Can We Build It? Yes, We Can!

We had a busy, yet productive day today.  This afternoon, we had a special activity.  A few months ago, I read on a blog (I wish I could remember which one...if it was you, please let me know so I can give you credit!) about a teacher who talked to her local Lowe's store and they donated extra "Build and Grow" kits to her classroom.  I thought this sounded like a great idea, so off to our local store I went.

I was put in touch with the woman in charge of the workshops, who was more than willing to send the extra kits our way.  There are 4 teachers on my teaching team (about 80 kids).  80 kits were provided along with 50 hammers and 50 sets of goggles.  The hammers and goggles have to be returned, but the project is for the kids to keep.  

We invited parent volunteers to come and help us build today.  The kids in my class were SO proud of their work and told me how much fun they had.  They did a nice job looking at and following the directions.  Construction took place on the picnic tables on our playground.  I learned that one adult for every child is not too many; we could have used a few more sets of hands.  We made it work, and the end results were great!

The kits came with stickers to decorate.  Some took them home to finish and others chose to put stickers on while on the playground.

Have you ever done anything like this with your class?