Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:

You made it through the school year, and it is time to celebrate. I know it can be really easy to think about the things that didn't go well, and you wanna reflect and change that. Keep doing those things. But let's take a moment and think about all of the amazing things that you have accomplished in STEM, both big and small. In this episode, I am actually going to be sharing with you those accomplishments that you shared with me. And at the end, I'm gonna give you an update of what I have been up to this past school year as well. 

Naomi Meredith [00:00:52]:

What can be a little bit tricky when hosting a podcast is figuring out a way to connect with all of you out there. And it's always kind of awkward, but not anymore, we're 160 plus episodes in, where I'm in my office looking right at my phone, talking to myself, but I really am envisioning all of you and how we can connect and bring this podcast to life in different ways. So, I'm always thinking of new ideas to engage you, get you excited, and involve you in this show because, ultimately, it's helping you and your students. And so I asked over on social media in a couple of different places, mostly on Instagram, at NaomiMeredith_, what accomplishments have you had this school year? And I loved hearing these answers. It's just really cool to hear what you have done and make that STEM world a bit smaller. And so I want to share with you those things.

Naomi Meredith [00:02:13]:

Thank you so much for responding. You all should be so proud of yourselves. These were some really awesome accomplishments.STEM is not easy to teach. It's so much fun, but it's a lot. And so, again, definitely be proud of your hard work. If you didn't submit something, maybe you have something in common with the people out there, but I still want you to celebrate as well. Atlibbyd said, and she was talking with me in my Instagram stories, and they were also chatting in the DMs, that 3 of her students entered a design competition and won.

Naomi Meredith [00:02:50]:

So she actually sent me some pictures and all that. I'm not gonna post those because it's of her students. But we were chatting for a bit, and it was so cool because she and her students actually got to work with a professional designer and a design student in Detroit. And then they actually are going to be making their prototypes. I'm assuming for them, so for the kids. And then on June 3rd, so coming up that should be coming up. Yep. Coming up, there is a ceremony where they will actually get to find out if they placed gold, silver, or bronze for their design.

Naomi Meredith [00:03:26]:

So that is so amazing. And, hey, way way to go to find that opportunity for your kids. That's awesome. Joey M had a great success. He was able to host his 1st carnival-themed family STEAM night. And, again, putting on an event, when you guys do all this extra stuff, I know how it is, it's a lot of work to get all the details and make sure it flows well. And so he sent, he had posted a picture, and it was really cool. It was like a really cool booth as well.

Naomi Meredith [00:03:56]:

Along those same lines, Leah V also was able to host their 1st school-wide cardboard carnival, and their 600-plus students played the games that their 5th graders made. So, what a cool way for students to share their work. Heather A also started STEM fairy tales with her preschool by implementing stations. And I know that STEM with the younger kids can be a great challenge. And so, one of the books we talked about in my STEM teacher bookshelf that we had is about STEM with the younger kids. So, way to go for you, Heather. Kelly from Mathematically Enthused which she has been on this podcast, so make sure to check out her episode, and we'll link that for you. She won a prize for their lab doing a Science Buddies challenge.

Naomi Meredith [00:04:53]:

She said that we've done it for 3 years, but it's the 1st year we entered our finished work. Then we took the prize money and put it towards LEGO Education Kits for next year. That what a cool way to win money for your school, and then you actually can put the money back into your program. That's awesome. Like, your STEM work actually helped out your program. That's a cool, full circle moment. Teaching fun in room 221. Oh, that rhymes when you read it out loud.

Naomi Meredith [00:05:22]:

That's so cute. Just her, she said just the students being introduced to a new way of thinking and how to solve problems. Also, how quickly they took anything coding related and how good they are at it. That is definitely a huge accomplishment. Having your students have a growth mindset in the projects that you're doing, it's, that is a huge challenge in itself, and I have seen it in my own program when I first started in the k through 5 STEM and also with the work that I'm doing in the community, kids who aren't exposed to these opportunities really, really struggle. I had an idea for an episode about that today, but that is definitely a huge accomplishment. All of these are. These are so great.

Naomi Meredith [00:06:06]:

Kim Koffler said I survived my 1st year of teaching elementary STEAM. Yes. Yes. You deserve all the adult milkshakes. I'm not afraid of coding anymore. Thanks for your podcast and the lesson ideas. You are so welcome. I'm so glad that you listened, and I can help you through that STEM journey.

Naomi Meredith [00:06:29]:

Alright. That wondrous teacher said, our school's opening a Makerspace this year. Students have been helping out by putting it together, and they also got funded by their school PTA. It's so exciting. And that is so exciting because it's so good to hear that there are programs that are getting up and started. They're not all getting shut down. I do see that a lot. But that is so good to hear that your school is supportive of this upcoming program, and can't wait to hear how it goes this next school year.

Naomi Meredith [00:07:01]:

Sarah from Miss Gigi Voucher said, and, Sarah, I don't know. Did I say your last name right? I hope I did. We talk all the time, but I hope I said your last name right. She said a big win for her was staying more consistent with units, doing our egg drop. Did any survive? Her first computer science night and the best was having a student dressed up as an astronaut for the solar eclipse. That is so, so cute. I love how they got all themed out. That's absolutely adorable.

Naomi Meredith [00:07:35]:

Thank you so much to those of you again for responding and bravely putting it out there on the Internet. I know you all did amazing things this school year, so definitely celebrate yourself. Do something not school-related. I mentioned adult milkshakes. That was something that I and my teammates would use as code when we wanted to go out after school and hang out, and we could talk about it. We actually didn't even say adult milkshakes. We just said milkshakes. Milk and cookies sometimes.

Naomi Meredith [00:08:04]:

That's how we would, like, say we wanted to hang out in front of the kids. So here's a little tip for you. Okay. Along the lines of celebrations, I said that I would update you with what I have been up to this school year. Back in episode 108, I actually talked about my journey in education. So, actually, how I got into teaching, what it was like for me being a classroom teacher for 6 years, being in then switching into the k through 5 STEM role for 5 years, and then what I was thinking about beyond the classroom. So I recorded that episode almost exactly a year ago, so you can hear that. I recommend watching it because I actually have a lot of pictures that I overlaid in that video.

Naomi Meredith [00:08:50]:

So that's actually a really fun video to watch. If you haven't seen it, it's on my YouTube channel. There's a tab that says podcast, so most episodes are actually recorded in video format. But I talked about my journey in that, and so a lot of you have been messaging me over the past few months or asking questions. What have you been doing? Yes. I'm not in a traditional STEM classroom, so I do talk about that in that episode. However, it's because I really am so passionate about elementary STEM that I knew I needed to get STEM out into the world in an even bigger way. And so that has really been my mission. A lot of things have been going on, a lot of testing things out and all these things.

Naomi Meredith [00:09:35]:

So, I wanted to share with you what I have been up to, and these are definitely an accomplishment. I forgot some of the things I actually had done. I'm like, oh, yeah. That was this year. Because I'm the kind of person I'm like, okay. I got it done. Awesome. What is the next thing I need to do? So here is what I have been up to.

Naomi Meredith [00:09:55]:

So, in June, let's backtrack a little bit. In May, I ended my K through 5 STEM teaching position and knew that I wouldn't be returning. That was the whole thing. And then I got married in June, and so we had a wonderful wedding. We had a 20-day honeymoon in Europe. That was absolutely amazing, and then back to the grind coming back. And so once we came back, I kicked off officially my STEM into Summer group coaching program where I worked with teachers who were thoughtfully planning out their year, having an audit of their curriculum and their materials, and creating cohesive lessons for their K through 5 STEM programs. So that was so much fun.

Naomi Meredith [00:10:36]:

That was such a motivating thing to come back to and really jump right in. I'm not hosting that group coaching this summer. However, I do have an event coming up in July that will revolve around STEM planning that I haven't done before, so keep an eye out for that. And then, moving into the fall, I was really okay. I really wanted to work on those collaborations and connections. So I started reaching out, finding different opportunities and started up with a few different contract roles that I was playing around with, and that were all centered around elementary STEM. One of them, I actually got to teach LEGO education kits for a few months for a program, and that was super easy because I already had done these in my classroom. So, that was a really cool opportunity to be around kids.

Naomi Meredith [00:11:28]:

I had a different set of kids every day, every single day at the after school time. We did those LEGO Education Kids, and I also had the chance to coach teachers and give them strategies on how to work with kids, along with writing curriculum for a different LEGO education kit. So there's a whole different, thing using my skills in elementary sem during that contract time. I also connected with We Are Teachers and started creating video content with them centered around science experiments and STEM experiences. So you can check out their YouTube channel. It's really fun because I get to write the scripts and figure out how I want to film it, and then they do all the editing and make it so pretty. So, that's been really fun working with them on various projects. Likewise, I also started other local STEM teaching, and it's at a local roller skating rink where I actually teach an hour of STEM field trips.

Naomi Meredith [00:12:28]:

So the schools actually book with the roller skating rink. They pick 1 of 10 STEM lessons that are already created, and I go in, teach for an hour, and teach the lesson. It's, like, a 100-ish kids at a time by myself. Sometimes, I have support from the teachers. Usually, I don't. So it's me managing 100 kids or doing some basic science and STEM lessons together, and then I leave. I actually don't stay for the rest of the field trip. I am if you're watching the video, I have my hand under my chin.

Naomi Meredith [00:12:57]:

I am the talent, LOL. But it's super fun. It's a fun mix-up in my day just to get out of the house and, again, teach some kids. And a lot of schools out there actually do not have STEM, and I can actually tell with them out without telling me. So again, it is so important to have these opportunities for kids, and I'm so glad that I get to teach them. And I know I'm doing a good job because that is what I love and I'm passionate about, so that has been really, really fun. This was like a crazy time. Like, it's all kinda all happened at the same time, and a lot of these are actually still going on right now.

Naomi Meredith [00:13:34]:

Some are, some contracts are done, but some are still continuing to go. I actually had a school district in New York reach out and ask me to write a differentiated K through 5 STEM curriculum for their STEAM Saturdays. And so that was really cool taking the projects that they kind of had it had in mind, sometimes creating new projects, but actually creating lessons where they are building background knowledge. What is the science behind it? Why are you doing this project? How can this connect together? Creating and pulling extra resources to make it an actual meaningful lesson. So we're really hoping that that's funded through a grant. So we're really hoping that, more can get funded for this program, and I will continue doing the work with them. Also, with curriculum, I know you're like, how do I do management? I don't know you guys. When I look at this, I don't know how I did this.

Naomi Meredith [00:14:29]:

But that, again, is my personality. Definitely working on my K through 5, 7 year long plan, making updates and changes to that, and thinking about how to best serve you in those ways. So, with my resources and recommending those, so really diving into my curriculum on the side. And then I also, was reached out to by one of my favorite ad tech companies. You might be able to guess who it is, but they reached out to me, and I've been running their social media since November. And so that's been really, really fun. Again, serving teachers with a product I am very passionate about and absolutely believe in that should be used with students. It does involve some coding, but it's something that I really, really love, and it's actually one of the first stem products that I ever used as a classroom teacher.

Naomi Meredith [00:15:24]:

And so it really is this full circle moment that I am actually helping share this product and showcasing it in a way that really is meaningful, and I really believe it works well in the classroom. So, that is a fun daily thing that I get to work on. Once the new year came around again, a lot of these projects were still going on. I also launched, a couple of workshops, and one of them actually was in the fall. But I launched a couple of workshops for you to help you with those extra things you might want to try. So I first launched my seller school-wide news workshop where I give you every single thing that I use to set up my prerecorded daily news that I did at my school. And I loved hearing the emails that you guys said, oh my gosh. I did this at my school.

Naomi Meredith [00:16:16]:

Thank you so much. We actually have news that is meaningful, and I love the systems and processes. So that's all set up for you. You can still jump in on it. All of my workshops are actually available at any time, even after I go live. So that is really helpful, something you might wanna explore this summer. Likewise, I also launched a workshop for you guys about setting up your own STEM career day. So taking you through the whole process, I saved every single email when I set that up for my school, and getting real experts into your school in front of kids and getting them excited about the possibilities in STEM.

Naomi Meredith [00:16:53]:

Along with that, that led to the launch of my kid podcast. I still have this one, the elementary STEM coach, but I also have a podcast for kids, the STEM Career Quest podcast, where I interview these experts in STEM fields to help inspire kids to what they wanna be when they grow up and hear these amazing and outstanding people who are so intelligent and really want to inspire kids. So 2 episodes come out in a month, and there are also extra resources inside of the club that you can make the experience come to life even more. This spring, while all these contract things were going, I also started branching out into pushing out my own programs into the local community. So, I started teaching STEM sessions at one of my favorite local coffee shops. I absolutely think they're all about bringing in community, so I've been doing those types of sessions. And then I'm working with and talking with other local programs and other locations and schools so that I can bring STEM into those schools, especially locations that don't have it. And so that's really awesome where I get to influence more kids in the community with things that I may or may not have taught before, but get them excited about how they can problem solve and explore the world in new ways.

Naomi Meredith [00:18:15]:

So that is a snapshot of what I've been up to. There are many other things. Feel free to ask me questions and DM me. I'm so excited for what is to come. I hope this time next year, there are some things I really am manifesting. I would love a Makerspace mobile, and I'm not lying about that. I would love to have my own Makerspace mobile. But there are so many cool things that I'm really trying to stay involved in STEM, teaching kids in different ways and making sure that I'm making an impact in this space by helping you, but really helping ultimately our future in STEM.

Naomi Meredith [00:18:50]:

Thanks so much for following along in this fun episode, and I will chat with you soon.