"M week"

Today in the wood shop at the Clear Spring School, I decided that our lesson for Kindergarten students would be making marble mazes because they are studying the letter "M."

This is my first day back at teaching, so I woke up in the middle of the night thinking through what I would do with my fifth and sixth grade students. Because they are studying caves, I explained that they would be able to make marble mazes in which the marble would have to pass through the maze by feel alone.

They loved the idea so much that next week they want to make multi-level mazes in which they not only have to move the marble around a track built inside, but they will also have to feel its way through the game level by level. That will add difficulty and complexity to a simple game.

I will have photos of the Kindergarten marble mazes in tomorrow's post. Unlike the 5th and 6th grade marble mazes, the Kindergarten mazes will be open on the top rather than sealed.

Some have wondered where the ideas for the Wisdom of the Hands projects come from. The teachers play a big part in the process. The students, also. It is a delight for a teacher to see his or her students deeply engaged, and every student this morning was just that.

Tomorrow I have a two day box making class at the Eureka Springs School of the Arts.

Make, fix, create and assist others in learning likewise.