Over the next month, our 2nd graders at Van Meter will be part of several new projects as they learn all about different kinds of 3D printing and sculpting.
We have several Monoprice 3D printers at school that we will be using. Before we learn on these, I wanted to start with the basics around 3D printing so we added
3Doodler Start, 3D pens to our Makerspace a few weeks ago. These 3D pens are perfect for younger students with a low temperature and easy to hold barrel.
As I was learning how to use the
3Doodler Start at home one day, I thought of another way to demonstrate how we would create with the 3D pens and printer!
Our kids could use
Wikki Stix, which are
twistable, stickable, buildable, playable, one-of-a-kind creatables they can form into anything, a lot like what they can do with the 3Doodler Start pens and 3D printers.
I went to my second grade teacher friends to share the idea. They were excited to bring it to their students!
We started with Staci Braun's 2nd graders as she shared the new book,
Incredible You! by Rhys Brisenden and Nathan Reed. This is such a sweet story that encourages readers to think of all the amazing things they can do while referring to wonderful animals too.
After Staci read the book, we told the kids they would be creating an animal that represented them from the Wikki Stix.
To make this project even better, the Van Meter Secondary Brew and Do Crew joined us.
Earlier their teacher, Colleen Tendell, shared they would be making and collecting valentines to send to veterans, including this 104 year old veteran, who shared his wish in this
video.
This would be a very special and unique way to create 3D valentines for the veterans.
As our students decided on an animal, they gathered the Wikki Stix they would need and...
...opened up
PebbleGo Animals to do a little research.
It was so fun to see them cut,
shape and...
...create the...
...perfect little animal out of the Wikki Stix.
As I listened to and watched the students,
it was fun to see them...
...make their animals look like...
...what they were finding in PebbleGo and through their imagination,
to create unique...
...animals that...
...represented...
...themselves.
As they perfected their animals and got them...
...exactly...
...how they wanted them,
they were excited to...
...think about...
...what they would share...
...about...
...their animal too.
First, many of them shared in Seesaw.
Next, they all shared with each other.
It's projects like this that let our students shine and celebrate their personality among...
...others...
...in very unique and amazing ways.
...and handed out Valentine's for Veterans posters to spread the word within our school. 
