Yesterday I brought a few new things for the kids to try out: 2 Spheros and some littleBits. They were so excited! I was too! This was my first time using them with a group of students. Special thanks again to the Coginchaug Valley Education Fund for supporting us!
To get them in the inventing mood, I shared a Kid President video shared on Twitter by @Carmen_Restrepo. This brought lots of laughing, especially about the corn dogs.
We broke up into groups - 2 groups of 3 students each using the Spheros. Several of the kids had heard of or used a Sphero before so they went into the littleBits group.
We have a Student set of littleBits, with 4 power packs, which was enough for 2 groups of 3 and 2 groups of 4. After telling them that they pretty much couldn't break the littleBits, I set them to try some things out. Other supplies, such as some project ideas, cardboard, paper, newspaper, scissors, and tape were available. Once they got the hang of it, some groups began trying out some projects or creating some of their own.
The Sphero groups were charged with being able to move their Spheros around. Some set up obstacle courses or went bowling with the plastic cups we had.
We wrapped up our session by sharing some creations. Next time, we will switch groups so everyone has a chance to try them all out.
I realized too, that their parents might be wondering about some of the amazing items we are using, so I created a note sharing information with them. You can find that note here.
Take a look at some of the pictures and videos below to see what learning was happening Friday!