MakerCare

Change Agent

/ Gina Seymour / 1 Comment

In December,  I was notified by Library Journal that I’d been selected as a Mover & Shaker for 2017. To say I was excited is putting things mildly. Unfortunately, I had read the email notification while working on my book at my local public library. So excited I had to scoot into the stacks to avoid a scene. When that didn’t work, I packed up my laptop and headed for home. Calling my husband from the parking lot (I couldn’t wait to tell someone), I didn’t get the response I expected or hoped for. After interrupting me to shout at the TV – it was football Sunday – my husband was congratulatory but nonchalant. It’s hard to explain LJ Movers & Shakers to non-library folk. I’d have to wait for my peers.

In January, I attended the LJ photoshoot at the Ritz-Carleton in Atlanta during the ALA img_7149MidWinter conference. It was a rainy Saturday, the Women’s March was on and the city was preparing for the Super Bowl. So much happening that weekend. As I entered the suite, I met some amazing librarians waiting their turn with the photographer. We introduced ourselves and chatted. I was awed by the projects and programming going on across the country.

After the shoot  all that was left was to await the formal announcement in March and to find out what category I was in. You see, they tell you you’re on the list but don’t tell you your category. Would I be placed with ‘Educators’ or ‘Community Builder’? I really couldn’t guess. Our inclusive MakerCare program is a community service based model teaching teens about social action and civic engagement. Using our school library makerspace, we create items to benefit agencies and organizations in need of assistance. I like to call this compassionate making. We strive to make the community and world a better place. To be the change we wish to see.


Change Agent. That’s my category for LJ’s Movers & Shakers 2017. I think it’s fitting. To quote one of my favorite service learning gurus, Cathryn Berger Kaye, “teachers must become agents of change for students to become change agents. When this is done in overt ways, students discover what change looks like and can then choose to adopt favorable behaviors to change internally and externally.” (2010, p. 242)

Yes, that’s what we all should be when we grow up – a change agent. Every generation nurtures the next. I challenge you to be the change agent your student will become!

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To Learn and to Serve

/ Gina Seymour / 3 Comments

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Thank you Twitter. It was during one of my many ed chats that someone referred me to the National Youth Leadership Council’s Service Learning Conference. This is due to my interest and participation in service projects with my students at Islip High School. After looking up the conference details, the first thing that struck me was the location – Anaheim, CA.

I’m going to Disneyland!!! It was perfect. I’d get to visit my son, a SoCal resident, network and learn with service learning professionals and go to Disney. That’s a trifecta; sign me up. SLC hosted a pre-conference day of service which I readily signed up for. In for a penny, in for a pound. I might as well serve while learning about serving. We learn by doing. I even took a red eye arriving at LAX at 1:30am to participate in the 7:30am beach cleanup. I slept for 2 hours on the flight, I’d be fine! Though exhausted, I had a wonderfully inspiring day. I met and worked alongside two educators – one a principal from AZ and the other from a university in Alabama. We did pre-service and post service reflections and learned about the oceans and environment. Please do not bring Styrofoam to the beach – better yet, don’t use it at all.  My dream is to never have to pick up pieces of Styrofoam off a beach ever again. Bring reusable items and take them back home with you.

 

This was my first Service Learning Conference, so I didn’t know what to expect and I didn’t expect so many students. The young people in attendance were so inspiring, well spoken, confident and above all, passionate. Passionate about the issues that mattered to them and to their communities. I am still in awe of these remarkable young men and women. How do we encourage others to follow their example? That is my goal – to inspire, to encourage, to model and to assist and enable my students to serve, to make a difference and to be the change.

There were inspirational plenary sessions, interactive workshops and numerous networking activities. And I took advantage of as many as possible. What I liked most was all the onsite service activities in the exhibit hall and that they were predominantly run by youth. So many causes, so many willing helpers. I made a doll, one of 500, that will be donated to the Anaheim Police Department. When children are exposed to traumatic situations officers can offer the child a cuddly stuff doll to help put the child at ease.

This onsite service opportunity not only took advantage of willing participants but helped spread awareness to causes. I met some young ladies from New Foundations Charter School who were using upcycled plastic bags in unique ways as a way of spreading awareness of ocean pollution. I’ve already used plastic bags in my service projects (plarn sleepmats for the homeless), so they piqued my interest.

You’ll be hearing more about these awesome projects on this blog and in my upcoming book, Makers with a Cause. I’m still trying to process all the amazing work being done across the United States by amazing students, dedicated educators and passionate organizations.

Did I mention the conference was at the Disneyland Resort? Well, when in Rome…

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Got Heart?

/ Gina Seymour / 2 Comments

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In preparation for Random Acts of Kindness Day, students are using the MakerCare center at Islip High School to create handmade fabric hearts. MakerCare is a program within our makerspace dedicated to service projects. This month we will implement the I Found a Quilted Heart initiative in preparation of Random Acts of Kindness Day (Feb 17) and Random Acts of Kindness Week (Feb. 12-18).”The IFAQH project is simple: place hearts in a public place to be found by a random stranger.  That’s it!” No special skills are needed to make the hearts. Take a look – http://www.ifoundaquiltedheart.com/the-stories/. 


 Supplies will be left out in the library makerspace all month. Makers can create as many hearts as they wanted or make just one. Staff members were welcome to join us in making hearts.

 

This project couldn’t be simpler or cheaper. Granted, I’ve collected a large donated collection of various fabric so I didn’t have to purchase any. And I always have scissors, needle and thread on hand. If you need fabric, take to social media and spread the word. You’ll get donations. Every crafter has scraps of fabric waiting for a project or good cause. And this project is perfect for scraps.

When you’re done making your heart(s), be sure to leave in a public place for someone to find. There are some guidelines you should be aware of before placing the heart.

 February is  the perfect month for this project for a trifecta of reasons. First, Random Acts of Kindness Day is Feb. 17. Second, Valentine’s Day is the 14th and we all know we’ll see a plethora of hearts and that may make us feel good or not so good depending on our emotional status at the time. Remember, everyone deserves love and kindness and to feel good, regardless of relationship status. The third reason February is a good month is that it coincides with our school Mid-Winter break. Our handmade hearts can be far reaching if taken on vacation with our students to be shared across the county, state, country or beyond.

We’re all on this planet together right? Let’s make our communities warm, friendly happy places filled with love. So get out your fabric scraps, scissors, needle and thread and sow kindness. Because kindness matters.

Let’s MAKE the world we want to live in!

Make kindness matter with this simple project. Want to join us? Here’s a few helpful links:

  FAQs

http://ifoundaquiltedheart.com/faqs

  Guidelines for leaving your hearts in public places (such as don’t leave them at airports, etc) http://www.ifoundaquiltedheart.com/sowing/

 PDF of guidelines to use with your group http://www.ifoundaquiltedheart.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Sowing-Guidelines.pdf

 

 

STEAM + C: Adding Compassion to the Makerspace ‘Because Nice Matters’

/ Gina Seymour / 4 Comments

I attended a maker workshop hosted by DK this weekend at the American Library Association MidWinter conference in Atlanta. DK was promoting a soon to be published title Out of the Box, highlighting quick activities using recyclable cardboard.  In a quick poll of the room participants, we were asked if our makerspaces were STEM or STEAM. There were a few show of hands for STEM, but the majority of hands raised went for STEAM designation. This was heartening because we shouldn’t be just tech based in our educational pursuits. Children are entitled and deserve a well-rounded educational experience and the Arts provide a crucial and unique layer to the development of our next generation.

 

 

The librarian sitting next to me half raised her hand in response to STEAM and then stated her makerspace was STEAM plus ‘C’. My heart stopped. I had found a kindred spirit.

You see, a part of our makerspace at Islip High School Library is dedicated to compassionate making. Our MakerCare program provides opportunities for our students to make a difference in the community through making. Each maker project benefits a person or community agency. For example here are a few of our projects: dog and cat toys were made for the town animal shelter, a sleep mat for the homeless, and postcards were decorated and given to sick children in the hospital. You see kindness, compassion and empathy are staple items in our makerspace. And just as, if not more, important as the other staples – glue, scissors and Legos.

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With a smile on my face I asked, “C, your program includes C?”

“Yes” she responded “C for computers or computer science.” She wasn’t quite sure which. We all stared at her for a moment until one person pointed out that computers and computer science were already a part of STEM. She knew this, but she hadn’t control of the name of the makerspace. That distinction belonged to someone else. I was disappointed a bit so I told her my mistake and shared details of our MakerCare program. I confessed I thought (and hoped) her ‘C’ stood for compassion. I announced I was “stealing” the name STEAM + C and she responded (as all librarians do) – you’re borrowing the name. That’s right, STEAM + C is officially on interlibrary loan. You see, librarians like to share and we do it well.

Over the holiday break I spotted a beautiful sign and instantly thought it would make a lovely addition to our maker area. I guess we could have made our own sign, but sometimes you just find the perfect item, so why bother DIY. If it’s any consolation to my diehard makers, we did hot glue magnets to the back of the sign in order to hang it. And in true maker fashion, we failed to secure the needed size magnet and had to visit the local hardware store for thicker ones. And then a second trip to the store again as we discovered our magnetic surface wasn’t as strong as we hoped and we needed more magnets to cover the surface. Failure and grit as evidenced from one small sign – a true maker experience.

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 Just as the Arts help complete a well rounded education, so does service to one’s community as this enables the development of civically engaged compassionate citizenry. And because nice matters.

Go Ahead, #MAKE my Holiday 

/ Gina Seymour / 2 Comments

12-days-of-making-48It’s the week before holiday break. We’re in Monday through Thursday and as all educators know, the closer to the break the more things unravel. As I listened in on conversations regarding pre-break activities, I thought more could be done with students than eating doughnuts and watching a video. So, I invited teachers to bring in their classes to either use STEM makerspace items, Hour of Code or a MakerCare activity.  MakerCare is a section of our makerspace dedicated to community service projects.  Santa arrived early with some new coding robots, LittleBits STEM Kits, Bloxels and some 3-Doodlers. So there were lots of fun choices. With all these good choices the overwhelming the choice to give to others.

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With this added help we’ll be able to finish up our plarn sleepmat for the homeless and make catnip toys for our local shelter.

 

 

The other major activity in our makerspace is the gift of giving. For three weeks now students have been flocking the makerspace everyday at lunch and afterschool creating unique homemade gifts for family and friends. So much giving go on this month it makes my heart swell. I am so thrilled to be part of a community of caring individuals.

 

Happy Holidays Everyone!

 

The Compassionate Maker: Because we all need a little ‘kind’ in our lives.  

/ Gina Seymour / 1 Comment

Today is Veterans Day, a day set aside to honor those military veterans who served our country in the Armed Forces. So in our MakerCare Center, what better way to honor the men and women of the military, than that of a heartfelt ‘Thank You.’

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Our MakerCare Center was all set up this week with supplies needed to create personalized greetings. Colored pencils, markers, glue and scissors all lined up ready to go. Cardstock paper in a variety of colors. Students approached the center not sure how to proceed; what exactly to say? After some thoughtful reflection, the words came flowing out and the artistry and creativity shone. I couldn’t have been prouder.

Our successful MakerCare program facilitates service projects for our teens as described in this  School Library Journal article. A highlight for us was to be recognized by Maker guru himself, Dale Dougherty. The truly special thing about our program is the amount of collaboration that takes place among myself, staff and outside agencies. Our collaborations go deep, and in this case, obtaining the names of service members and veterans so students can truly appreciate the sacrifice made by these men and women. dale-dougherty-tweet-compassionate-making

To personalize the interaction I gathered names of service people from either our community or related to someone in our community. Students got a particular kick out that one of the servicemen lives/serves in Hawaii! I explained to them it was well deserved after a tour in Afghanistan and winters in Fort Drum! Another of our contacts lives on base in Alaska! I also gave students an opportunity to write to a recent Islip grad, my son Jacob, a Marine.

 

I was truly touched by one of the cards. Read it below and I dare you not to say, ‘Wow’ afterwards.

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This week I presented at the Long Island Regional School Library Conference, discussing our school  philosophy of Compassionate Making and how we implemented our MakerCare program. It was well received probably because we all need a little ‘kind’ in our lives.

no-act-of-kindness-no-matter-how-small-wasted-aesopAs always, it’s our dedication to collaboration that provided our students with this special MakerCare experience. At Islip High School, we are dedicated to #makeadifference in the lives of others!

Sincerely,

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