Handmade Mother’s Day

There is a special place, which I created for the children at my school. It is called the Wonder Studio. It was first housed in a former art room, then turned Wonder Lab,, now turned into our Computer, Science, and Engineering classroom. That meant that my creative, hands-on space had no where to go, but I knew it was important, and I am an industrious and persistent kind of person, so I found a place where Wonder Studio could grow – the large foyer of one of our school buildings that was, in its former glory, a stately Victorian home. When I looked at the foyer, I knew it would be very small for our needs, but it had two large windows, a door to a lovely covered porch, built-in benches and a tall cabinet, and the pièce de résistance – a brick fireplace with a mantle. There was also a lovely curved railing on the stairs going up to the second floor. I imagined how beautiful this foyer must have been and how much fun the children in the house must have had sliding down that curved railing. With a little muscle-power, I moved all the material and equipment into the foyer several years ago, and the Wonder Studio was reborn.

I put a lot of work into buying materials, organizing them, and thinking about what materials the students would like to explore. Sometimes, I think – “No one cares, this is a lot of work, maybe I should stop doing this.” But then there are days, when I see fifteen eager faces at the front door clamoring to get in and start their work – their work of mess and industry and love. Many of the students who absolutely adore coming to Wonder Studio and making things with their hands are students who have a hard time with academic subjects. Reading and writing and math seem so foreign to them and often out of grasp. But in the Wonder Studio their skills shine. They measure and cut, read directions and follow complicated steps because they have a purpose to their learning. I love watching students gain new skills. When the girls use a saw, drill, or hammer and create what they imagined, their faces light up. There is no better image in the whole wide world than that pride of accomplishment on a child’s face.

This month, it is 5th grade’s turn in the Wonder Studio. They were busy creating intricate furniture for the tiny houses they are building in math class and part of an integrated math, financial literacy, and science project. But this week all of that was put on hold to make gifts for their mothers. They rushed around the space mixing paint, pulling out the hot glue guns, and finding objects that their mothers would adore. At first, glance you might think they were just making one big giant mess, but then color emerges and sunsets and flowers, and images of love from their imaginations right to the hearts of their mothers. There can be no other better way to express their love. And as an added bonus, their moms did not have to clean up or deal with the paint that dropped in a lovely golden puddle on the floor. And that’s why I created the Wonder Studio, so kids can experiment, make a mess, and stand back to admire the work that they did with their own two hands.