Kids make towers, inventions while schools are closed
Mar 20, 2020
Potter School second grader Alyssa Mota and sister Leah, fifth grade, with their repurposed items. Alyssa made a book bin out of a cereal box and Leah made a planter out of a soda bottle. Photo courtesy: Paula Mota
Fourth grader at DeMello School Kelsey Silva made a piggy bank with a water bottle. Photo courtesy: Lorraine Silva
Mason (grade 1) and Spencer (grade 3) Vieira, both Quinn School students, with their inventions: A block to hold a football upright, and a device to weave bracelets. Photo courtesy: Stephanie Vieira
Bella and Landon Amaral, five-year-old twins at Cushman Kindergarten, made a shoe tying learning tool. Photo courtesy: Katie Amaral
Sophia Dutra, Quinn School first grader, used bubble wrap and scrap ribbon to make a purse to carry her books. Photo courtesy: Becky Dutra
Ruby Mullane, first grader at DeMello School, won the “Best solution to a real-world problem” category with her coronavirus safety mask. Photo courtesy: Ann Marie Dutra Mullane
The first week of school closures is over — but thanks to an online competition started by a group of Dartmouth parents on Facebook, local kids weren’t stuck for things to do.
Organizer Mary Waite, a member of the “Dartmouth Parents 14.0” Facebook group, announced the online competition on March 14, coming up with a different activity — like building a fort, solving a problem with an invention, and making something out of recycled or natural materials — each day.
Parents submitted photos of their children’s creations to the Facebook group, and winners for each competition were announced the following day, with certificates emailed out to mark the kids’ accomplishment.
The competition was such a hit among families stuck at home that it has been extended for the next two weeks.
In fact, Waite said, membership of the Facebook group has doubled since the start of the competition, to just under 1,100 members.
“I’ve had great feedback from the parents,” said Waite. “I have also posted pics on the Dartmouth Helping Dartmouth website, which members of the public seem to get a kick out of and enjoy seeing photos of their neighbors, friends and grandkids.”
Waite came up with the idea for the competition in part from her experience teaching high school and working in curriculum development.
“But most of my inspiration came from my own kids and from volunteering in the schools,” she said. “Kids love projects and they learn so much from play.”
With all of the current stress around the coronavirus, Waite added, play is even more important.
“My hope is that these kids laugh a lot as they are doing these activities, test their creativity and then check out their friends and classmates’ photos,” she said.
Dartmouth parents say that the activities are keeping their children entertained.
“The kids are enjoying the daily activities,” noted Jennifer Benevides, thanking the parents Facebook group for its posts.
“While we understand this is really hard for a lot of people, we have enjoyed how life has slowed down a bit,” said Ann Marie Mullane. “We have 3 children, ages 7, 4 and 9 months, so attending to their individual needs is always the hardest part. The challenges provided are great because they are a great way to keep the oldest engaged. She can get her little brother to participate, too!”
The activities are designed to be accessible to all ages, and can be done indoors or outdoors. All of them also come with extension resources, like Bill Nye the Science Guy videos, and questions to get the students thinking in depth about each activity.
Each one is judged by guest high school and middle school students who aren’t taking part in the competition themselves, and earns them an hour of community service.
“I do worry that all kids or families aren’t aware of the challenges,” noted Waite. “We’ve started an Instagram account (I’m learning that) and I’ve invited parents to email me, but only one parent thus far has taken advantage of it. I’m hoping more kids can participate and stay connected through these.”
Middle School and High School students are also invited to create a public service ad on social distancing, due next Friday.
Next week’s challenges are:
Monday: Build an obstacle course
Tuesday: build a boat (or anything that floats)
Wednesday: create a maze
Thursday: make a banner or collage with “Dartmouth Strong” in it
Friday: act out a role from a book (with costumes) for a short video.
Week Three challenges:
Monday: Build a bridge
Tuesday: Make a flag for Dartmouth, with four symbols and meaningful colors
Wednesday: Create a board game or outdoor game (make game pieces, cards, and game boards as necessary and create rules to play)
Thursday: Make a kite and fly it
Friday: Create a time capsule with ten items showing what life is like at home during this pandemic.
Each day’s challenge will be posted to the Facebook group with extension activities posted below, including links to videos and games.
Parents can submit a photo of the results with the students’ name, age/grade and school (and responses to any related questions) to the Facebook group or by emailing maryewaite@gmail.com.
Take a look at our gallery of photos from the first week of the competition!
