Carver Summer Camp Focuses On The Four C’s of STEAM This summer, Carver Elementary STEAM Magnet School completed its second annual STEAM Works Summer Camp. Bringing STEAM education to the entire student population at Carver has been a focus for the school for the past four years. Across the nation, there is an ever growing need for an educated workforce with a STEM mindset. After Carver received their national AdvancEd STEM Accreditation, Carver administrators wanted to give teachers time to work on Project-Based Learning opportunities that they were not able to complete during the average school day. There was also a desire to open the camp to potential magnet students that would be new to Carver in the upcoming school year. Carver is the host site for the camp, and it is made available to all Florence One Schools students in Kindergarten through Fourth Grade. Carver teachers and administrators assisted with the organization and facilitation of the camp. During the summer of 2019, the camp was four days long and was available to 50 students. Based on the feedback from the teachers, parents, and campers, the time was well spent and allowed for in depth project development and positive student enjoyment. The camp was in July to give families a chance to vacation and enjoy the bulk of their summer before thinking of returning to school in August. Carver has received positive feedback from parents regarding the camp schedule in July as a means of getting kids excited about going back to school and providing them with excellent learning opportunities during the summer months. Each day of STEAM Works Summer Camp has a theme to help build excitement and give the campers a slight preview of what will be going on during that day. With each planned activity, there is a focus on the four C’s of STEM: Critical thinking, Collaboration, Creativity, and Communication. On “Make-It” Monday, students use their creativity and collaboration skills to create toys or other objects of interest with a variety of common, household materials. “Tinkering” Tuesday focuses on the introduction of tech toys, gadgets, and a variety of robotics. Next, “Wonder” Wednesday challenges students to think critically by solving logic puzzles and breakout boxes. Wednesday is also the day that all campers wear their STEAM Works t-shirt for a group photo. “Teamwork” Thursday closes out the week with collaboration and communication activities during OMC, Organized Mass Chaos. All campers are divided into four teams and compete to finish the most activities in the time allotted. These activities include water balloons, hula-hoops, taking videos and selfies, pool noodles, and plenty of interactive fun. It is refreshing to see elementary age students solving real world problems, being creative, and working collaboratively with their peers to complete challenges. Over the course of the past two summers, the teachers have also had multiple opportunities to collaborate with each other in planning and teaching the STEAM lessons that have crossed over into innovative lessons during the school year. Principal Little says, “This camp is a wonderful way for students to learn and have fun at the same time. Our students are learning and developing important skills that will help them to be successful in the ever-changing world.
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