Teaching School Kids with a Little Tape and a Lot of Fun
JJC partners with Farragut School’s 21st Century Kids Program
Making a chair out of wood requires a lot of skill. But making a chair out of newspaper requires teamwork.
Students from Joliet’s Farragut School learned that lesson on Saturday, April 10 when they participated in the U.S. Department of Education’s 21st Century Kids Club program field trip at Joliet Junior College (JJC). This was a joint project between JJC’s Corporate and Community Services Kids College division and Technical Department. Approximately 40 students in grades 2 to 5 participated.
“We were thrilled to be part of the hands-on field trip portion of the 21st Century after school program,” said Brenda Large, personal enrichment coordinator for Joliet Junior College’s Community Education division. “The kids enjoyed the activities and came away with a real love of learning.
Farragut chose to include JJC because of the positive experience they had with previous activities. Those activities included two presentations: one in Hip Hop Dance and the other on building a balloon operated car. “Brenda Large has a wealth of resources and is able to provide activities for our students that are age appropriate as well as fun through student learning,” said Sue Green who teaches Kindergarten and is the 21st. Century site coordinator at Farragut. “They are an enrichment to our program.”
In the morning, the students worked on teambuilding engineering projects where they made chairs out of newspaper, towers out of spaghetti and marsh mellows, and lifted a tennis ball without touching it. Most teams were made up of four students representing each grade.
“I loved how the activities engaged the students for a full two hours,” said Farragut teacher Amberley Callahan. “They were actually given time to think together, plan together and then create! All of my kids had fun stretching their minds today.”
Brian Thompson, a business analyst for JJC’s Illinois Small Business Development Center was in charge of the teambuilding portion of the program. “I don’t think I would have been able to do some of these projects myself,” he said. “Nevertheless, the kids loved the challenge and actually completed them successfully. Also, the teachers were very pleased with the level of interaction between the students.”
At the end of this session, Thompson had each team explain what they learned. “Almost every one said the same thing,” explained Thompson. “Don’t give up.”
The Afternoon Buzz
After a sack lunch, the students went to their afternoon activities where they built a working motor. “The kids loved the small motors they built because they actually worked,” said Large. “And, they were able to take them home.”
The afternoon session was taught by Gerald Raino, Technical Department professor of Electrical Engineering, Jim Popek, electronic service technician, and his son Jacob. “We all had a great time teaching the kids how to create a small motor that would actually do something,” said Raino. “The kids loved it.”
“The students thought it was really cool to build motors with wire, batteries, and magnets that really worked and wanted to make sure they shared it with their parents when they got home,” said Green.
Additionally, the students participated in an online scavenger hunt. “They worked in one of our computer labs and found answers to questions about JJC using the JJC website,” said Large who also created the hunt. A tour of the school followed.
Preparing Kids for the 21st Century
The 21st Century Kids Club program is designed to help children increase their knowledge through character education, art, career, and technology programs that will improve study, reading, and math skills. A good portion of this learning is hands-on and involves field trips such as the one at Joliet Junior College.
“The goals of the program are to help children in reading and math develop positive peer relationships and problem solving skills,” said Green who explained how important it is for students to understand the connection between academic achievement and future career opportunities.
Other schools participating in the program include Keith, Pershing, Sanchez, Thigpen, Woodland, Dirksen, and Gompers.
Summer sessions for Farragut are being planned at JJC. They are anticipated to be as successful as the Engineering Teambuilding Camp. As Farragut chaperone Jaren Wojewoda said, “It was very creative and challenging to the students. They were stretched to really think about how to work together and build endurance in trying to get things accomplished through time.”
To learn more ways Joliet Junior College partners with area schools, contact Brenda Large at 815-280-1504, or e-mail blarge@jjc.edu.