I introduced Perler beads as a maker option in the library this year, and I wanted to share some advice I wish I'd known before I started. Perler beads, or fuse beads, are very small cylinders that can be arranged on plastic peg boards. You can use an iron or heat press on the design to melt the beads together, and then you have a 3D design that can serve as a nameplate, bookmark, earrings, key chain, or decoration. I've seen this in secondary libraries (and I got a useful start from Kelsey Bogan's high school library blog tips), and I wanted to bring it to my elementary library, too. I wanted to have this as an ongoing station that's available all the time, but I see 800 students, ages 4 - 12 each week -- I would almost certainly have beads everywhere--so I needed more of a guided system. If you want to try them in your library or classroom, here's how I got started: Scheduling the Makerspace Time I started with an after-school craft club, made up of about thirty 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders, who stayed for about 45 minutes after school. We did origami, rubber band bracelets, washi tape cards, and Perler beads. It was good to test drive the projects with a motivated group of students before I rolled it out to library classes. For our makerspace workshop days, full classes came in, and students could choose from a variety of table station activities, including Perler beads. Since we have such a large school, we needed a lot of materials prepped and available for back-to-back classes. Some crafts were ready when students left the library, but Perler bead designs have to be ironed (and cooled). I couldn't do that while I was also supervising classes, but having volunteers on hand to iron them right away would have been really helpful. As the designs stack up, all those peg boards are used up, and space becomes limited to safely store the (relatively fragile) un-ironed projects. I used sticky notes for student names and stashed them underneath the peg boards so that when I ironed them later, I knew which design belonged to which student.
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I'm getting requests for these books more and more lately from my students, so I wanted to collect an updated list. Many of these protagonists are Indian-American or Pakistani-American, while other books feature protagonists living in India or Pakistan. Thirst by Varsha Bajaj Minni and her family work hard to survive, and when Minni's mother has to leave for a month, Minni takes over her job as a housekeeper for a wealthy family. The 12-year-old girl in that family has her own private bathroom, while Minni has to stand in line to pump water, and then take time to boil it before using it for cooking or bathing. Minni has big dreams, but struggles to keep up with school and family obligations. How much is too much? I hate to spoil things for any player - part of the fun is discovering surprises, making mistakes, and learning from them - so I haven't given away all the secrets in this Animal Crossing guide. Still, if you're searching about it online, it's likely you have questions. If you're running around with a swollen eye second-guessing whether you should have shared that scallop, you are not alone.
(If you're wondering why this strategy post is part of an educational blog, see my post about the education benefits of this game) Animal Crossing - New Horizons (ACNH) is a game for Nintendo Switch. At its core, the game is about transforming a deserted island to a thriving destination. Players use the natural resources like shells, stone, and wood to build and trade items, and interact with animated animal characters who "move" to the island, or visit to sell goods. There is a lot of potential for creativity, and the game has a lot of concepts that translate to the real world.
1) Lena's Shoes Are Nervous by Keith Calabrese Personification Lena might be ready for school, but her shoes have some reservations. 2) I Am Every Good Thing by Derrick Barnes Metaphor This book is outstanding! Everyone should read it. 3) Fry Bread: A Native American Family Tradition by Kevin Noble Maillard Metaphor "Fry bread is time . . . fry bread is us." This picture book would be an excellent mentor text for student writers. 4) The Lonely Book by Kate Bernheimer Personification What happens to a book that was once popular and is now past its prime? |
Jamie Wright
I've had the privilege of working with hundreds of students and families in IA, CT, NC, MO, TX, and Canada. I love being a teacher-librarian! Categories
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