Pop-Up Playground: Innovation and Imagination

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you gave children heaps of cardboard, fabric, scissors, tape, freedom and time? The Pop-Up Playground has the answer.
Some of you may be wondering what, exactly is a Pop-Up Playground. When I first heard our camp was selected to attend, I was curious too.  This video posted by Pop-Up Adventure Play, does an excellent job at describing it.


Essentially, a Pop-Up Playground, is where children are given the opportunity to explore, play, and build, anything, and in anyway they desire. It sparks children's imagination, and innovation, while the adult takes a step back.

Pop-Up Playground At Work:

Having the opportunity to witness a Pop-Up Playground in action, I must say, I am very excited about them. The children at my camp range in ages from 5-12. The pop-up playground offered me an opportunity to see the way they work together, or individually to create and carry-out plans. Some worked with members from other camps, while others built and played with campers from our camp. Some worked individually, and others worked in groups of various sizes. They were able to create fortresses, homes, and whatever their imagination told them. They became problem-solvers, and engineers. They took on various roles. They cooperated. They communicated. Most importantly, they had fun. 
Some may see these materials as junk. But children see it as so much more. 
Hurray for unorganized play!

Makerspace

A few weekends ago, I attended a Makerspace event, and it was fabulous! Some of you may be wondering, what is makerspace? and why is it so great? If you were to ask me, I would tell you this:
Makerspace is a space designated to creating, problem-solving, collaborating, to try things out, to conceptualize, to fail, but to work through those failures, and to succeed. It provides the opportunity to learn-by-doing. It is a hands-on centre that can push people out of their comfort zone, to try new things, in a no (to low)-pressure environment. Makerspace is a place for innovation. It provides the opportunity to get creative.

Electricity

At this makerspace event, I had the opportunity to explore several different themed makerspace spaces. I joined one which was focused on electricity. This one interested me, as I am teaching a grade 6 electricity science unit this block, and I am curious about what can be built with circuits. At this station there were materials that allowed you to build a circuit which lights up a card when closed. So, I challenged myself to light-up an owls eyes. Below is my original wiring, and card.



















With my knowledge of electricity and circuits the first task was a breeze. So, I decided to further my design by creating a circuit to light up the moon too.This took a little trial-and-error, but I was able to get this circuit to work effectively. This type of activity allows the opportunity for an extension of learning. It does not set limits, and does not give instructions, which can be helpful to creating further understandings and new connections.

Technology

Of course, at this event, there was some very exciting technology to explore. From using robots, to 3D printing, to playing the piano using bananas, the possibilities are endless. Although incorporating technology is not always realistic, due to things such as access, if it is possible, I would encourage it. In  a technology-driven world, creating interest, and allowing people to explore the technology available can promote innovation, and provide students with the opportunity to explore technology them may not otherwise have a chance to use. This can also create a better understanding of how the things we use everyday work, which can prepare us to navigate the world more effectively. 

Back to "Basics"

Now, makerspace does not need to include cool technology, or anything fancy. It can include simple, and everyday items. For instance, some stations included: cardboard, paper, and duct tape. At the "paper" station, I was able to create two bird magnets, which also have clothespins attached to hang up notes. At first, I was stumped about whether I wanted them to be clothespin clips, or fridge magnets. However, one of the other people at the table suggested I could do both. This is where collaboration can come in. Makerspace is a place where ideas can be shared, and input can be given. As they say, "two heads are better than one." 

With a few materials, and a little interest driven time, it is amazing what people can make!

The Final Stitches

I headed home for the first half of March break, and with me, I took my homework, which included my knitting. Without having places I needed to be, and actually having time to really sit down and work, my dishcloth came together in no time!

The Nearly-Done Dishcloth

I felt my experience with following an actual pattern, to create a project was the one which I feel I gained the most skill/knowledge about knitting. By following the pattern, I was able to pick-up the differences between the way knits and purls look on the needle. Catching onto this was helpful, as it made it easier to tell which stitch I needed to do next without recounting every previous stitch. It also allowed me to notice if I was doing the pattern wrong early, thus cutting back on the number of stitches I had to take out, to redo. That being said, there were still several instances where I had to back track.

Knitting the dishcloth did not often bring a lot of struggle, or frustration. I enjoyed seeing my project progress with every new row. Having finished my dishcloth, I am excited to start something new. I hope to continue my knitting, picking up new skills, such as being able to switch yarn, so I can use multiple colors in one project. Below you will see my final product!

Finished Dishcloth

If you are interested in making this dishcloth follow this link for the pattern: http://bit.ly/2n1Rrrk

Canva, a Visual Creation Tool

During our technology class, we had a blending jigsaw activity where we explored several different tools. We were split up into colour groups, and number groups. With our colour groups, we explored online tools, which we discussed using an online chat tool called TodaysMeet. This tool only requires the teacher (or leader) to have an account, in which they can open a chat, choose how long it is open, and share the link, where others can join. After exploring and discussing our colour group tools, we met in person with our number groups. In our number groups, we discussed the tools we explored, what we liked, and what we didn't like. This allowed us to get a snapshot at a bunch of different tools, in a small time frame. The blended learning aspect was unique as we were provided the opportunity to meet in both person and online. This helps open some opportunities with learning. For instance, the online component could be done at home. Another bonus with the blended learning jigsaw is that it also reduced "travel time" where students would have to meet in their groups, then switch to their new groups. It also works well for a school computer lab, where students would not have to sit with their group members in order to discuss.

Canva is an easy to use tool, which can be used to create a wide variety of visually appealing projects. This tool offers several customizable templates students can use to display information. Some project templates include: posters, advertisements, cards, brochures, magazine covers, infographics, and photo collages. Students can choose from free photos, backgrounds, text fonts, and clip-art, or they can choose to upload some of their own.

Below is a poster I created using Canva.  

Stitched by Skye Ford

Stitching Things Together

It has been a while since I have given any updates on my genius hour project. As intended, I have learned the long-tail cast-on. This type of cast-on was very easy to pick up! It also made knitting the first row a breeze. Below you will see a video I took showing the long-tail cast-on.



While exploring different types of stitched, I figured out what I was doing that caused me to increase the number of stitches in my rows. When switching between knitting, and purling, I would have my working yarn on the wrong side. Below, I have posted photos with the proper working yarn positioning.

When knitting, working yarn should be behind the needle.

I caught this error while experimenting with two new stitch patterns. This first stitch I tried out was the seed stitch. This stitch requires you to knit one, the purl one until the end of the row to complete the first row. It then requires to you purl one, then knit one until the end of the row. This stitch was good practice to teach me to remember to ensure the yarn is on its proper side.
The second stitch I experimented with was the moss stitch. With this stitch, you do two rows of knit one, purl one, then switch to two rows of purl one, knit one. Although I did not try it, you can also create a double moss stitch by increasing the number of knits and purls to two. If you would like to see what these patterns look like check out http://www.simple-knitting.com/seed-stitch.html !

When purling, working yarn should be in front of the need

                                                                      Another thing I accomplished was successfully binding off! After the last attempts frustrations, I feel very relieved to have been able to do this successfully.

 I think I have found a dishcloth pattern I would like to try! But first, I will need to head back to the store for smaller sized needles!

Move to Learn

Growing up, I was often told to sit down in class. I even had a teacher who was concerned because even when I was sitting, I was not sitting still. Of course, neither myself or my parents saw the problem, because I was doing well in school. My parents also understood that I was very active, and did not like being still. I learned best by doing. Some of the lessons I still remember to this day required my getting up, and being a part of the learning. Reading Why Kids Need to Move, Touch and Experience to Learn by Katrina Schwartz (2015) really resonated with me. I never understood why students are expected to sit in a desk to learn, especially, when, by nature, we learn by playing. This article highlights the benefits of making learning a physical experience.

Trading Cards

Throughout this course,we have been given the opportunity to explore several different online tools that can be used within the classroom. One that I have explored, and through was really cool is an online trading card creator. This tool has some pre-set templates with theme specific data, or allows you to make your own. The trading cards are double-sided, so there is plenty of room for information. Each section does have word limit, so it teaches students to be concise, much like trading cards they may collect. You are able to input your own information, and upload a picture to go along with your trading card. You may even save your work for later so you can add to them. 

There are several ways this can be used in the classroom. For starters, it could be used in Language, as a way to record information about characters in a novel study, or help build characters for a story the students will write. Students may also build cards which are factual. This may be used in science or social studies to describe an event, concept, person, or object. They could even be used in math class! Students can take a formula (a²+ b² = c²) or definition (translation), and create a card describing what it is used for, and write an example of how to use it. They could even use it to describe the properties of shapes they learn about! Here is an example of what they trading cards my look like: 

Trading Cards about sharks created using http://bit.ly/1f2A5Pe. 

Needless to say, this tool has many possibilities. I can't wait to try it out in my classroom!