Makers and Tinkers is an Early Childhood Engineering and Design-focused program intended for school-age children from Kindergarten through Second Grade. These programs can be tailored to last either one hour or ninety minutes, depending on the preference of the host school.
During each “Makers and Tinkers” session for grades K through 2, work will begin with a literature connection focused on a specific concept (such as this week, “The Power of Air,” which looks at Air Pressure and “Air as a Push”). During the class, the group will use hands-on learning methods to investigate concepts delineated in the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks in the areas of Physics, Inquiry and Technology/Engineering for that grade-level.
Children will work independently, in pairs, or in small groups to practice critical thinking and collaboration skills, and acquire important practice with using a growth mindset and responding to failure. Children will create with loose parts, engage in the planning process of engineering, and “attack” STEM challenges from different angles.
According to the Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (DESE, 2006), The “Skills of Inquiry, Experimentation, and Design” include the ability to:
Make predictions based on observed patterns.Makers and Tinkers will seek to touch on these skills, providing opportunities to apply them in context.
To learn more about Curious Kids Lynnfield’s Offsite Enrichment Class Offerings and
Professional Development Seminars, please use our web form or give us a call at 617-680-2728.
