In Tinkering, students explore materials, supplies, tools and concepts in an open-ended, adult-guided way. Past Tinkering sessions have involved making custom Minecraft controllers with Makey Makey, exploring linkage mechanisms with cardboard and brads, testing out paper circuits to make light-up cards and pictures, taking apart consumer electronics and toys to see what’s inside, and a multi-week construction of an elaborate Rube Goldberg device. Tinkering is where we try out new ideas as a group, and encourage one another as we try to get our thing to work.

Much of what we do in Tinkering is fine-motor intensive. Students should be able to properly use scissors well before signing up for Tinkering, in order to prevent a great deal of frustration for them on our projects.

Tinkering is very popular, and class size is limited. If this Tinkering session fills, another may be added – please let us know if you’re interested in a different date or time!

Our Elementary core program consists of 2 hours of classroom instruction per week, with a complete syllabus of activities and suggested assignments provided for 3.5 – 4 additional days of study at home. Elementary aged students focus on skill building in the areas of math and literacy. For the 2017-18 year, we will continue exploration- and observation-based science, and enjoy books together with our Socratic discussion-based literature program. For math, students will continue their home programs and use time at IfSpace to enjoy Math Circle activities, as well as begin pre-algebra with Hands-On Equations in the second semester. We will take a deep dive into Ancient History, spending each semester creating a living history museum at IfSpace complete with costumes, sets, props, and role plays.

2017-18 curriculum includes the The Story of the World Volume I, Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding, Hands-On Equations, and grammar and language arts concepts as introduced in the Royal Fireworks Press/MCT materials. A complete list of curricula, history and science spines, and living books and supplies will be supplied to families upon registration.

Explore art techniques on the page! Students will learn a variety of techniques and work with several different materials, including watercolor, acrylic, pastels, charcoal, markers, and paper collage. Due to the small class size, the curriculum course will be somewhat child-directed as the course progresses, with the focus on encouraging students to try new skills and explore new media.

Engineering is Elementary introduces students to engineering and the engineering design process through hands-on classroom builds and experiments!

Engineering is Elementary introduces students to engineering and the engineering design process through hands-on classroom builds and experiments!

This year’s planned units of study are:

Catching the Wind: Designing Windmills (Fall Semester/Quarter One)

A Slick Solution: Cleaning an Oil Spill (Fall Semester/Quarter Two)

An Alarming Idea: Designing Alarm Circuits (Spring Semester/Quarter Three)

A Long Way Down: Designing Parachutes (Spring Semester/Quarter Four)

Hop To It: Invasive Species (Summer Semester / July-Aug)

You can read more about Engineering is Elementary at IfSpace here!

Share and discuss favorite poems and enjoy a snack! Students meet for weekly teatime with Desiree, as presented by Juile of Bravewriter. Poetry is enjoyed as it was meant to be, in a relaxed environment that encourages reading aloud and lively discussion. Students will take turns providing teatime treats for the class, and IfSpace will happily provide the tea and china.