About me
Hello! My name is Sukanya Rastogi. I am a Masters student studying Child Study and Education at University of Toronto. I have recently been introduced to the concept of Making and promoting creativity in children at my last few teaching placements and am quite intrigued with this pedagogical shift.
As a child, I grew up working with my hands, building, creating, constructing, gardening etc. alongside my father. I am quite involved in various art fields as well such as, sculpting, wood and copper carving, pottery making, glass blowing and painting. Which is why, I have an embedded affinity towards creating and promoting creating and tinkering in children. I believe such passion related Making/Creating projects instill in children a sense of responsibility, autonomy, freedom and most importantly, the ability to solve problem creatively.
As a new teacher myself, trying new things and unique pedagogy, such as this, can be a little challenging, since I lack the practical experience of working with children, and do not have collection of resources yet, to incorporate Making successfully. Which is why I am creating this forum.
This website is a collection of resources: lessons, activities, unit plans etc., that I found through my own research. My goal for creating this website is very simple: I want teachers, especially teachers like me who are hesitant to take on this challenge of Making, to have a place to get inspired and learn how to adopt a Maker Mindset in their practice. I want this forum to be a space where educators and students alike, can get inspired through the ideas presented here and share their own creative innovations as well. So, I am hoping that the content in this forum will not only help explain what this movement towards Making is, its implications, challenges and its most effective strategies, but it will also allow for teachers to connect, learn from each other, and use this concept of Making effectively in their classrooms.
As a child, I grew up working with my hands, building, creating, constructing, gardening etc. alongside my father. I am quite involved in various art fields as well such as, sculpting, wood and copper carving, pottery making, glass blowing and painting. Which is why, I have an embedded affinity towards creating and promoting creating and tinkering in children. I believe such passion related Making/Creating projects instill in children a sense of responsibility, autonomy, freedom and most importantly, the ability to solve problem creatively.
As a new teacher myself, trying new things and unique pedagogy, such as this, can be a little challenging, since I lack the practical experience of working with children, and do not have collection of resources yet, to incorporate Making successfully. Which is why I am creating this forum.
This website is a collection of resources: lessons, activities, unit plans etc., that I found through my own research. My goal for creating this website is very simple: I want teachers, especially teachers like me who are hesitant to take on this challenge of Making, to have a place to get inspired and learn how to adopt a Maker Mindset in their practice. I want this forum to be a space where educators and students alike, can get inspired through the ideas presented here and share their own creative innovations as well. So, I am hoping that the content in this forum will not only help explain what this movement towards Making is, its implications, challenges and its most effective strategies, but it will also allow for teachers to connect, learn from each other, and use this concept of Making effectively in their classrooms.