What and Why I wanted to start having open Makerspace times for students to come and use the space outside of class time or instruction. I want them to just be able to explore and do what they're interested in or need in the space. I am in there and available to help or advise as needed, but I'm trying to be pretty hands off and let them guide themselves. Down the road I'd love to have some guided activities too during these times as some kids may prefer that or it might show them ideas of things to do, but that might be something to tackle next school year. When This was tricky for me. My school has a fixed library schedule, and I have a lot of meetings this year. We also have 4 different grade levels with 3 different schedules. Monday mornings and Friday afternoons are two of my most consistent open times (probably because people don't like having meetings then). So I am starting out with Monday's during morning homeroom time for our 5th graders and Friday's during SLT for my 6th-8th graders (guided study hall). So ideally each grade level has at least once chance a week to sign up. My 6th graders that are in band, orchestra, or choir are the tricky ones, because they're never free during SLT, so I don't currently have a solution for them unfortunately. How
I created a Sign Up through Sign Up Genius for the 5th grade HR one and for the 6-8 SLT one. I have identical sign ups for the different dates. I'm starting out with 20 slots at a time and seeing how that goes. I email teachers the night before for the HR one or the morning of for the SLT one with the list of kids who can come down during that time. But teachers also know that class work takes precedent, so if they decide the student needs to stay back, they can do that. Spreading the Word Honestly after how interested the kids were after their time in the Makerspace right around winter break, I thought I'd be at maximum capacity, but surprisingly we're starting out slowly. I think even though I've put in announcements and Canvas that the word is spreading slowly. I also wonder if kids are hesitant to come down by themselves, and/or maybe they aren't sure what they want to work on yet in there. Middle schoolers are also a bit forgetful and don't always plan ahead. So I've amped up spreading the word and made a poster to hang in the library window about it and am verbally mentioning it to each class when they visit the library next. I do always have at least a few students signed up each time so far. I am starting to see some repeaters and some recruiting friends. I'm sure too it'll naturally grow in time.
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