Inside the Wonder Studio: Life in Miniature

March 14, 2023 ~ wordancerblog ~ 8 Comments

This month in the Wonder Studio, the 5th graders have been working on a small scale. No one mandated that they do so. They all just started making tiny projects.

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8 responses to “Inside the Wonder Studio: Life in Miniature”

margaretsmn

March 14, 2023

I wish we had a Wonder Land such as this. I’m afraid there is not much creativity in the regular classroom these days. With our gifted sixth graders we would design a “way out Wednesday” or Wow each month and come together to do real world problem solving but the real world system did away with it for some unknown reason. I worry about education if we are not providing opportunities for creative problem solving, many of these students will not be successful. I’d love to observe this in action. How often do they get to work on their projects? Thanks for sharing.

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wordancerblog

March 14, 2023

Hi Margaret! I offer Wonder Studio in 4-6 weeks sessions throughout the year for 3rd to 5th graders 4 days a week at recess time, which is a half hour, but I stretch it to 45 minutes. I worry that when I retire, Wonder Studio will be retired too because I cannot get any of my colleagues interested in the idea. It is SO IMPORTANT for kids to create for themselves and no one else. I cannot tell you how many times children tell me how important Wonder Studio is to them mainly because they get to create whatever they want (within reason). I am an editor for the NJAGC newsletter, and I would love to publish one of your blog posts on the work you’ve done with you students. Please let me know if you are interested.

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Lakshmi Bhat

March 14, 2023

Wonderful. Thank you for sharing. My grandchildren are at this age and love to make things.
The word miniature reminds me of the book, Trustee from the Toolroom by Nevil Shute.

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amyilene

March 14, 2023

This is a slice that is so full and rich! I love the images that gave me an extra look inside your fabulous Wonder Studio. I teach kids slightly older (8th graders) but I know they would love this exploration.

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Celia Fisher

March 15, 2023

This is just an amazing slice, not only the depth of what students have done inside the wonder studio, but how beautifully you have described it in such detail. No wonder the students now own it and can dive right into their projects. ‘These small creations, this work in miniature, garner big results’ is such a compelling sentence!

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Denise Krebs

March 15, 2023

Wow, I love the Wonder Studio! I want to come, please. I like your explanation of how you and Roxane used to create tiny things, and then to see your students doing it is amazing.

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wordancerblog

March 16, 2023

Denise – if you find yourself in New Jersey – you have an open invitation to come visit! Thank you!

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Leigh Anne Eck

March 16, 2023

What a cool thing for students! I could feel your excitement in this post, so I can only image their excitement! I love miniature things, especially quilts.

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