Andrea Knight

Teacher · Learner · Author

Makerspace Literature: Boxitects

Architect: One who designs buildings. Boxitect: One who makes things out of boxes. Obviously. If you've been collecting makerspace literature, add this new one by Kim Smith to your list. It's a fun story about Meg, a boxitect, who has a serious passion for constructing things out of old boxes. Meg loves school, and the thing Meg loves most about school is that she's the only boxitect … [Read more...]

Lap Book Templates for Kids

There's really no middle ground here. You're either a lap-book-loving teacher or you're not. I've heard, "I LOVE them!" and "I HATE them!" but never, "Yeah, they're kind of okay, I guess."😂 Teachers on the thumbs-down-side cringe at the thought of lap books because they seem tedious and labor intensive, like scrapbooking. I totally get the scrapbooking thing... that's way too much work. I have … [Read more...]

Mother’s Day Gifts from Kids

Mother's Day gifts from kids are so special, especially when they're made by hand. With Mother's Day right around the corner, it's time to start thinking about gifts our students can make. I've done my fair share of flowers made from tiny hand prints. And of course we always make cards that feature pictures of our moms... which, by the way, never really reflect how they actually look. My own … [Read more...]

Happy New Year – Fun Activities for Kids

Happy new year! Ok, yes, it's only December and I haven't even finished my Christmas shopping yet. But I'm already thinking about ringing in the new year with my students. In between all of my shopping and thinking-about-shopping, I finished putting together a set of my favorite classroom activities for celebrating the new year with the children. It's a collection of ideas we do on the first … [Read more...]

Projects for Simple Machines

Projects for Simple Machines You know me... I love science. And science loves me. That's what's cool about it. I always learn something new, usually about how things work. And that's pretty awesome because I'm no spring chicken and you'd think I'd know more about stuff like that by now, but I don't. Now, everywhere I look, I can't help but see simple machines. Like in my bathroom this morning, … [Read more...]