thing, anyway, keeps being the actual sharing. Not only something probably needing some revisions, but actually me singing. That’s something I’ve rarely done (though I’m singing all day long), for reasons that I don’t like. So be kind on my shy voice, and hope you enjoy my contribution to these waves of so many beautiful things…

7 Likes

Thank you so much for continuing that beautiful spiral of projects by letting us hear you singing - you have such a warm and pleasant voice! :clap: :hugs:

5 Likes

@frjurado @OLVL @tarmelop this is the most incredibly beautiful song! :notes: :heart:

I cannot tell you how much this deeply moving, spiralling, growing, evolving project is inspiring me (and many others, in many places, I know) still further all the time…

@frjurado when I heard how beautiful this was, I just could not stop myself… so I’ve made a start (…but I’m taking my time, as it’s so dear to me… and will tinker some more with it throughout Passion and Peers weeks :heart: :grin: )
…by letting this unfold some more, it’s just begun to emerge from me as an animation in Scratch, with this beautiful song very much at the heart and running through it :pray::cyclone::sparkles::hearts:

2 Likes

Well, I’ve made a simple project that the base was inspired by one of my student’s project, it mainly focused on using text to speech and remixing with music in Scratch. Below is the link:
https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/686028524

2 Likes

so adore this idea @Ryani ! especially love the Dragon :notes::dragon: :notes:

1 Like

Thank you @JayElf, I really like your projects idea and the little kitten, so cute :laughing:

1 Like