A Cutting Board Education #EdChat #MakerEd

One of the goals for my Level 2 Design class for the 7th and 8th graders was to get them building with their hands. I wanted students to design, measure, cut, and build. One of the easiest ways to do this is through making cutting boards. When it comes to woodworking projects, this is a great beginner project that has kids leave with something they have created and can give away as a gift. Here are some of the highlights of the process. 

Students select their pieces, glue them together, and clamp them in place. What is nice here is that I have a variety of sizes of the wood strips so students can choose a design that works for them. The catch is that the overall board cannot be over 6.5 inches in width. Any wider, and the clamps will not fit. These middle schools will need to work on their measuring and addition skills to make sure the design they want fits in the size constraints. 

Once all of the boards have dried, a couple of students volunteered to help trim the boards. It is another math problem for the students to figure out how much do they need to trim without shrinking the board beyond 11 inches in length. Students then sand the board for a bit with 120 grit sanding block to get rid of any rough edges. 

Next, students will use cutting board oil to seal the boards and make them food safe for use. Students need to measure the correct amount to use for the board. Once the boards are oiled, the students wait for it to dry and can take it home the next day. 

For this projects, students are using a mitre saw, planer, glue, and some boards I ordered from Amazon. People ask me what do students learn in a Maker focused class and there are different answers for different projects. When it comes to cutting boards, students are using those math skills they have learned over the years and are also learning some basic principles of design and building. 

This is a project that I think would be an amazing addition to a math class exploring geometry. It would take some prep on the teacher's part, but it could be a fun project that gets kids thinking about shapes in a different fashion. 

This is not for everyone, but I though I would share for those looking for something different. 

Hugs and High Fives, 

N Provenzano

Making for Mental Health #MakerEd

tl;dr - Making and the general act of creation/creativity helps support students' mental health.

It has been a number of weeks since my last blog post and it is simply because I have been too busy with students and personal projects to sit and write a full post. I'm posting plenty on Instagram and you should check out the student work there.

During this posting absence, so many different student projects were taking place. Students were building mousetrap cars in high school engineering, my Innovation and Design students were constructing bridges, and my Woodworking apprentice was feverishly redesigning the FabLab as part of her capstone project. In the middle of the craziness, I found myself obsessing over learning to use the lathe to turn pens and rings. As I look back now, it is surprising that all of the craziness of student projects, end of marking period, and holiday fun did not force my mental health issues of anxiety and depression to show their faces.

Today was another crazy day, but a day filled with so much making and fun that it brought a tear to my at the end of the day when I sat down to reflect. I take pictures all of the time when the Innovation is hopping with students. Here is a little rundown of what today was like.

Eve, my woodworking apprentice, comes to see me 45 minutes into the start of school saying we needed to act fast and get a cart because there are some logs from a tree that was cut down next to the school. She tried to get one of them last night, but they were too heavy. I grabbed my coat and, with the help of my good buddy Michael M, we picked up some quality pieces of wood. The student really wants to make a coffee table out of the large full stump piece and smaller projects (shelves, cutting boards, etc.) with the other pieces.

I also had seniors in their Engineering class working on their mousetrap cars and spent a great deal of time helping students learn to use various tools, problem solve design issues, and just getting to know them all. It was so fun to see a group of seniors just having a blast, working together, and learning things along the way. It was such a pure form of education. It made me smile. I showed a student how to lathe, use a mitre saw, cut circles on the laser cutter, use a drill (then how to reverse the drill), and so much more. It was all fun and laughs. 

 

During the craziness of the day, I found some time to explore my own making. I want to learn to turn pens and rings so I can add it to my Innovation and Design class. I've made one pen and one letter opener (same principle as pen turning). I am almost done with my second pen and I already know it will be much better than the first. 

I've also been working on an epoxy river table. Eve wants to create an awesome table that will include an epoxy coating and I want to make sure that I can help guide her through the process, so I needed to make my own table. Here is my table so far. I drew it, scanned it into CAD software, had the CNC carve it, colored and poured epoxy, and sanded it all down. I still need to stain and place a final coat of epoxy, but I like where I am so far. Eve's table is awesome and she loves showing it off to other students and explaining her process. 

             

It was a busy day, but I couldn't be happier. The more I reflect on the making that takes place in our space, all of the kids are just having a blast because making makes people happy. Making is great for mental health. Just like we need to give students time to run around and play, we need to keep giving them time to be creative and make things. As mental health issues for our children become more and more recognized as an important issue that needs to be dealt with, hopefully people will look at the act of making as a way to bring joy into the lives of our students.