“What stuff should I buy?” 

With that one question, everyone wants the same thing.  A list of kits that they can use in their classrooms to create a makerspace.   And you know, it IS awesome that people are looking for ways to bring creativity into the classroom – really awesome.  But maybe we need to rethink the question we ask.  Making really isn’t about kits. In fact, kits are standardized and making is kind of the opposite of standardized.

Let’s rethink the “stuff to buy discussion” and dig deeper ourselves…

“How can I redesign this unit to allow for more student collaboration?”

“How can I encourage students to share their work with each other and with the world?”

“What if I  get kids involved in building a cardboard model of a new playground design, and pitching their idea to administration?” 

“What are some open ended questions I could ask that will get kids digging deeper?”

“How can I change what I do to be more of a facilitator in this project?” 

“How would this unit change if students designed a board game to represent their topic, and then we held an event where they could share their work?”

“How can I make school more meaningful for my students?”

The truth is, every big and wonderful change happens in tiny increments, one little moment at a time.  When I think back to our first year in our makerspace, I can tell you that nothing spectacular happened overnight.  Except the arrival of boxes from Amazon.  Other than that, it’s been day after day, building, cultivating, stoking the fire. And you know what? The little flame is starting to explode into moments of student-led design-infused learning.  The real kind.
Not even Amazon can deliver that.  Trust me, if they could, I’d have already ordered a set.