A group of homeschoolers along with their parents visited stemland on Thursday – 28th december 2023 to explore new ways of learning. The Mathegramming team welcomed them wholeheartedly. We started the session with Stand and Fear, through stand they get to know who they are and what they deeply care about. And while doing fear they get to know about their socialized fears.Â
They did all sorts of exciting things like:
Scratch programming, Electronics, Solving cast puzzles, Exploring Math materials, Games, Kirigami art, Mindstorms.
SCRATCH
Through Scratch, kids get to be really creative and have a lot of fun. They learn how to think in a different way and solve problems by making their own stories, games, and animations. Scratch helps them understand simple coding ideas like loops and sequences while having a great time.
Reflection from Ilakyaarasi
My name is Ilakyaarasi. I stand for patience and courage for myself and others. I learnt that I need to think of a more creative way for children to have an interest in working with scratch. I worked with two children from scratch, I gave an introduction of how it works then gave a task to them. Then, they were able to think and complete it on their own. I saw the feeling of accomplishment when they completed the task. I also learned different ways to solve the given task by myself.
ELECTRONICS
Parents and childrens from homeschoolers explored electronics. They learnt Concept of Body resistance using conducting gel. Simple circuit using LED, Resistor,
switch and battery. How to find the Breadboard connection using a connectivity test in the multimeter. With a Multimeter how to measure the battery voltage, To check the working of LED, How the 7 segment display works and given tasks which alphabet can’t be displayed in the 7 segment.
Reflection from Dinesh
My name is Dinesh,I stand for peace and Perseverance for myself and for others. While starting to explain the concepts to the group I was little bit nervous and when they started to ask questions about concepts I gave my answers with an analogy that made them understood the concepts and I felt confident on myself and started to answer for their questions confidently .While introduced the concept of body resistance ,everyone in my group was excited (especially children)to know their body resistance that gave an idea how can I change my way of explaining concepts to the children I am working with.
SOLVING CAST PUZZLES
When kids and parents solve a cast puzzle, it seems challenging to them. First off, it helps them figure out problems and think really hard. They were patient and did not give up, even if the puzzle is tricky and they start noticing how shapes fit together. It’s like a fun game that makes them focus and pay attention, and when they finally solve it, they feel really proud of themselves.
Reflection from Premkumar:
My name is Premkumar. I stand for self-confidence and happiness for myself and others. I supported the Mathegramming team in this workshop. I got to engage with a lot of new people and I had a wonderful experience. When I show the Cast Puzzle to others, I notice each person thinks in different ways and possibilities to solve puzzles. I also learnt how different people solve problems. I enjoyed it a lot throughout this session.
EXPLORING MATH MATERIALS
         When we explore math materials, the parents and kids find it more interesting that they are able to learn math with things they can touch and move around. It makes learning more fun and helps them understand the concept even better. When kids use objects like blocks to learn math, they get to remember the ideas more easily.
Reflection from Soundhariya
My name is Soundhariya. I stand for care and perseverance for myself and others. Showing STEMland concept materials like Fraction, Integers, and Dines blocks to children and their parents they can see how these concepts are related to everyday life. Teaching with students makes a big positive impact and it helps them to think critically and problem-solving skills. This approach not only benefits the children’s educational development but also makes collaborative learning with others. When parents actively participate in all the STEM concepts, they become more aware of their child’s improvement.
GAMES
         The children and parents explored a few games in stemland like Azul, Dimension, sputnik and kabaleo. When they explore these games, they pick up skills like logical thinking and problem-solving and also they learn about patterns and strategies. These games teach them to work together and have fun as a team. So, while enjoying the game they end up picking up skills like strategy, creativity, and teamwork.
Reflection from Sharmila
My name is Sharmila, and I deeply care about courage and patience, both for myself and others. I introduced some selective games to the students and their parents. Initially, I felt anxious and nervous about interacting with them, but when I focused on my stand, I was able to overcome the fear and engage with them. While playing the games, I noticed that almost everyone enjoyed themselves, and some parents even took note of the game names due to their cognitive engagement. I also observed that some students enjoyed playing a particular game multiple times, while others were keen on exploring all the games I had prepared for them. The enthusiasm and energy shown by them during the exploring the games, left me astonished. I am delighted to be a part of this experience.
KIRIGAMI
 As they start to fold and cut, they also learn about shapes, symmetry, pattern and coordination. Kirigami helps them understand how different folds and cuts can turn a simple piece of paper into amazing 3D creations. It’s like learning a special kind of art that combines creativity and a bit of paperwork.
Reflection from preethi
My name is Preethi. I stand for courage, kindness and perseverance for myself and others. I taught kids and parents how to make Kirigami balls. Before we started making kirigami balls the parents were more excited about how we are going to make a ball with a few pieces of paper. First we started with coloring the paper, some colored the paper some drew the patterns in there paper. It’s kind of like playing with colors and shapes to make their own special designs. And also they were more focused and patient in what they are doing and when we completed I saw the satisfaction and joy in their faces. I personally enjoyed the session and got to engage with new people.
MINDSTORM
Through constructing and programming their robots, children develop essential skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). It helps children with logical thinking, teamwork, and perseverance. Mindstorms provides an engaging and interactive platform that makes learning enjoyable and effective for young minds.
Reflection from Sivashankar
My name is Sivashankar. I stand for courage and equality for myself and others. Playing with things like Mindstorms, which involves building robots and programming them, is really good for kids. It helps them understand science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) in a fun way. It also teaches them how to solve problems and not give up when things get tough. When they make mistakes, they learn from them and keep trying. Overall, playing with Mindstorms doesn’t just teach technical stuff; it helps kids become well-rounded and ready for a world that relies a lot on technology.