Whether you call it STEM, STEAM, or STREAM, engineering is part of each of those acronyms. In an incredible leap that still surprises me, I found myself teaching Principles of Engineering to students in 8th-10th grades this year. (I taught elementary school for 27 years before this, for those of you new to the blog.) … Read more
While searching for ways to help my engineering students develop some desperately needed problem-solving stamina and spatial reasoning, I came across these wonderful puzzles that are in color – and provide solutions. (Did I mention I need to practice my spatial reasoning, too?) I gave them the TED Ed River Crossing Riddle last week, and … Read more
I’ve been combing the internet for projects to do with my engineering students (grades 8-10), and ran across these lessons from Design Squad. They don’t quite fit my curriculum, but I thought I would share them since I know a lot of my colleagues are working on incorporating STEAM into the curriculum. If you look … Read more
I like to make a lot of life decisions by flipping a coin. Before you dismiss me as a crackpot, hear me out. There is a moment when the reveal happens, when you uncover the coin to see heads or tails, during which you must access the deepest part of yourself. Because, no matter how … Read more
My Kinder students have made leprechaun traps for the last few years, and it always amuses me as they get older and sadly reminisce that they didn’t catch any leprechauns. I’m never quite sure who is fooling who – are they just trying to make me believe that they believe, or are we all just … Read more
Yesterday’s post from Joelle Trayers inspired me to tell you a little about the best professional development I ever received – from a dog nicknamed Wonderbutt. By the time my husband and I got married, I had owned three dogs, and hadn’t done a very good job with any of them. We decided to get … Read more