Incorporating Makerspace into your classroom can be so easy! Here are some simple fun and easy Makerspace activities that you can use in your classroom right away with little prep!
To make Makerspace more accessible in my classroom, I looked through supplies to see which items I add abundant of and can be easily and cheaply replaced. From that, I created 4 types of projects- Mini-Pipe Cleaners, Mini-Pom-Pom, Painting, and Mini-Paper and created simple task cards to go with them.
- Mini-Pipe-Cleaner Projects– If you have pipe cleaners and wonder how you can use them to encourage creativity in the classroom, challenge your students to create different shapes with just one pipe cleaner and watch the magic happen! Students can bend, fold, or even cut them up as they wish. For this particular task, students were given 5 minutes to create the shape of a human using just one pipe cleaner and they had a blast! The different designs were so creative and fun to see afterward!
2. Mini-Paper Projects– Use the construction paper stash that you have to make something interesting such as paper fans or paper lanterns! I made an example for my students to see then asked them to create a similar one or one of their own. Some students liked having examples to help them brainstorm, while others wanted to create their own versions. No matter how they chose, the end products were all beautiful and my students were so excited to decorate theirs afterwards.
3. Painting Projects– Of all the mini-projects, painting was my students’ favorite task to complete. Using white sheets of construction paper and some paint, students were asked to paint different things such as their favorite season as in the example below. They squealed with excitement when they read the task card and saw the supplies and examples.
4. Mini Pom-Pom Projects– Do you have pom-poms hanging around and don’t know what to do with them? That was me until I decided to incorporate them into my MakerSpace task cards and they became an instant hit in the classroom! Below is a task which students were asked to create a party hat and use six mini pom-poms to decorate it.
To store all of my MakerSpace supplies, I created this simple MakerSpace Cart. I designated each shelf for various supplies to help me find them easily.
At the end of each week, I would choose on task card, read it aloud, showed an example, and placed the supplies needed on my teacher table. When my students were complete with all of their work for the week, they would them come to my desk to get the supplies to create the task. It was a great motivator for all students to complete their work and a fun and creative way to end our week.
To make storing and keeping the task cards organized, I put each set on a ring and hung them on the side of the cart.
If you would like to grab my complete set of MakerSpace Starter Kit with all of the task cards and EDITABLE FILE to add your own tasks, click on the images below.
