Design and Engineering classes
have begun in River and Sky!
Children are born engineers and love exploring how things work. Our Design & Engineering program fosters engineering and technological literacy starting with our first and second year students. Our theme this year, Inventioneering, perfectly matches goals outlined for our Design & Engineering classes.
The River and Sky Design & Engineering program uses materials from a curriculum developed by the Museum of Science in Boston called, Engineering is Elementary. Charlie, the D & E teacher for River and Sky classes, attended a three day training in Boston two years ago. He has taught several EiE units to our youngest Lower Schoolers. We invite you to explore the EiE website to learn more about this program: http://www.eie.org/
Our first lessons have focused on exploring the question, What is technology? Children were asked to share their thoughts about what technology is and then were given a "mystery bag" with a technological invention. They learned that simple objects such as a tape dispenser, a fork, an eraser, an envelope, a staple remover, and a Post-it pad were all examples of technology.
Students learned:
- almost all of the objects we use every day are examples of technology
- technology can be made of different kinds of materials
- engineers design technology to solve problems
You can review this concept with your children by asking them, How do we define technology?
In coming weeks River and Sky students will be exploring what an Agricultural Engineer does to solve problems in our world. Charlie will provide monthly updates on our Design and Engineering classes.
