Penny STEM

Reading Molly Lou Melon is one of my favorite books to share at the beginning of school. She is spunky, loves her grandma, and uses her strength to her advantage. How many drops of water can you drip drop on the top of a penny? How high can you stack pennies? Have you ever made a penny spinner? All in learning our STEM room procedures for following directions, clean up, and even assigning jobs. It is a great get to know you activity and class building exercise.

Various Lessons I Taught

Kinders have trouble with directions and steps so what better way to help than a partner? Botlogic is a website where children must use arrows to get a robot to the house.  As the levels progress there are a certain number of moves, a battery back that will give you extra moves, and even a button you must turn on and off to proceed. I usually model for students the buttons and the path or algorithm they create and special notes of the level before letting them partner up and making their way through the path.

Ozobots are robots that follow a color marker route where the combinations of colors tell the Ozobot certain directions pertaining to speed or direction.  The students brainstorm with partners the routes the Ozobot should take to meet the most houses for present drop off.  Here we have students demonstrating the route and timing their journey.

Dash and Dot robots from Wonder Workshop area great for a group to test an algorithm. Dash can do so many things from moving, turning, singing, lighting up...it is endless what the students can create.  They learn and collaborate together.

Laptops are a must tool for the students and there are so many websites to practice skills.

Nearpod is an excellent companion in the classroom for students to follow along and interact with a lesson planned in advance. 

One of my favorite features of Nearpod is when the students draw their answers I can put them up on the screen for everyone to see without anyone knowing who it belongs to.  We can discuss the pictures and rationale for their answer or why someone would agree or disagree with them. 

Seesaw is an app we use to create or show our learning and hand in on the iPad.  Here these kinders are telling a little about themselves using emjois. The might not be able to spell out the words but they can find a picture to let you know their thoughts.

new STEM classroom

So this is the new STEM classroom.  Wait it was an art room last year and now it was given to me to teach STEM as a special area.  Kind of scary but just a bit exciting!  I will get to see every kid in the school.  I will get to see old friend all grown up and finally get to have friends I never had the chance to when they were firsties.  It is a WIN! Yes I will admit that I will miss a class of friends.  23 years is a long time to have a group and watch them grow over the year but a chance to share technology with every kid and teacher in the school. YES!!

The room was originally set up as a science lab but how could I take this turn in my career and create a special area class.  What would I take and what would I need? A LOT I tell you!

So we had the one wall painted with a royal blue, our school color and it turned out lovely.  WOW what a coat of paint to a wall can do to a room.

Tables, yes, I want them to work together, flexible seating, yes, I want that too, and of course inspirational words to have these students DREAM BIG!

I decided I need a few more options to the flexible seating arrangements from last year so I made my first trip to IKEA in Orlando.  All I can say is thank goodness for the arrows on the floor or I might never had made it back out the parking lot.  I think my favorite might be the ipad stands.  I am using the pink one right now while blogging.  It is sturdy and just the right angle and who can beat the price?  I decided I needed to spend a bit in my new room before my next trip to IKEA.  More to come...

Moving on...

Yes you read that correctly.  I will be the STEM Special Area teacher.  I am very excited to get to see every child in the whole school from K-5.  I am reading blogs and watching videos of how to set it all up.  Looking forward to sharing our journey.