Maker Space

Name: Eden Peters

Date: Friday March 3, 2017

Placement: Thornhill Public School

Purpose

The class went down to the library to engage in Maker Space. Maker Space is an area where the children are offered several toys/games/materials to play with and create things. This offers the children time to express themselves creatively while having a break from a structured classroom lesson.

Task

This task was beneficial for me as I was able to see which activities the students gravitated towards. This enabled me to see their interests as well as which ways they learn best.

Objectives

• To observe the children engaging in the Maker Space activities.

• To start/participate in conversations with the children to see what they are creating.

• To discover the children’s interests in order to plan future activities.

Description

The schools librarian is in charge of the Maker Space program, so when we went down to the library, we waited for her to set up the activities. There were 5 tables set up with 5 different fine and gross motor activities (for example: Lego and other types of blocks). While observing what the children chose to play with, I sat at a table with magnetic connection toys. I noticed that most of the male students went to play with the Lego while the female students preferred to attach the magnetic toys or sort different blocks. It seemed that majority of the children were interested in some form of a block toy.

Reflection

I really enjoyed engaging in Maker Space and I feel the children did too. Hopefully, if I have the opportunity to lead a classroom activity, I will be able to incorporate some of the objects that the children were interested in while engaging in Maker Space.