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prototypes

Sink or Float

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As we get closer and closer to the end of the school year, we can’t help but be excited about warm weather activities. One of our favorites is swimming! It got us thinking about pool and Copy of IMG_7370water safety. In PreK, kindergarten and first grade, we learned that designers often create prototypes in the name of safety. “I learned to swim with floaties,” mentioned Asher in PreK.

First, we looked at some action figures in the water and realized that they probably don’t know how to swim, because they sank to the bottom of the “pool.” To help them, we created prototypes of life vests for them. The goal of the design challenge was to keep the action figure’s head above water, because we don’t breathe through our toes, we breathe through our noses.

 

The Three Little… Prototypes

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We’ve all heard the story The Three Little Pigs, but have you read The Three Little Javelinas? In PreK, kindergarten and first grade, we read The Three Little JavelinaIMG_6880s by Susan Lowell and talked about how the two stories are similar in some ways and different in others. In both stories the first house gets blown down very easily. The second house is a bit stronger, but not by much. The third house, however, won’t budge! In the design lab, we recreated the three houses that appear in both of the stories.

We explored different materials in the design lab and created our own houses that represent the three houses in the stories. Many of uIMG_6893 (1)s noticed that by utilizing the Design Thinking tactic of rapid prototyping, we could create better, stronger structures. Rapid prototyping is used by both adults who use design thinking concepts in the workplace and children at JCDSRI! It means that we build things quickly in order to learn from our mistakes and to move onto the iteration and improvement stage of the process.

Next, we tested our structures by blowing a hair dryer on them. Of course, children gave fair warning by yelling, “I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house down!” Finally, we decided what types of characters (or objects) might be in our own ThreIMG_6919 (1)e Little somethings stories!

In PreK, we decided that we all wanted our story to be The Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Crocodile. One of our Lego structures had some interesting safety features, including a trap station to catch the crocodile and a lookout tower.

Kindergarteners decided that they wanted to create their own story titles. In the end, however, we noticed that we liked the titles of our friends. Eden, Millie, Ben, Eshel, and Meital created a story titled The Three Little Socks and the Shoe. Nathan, Bentzi, and Zemer titled their story The Three Little Scooby Doos and the Monster. Malcolm, and Aeden decided on The Three Little Monkeys.

First graders were proud to create their own individual story titles:

Naftali… The Three Little Ships and the Big Bad Star Destroyer
Maya… The 100 Little Army Ants and the Tilting Earth
Simon… The Three Little Snakes and the Lion
Elie… The Three Little Basketball Players and the Big Bad Basketball
Jude… The Three Little Leaves and the Grasshopper
Hannah… The Three Little Dwarves and the Giant
Moshe… The Three Little Squares and the Big Bad Triangle
Ella… The Three Cupcakes and the Cake
Maor… The Three Little Snakes and the Big Bird
Ayden… The Three Little Critters and the Big Bad Critter
Hadas… The Three Little Bunnies and the Cat

Building Up

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At the Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island, the designers are small in size, but they can still build tall. Lately, it seems that our ceilings are too low because… well, our structures are reaching too high!

Our prototypes aren’t the only things being built up. Our confidence, cooperation, collaboration, empathy, optimism, and experimental mindsets are also growing, built upon a solid foundation of joy and excitement.

Children in kindergarten and first grade met a new friend named Harry. Harry wants to have the best view of the design lab, but there’s one problem… he is afraid of heights! We are working on empathizing with Harry and helping to create the perfect perch for him. We discussed how HIMG_6501arry probably feels scared, sad, and uncomfortable when he is in a bad spot.

With a bag full of simple and recycled materials, we created the perfect perch for Harry. We made sure that the perch was stable, not too high up, and comfortable.

In second grade, students heard the story, Jack and the Beanstalk. We wondered, “how might we build a beanstalk as high as possible, using only straws, wooden skewers, and tape?” The main focus of this particular lesson is that constraints drive creativity. This means that with limited resources, we must be extremely creative!

When class is over and it’s time to go to recess, children often ask, “Can we stay in and keep building?”