Introduction

Setting up and organizing a classroom Makerspace is half the battle. The second half is managing the supplies and ensuring students can be independent when using them in their work.

I will be sharing with you my management hacks that have been a game changer in my Kindergarten through 5th STEM classroom, which makes managing your Makerspace a lot of fun. Yes, the kids are very excited to build, but this system is so much fun, and the students get even more excited about this part of the Makerspace unit. I can't wait to share all these tips with you in this episode. 

Are you tired of running out of Makerspace supplies after one lesson with a class?

Are you wanting kids to be independent with their supplies but not sure how?

Or how can you add more of an element of math when implementing Makerspace supplies?

I totally get it. It can be a lot to manage with a small class of 25 or even all the kids in the school. 

Do you want to know my secret? It's having a Makerspace menu and money assistance!

In this episode, I will explain the steps you need to do before, during, and after the lesson using the Makerspace menu and money. This will answer all of those questions. And again, it is so much fun, and you're really going to love it too.

What to Do Before Teaching a Makerspace Lesson:

First, let's talk about what you'll need to do before teaching a Makerspace lesson and a little prep work before diving in. If you haven't already, make sure to listen to episode five, where I talk about how you can organize your Makerspace and gather materials for your space so that you are ready to go. This is a big part of ensuring you have enough materials.

Now when you're asking for donations, something that I like to ask for is grocery bags. You might already have a ton at home, making shopping for supplies much easier. Also, when in between classes, students will keep their supplies in these grocery bags along with their money, their plans, and the small things they have built. The grocery bags are going to go inside a big box. I like to use the IKEA fabric boxes.

The next time they come into your room, you just pull out the box, and everything will be right there for them. Of course, you're setting this up based on a lesson you want to teach using the Makerspace. I don't use this system for every single lesson. I didn't use the money system in my first Makerspace lesson, STEM survival camp – episode 4. I actually will only pull out the supplies that they need. So this is something that you probably want to work up to.

As you get started, it will take some trial and error, but again, you're setting this system up for success. You can use it for multiple grades and multiple times throughout the year.

About a week or month before the lesson starts, depending on your time, you want to print out all of the money and have those different denominations you want students to use. Now our money is all green in real life, but I like to print out the Makerspace money, the different denominations, in different colors. It's really helpful having those visual cues when students are counting things out.

When I'm counting things with them, we can easily see which money is what. It's almost like having Monopoly money in your room, but it's your Makerspace money, and they know it's fake, adding to the excitement.

Once I have printed and cut out all the money, I like to store all of the money in my bank, which is just those simple little photo boxes you can get at Michaels or Amazon. I have three: one for the $1, the $5, and the $10 bills. I pull those out when I'm ready and lock them up when I'm done. It’s just an easy way to have a bank account. I also would really love to have one of those waitressing aprons. I still haven't bought one, but that'd also be helpful.

You can have your bank out while walking around the classroom so students can pay you on the go. During these times, having a little apron could be helpful.

Next, set up a budget you want students to have when designing their project. I keep my budget around $25 to $35 per project. If students work alone, they will have a $25 budget. If they're working in a group of two or three, they must share the $25. So make that very clear with the kids. It can be a bit confusing initially but think about the budgets you want to make.

I like to pre-make their little wallets. Now again, nothing fancy. Just grab those little snack-sized Ziploc bags and make the wallets. You could also have an older student help you create these money wallets.

If you have the wallets created ahead of time, this will save you time the week of starting the Makerspace project and keep you from scrambling to put together money for your students. Also, in this setup project, edit your Makerspace menu based on the materials you have and want the students to use.

For certain projects, some kids might have specialty items. For example, during a first-grade project, they needed to have glow sticks to show their bioluminescent animals. I didn't want any other grades to shop for those things, so they were listed under specialty items for the first-grade class.

On your menu, you can have all the regular items from which all kids can shop. At the bottom of the menu, you could have a section discussing specialty items that only certain grade levels can buy. This is important because if you are planning your lessons with the standards, there are specific things that their projects may require.

I won't put specialty items in the regular Makerspace. I put the specialty items in a bin that I will pull out separately because they are special. Make sure you organize your supplies that way.

What to Do During a Makerspace Lesson

Now you are ready for the fun part.

How will you use this time with the Makerspace money and menu during the week?

Trust me, you're going to love this so much!

Of course, you have to have your project in mind. You're going to introduce the project to the students. We'll talk more about planning in other episodes.

Have the students build a background about the problem they’re trying to solve. They can research using different mediums, epic books, podcasts, videos, pictures, and books you have available in the classroom. 

Next, I will introduce the Makerspace menu. Even if we have used the Makerspace menu before, we will go over it again just to ensure we're clear on how to use it. I will talk to them about their budget, what supplies are on the menu, where supplies are located, what items are free, and which items are not available.

I include free items like paper, glue sticks, crayons, markers, and materials for cutting and designing. We'll talk about where everything is in the classroom so they know where to find it and how to use it.

Then they will ask any questions they may have. Part of that planning process is creating a thoughtful plan by drawing and labeling the design. The other part of the planning process is they need to create their shopping list.

The shopping list will help students think about how they want their project to look based on how much money they can spend. I use the same process for all my kids. I usually start this in Second grade, so second through fifth grade will use this system, and then I'll use a modified system for First and Kindergarten.

My students thoughtfully plan their designs and create their shopping lists. They have to write down all the items they would like to buy, how much of each item and how much it will cost. Then, on their paper, they're going to total up all those amounts and then write down how much money they might have left.

Once they have thought out their plan and shopping list, they must show them to me. You might have a better way of doing this, but this has worked well for me to make sure that there are some checks and balances in this system. This system ensures kids aren't just rushing into my Makerspace.

When taking things out, students will show me those things, and I'll give them some feedback. If they're missing things or not, I will always check their math right away. Once they come back with their supplies, we add up their items' costs.

Don't worry too much about the math; you can, but you’ll check what they're adding up anyway and even do more mental math with them. Once they're good to go, I tell my students, “yep, you have a great plan. Yes, you have enough money. Here is your shopping bag.”

Then the students will go into my Makerspace. Everything is at the students’ height and labeled with pictures and words. They will shop for all their supplies, put everything in their shopping bags and grab what they need.

Once they're done shopping, they will come back in line to wait their turn. I talk to my students about how real stores work, and you may have to wait your turn. I also remind them that they don't come and put things in my face.

Once they wait their turn, I'll take everything out of their bag. I make sure to have the Makerspace menu on the TV for them to view. If you use the same menu for the second through fifth graders, your students will start memorizing the prices, and there won't be a question about the costs.

I'll take everything out of their bags and then tell them their total. For example, I will tell a student, “you have two plates and a ball that cost five dollars and three dollars. So five plus three is…,” and I have them answer me. This allows us to work on a little bit of those fast facts and mental math.

Once they have added that up, they'll count their money and pay me. Then I'll put it in the cash register. They can always come back and shop for more items or make returns. While students are shopping, some kids may still be working on their plans, which is okay. This system differentiates itself and helps kids be independent and work on their needs.

It's really fun having this whole system in your classroom, where they feel like they're in charge of their projects. I am checking in with all of them to see and discuss their designs, which is exciting.

So the shopping part will take place at the end of day two. So let's say you have five days for this project; this will happen at the end of day two. Day three is the biggest shopping day, and kids might be returning a few things here and there on days four and five. Some kids might be purchasing a couple of things like a straw. That's why having a little apron helps.

There's this whole flow in the classroom. It's super exciting and energetic. The kids take charge as they get going with this project, and I’m not managing so much.

Students will always ask questions about returns. They will want to know if they can return something. I tell them yes, as long as the item can be reused.

For instance, if they bought a straw that has only been bent a little, it can be reused. But if they bought a straw and cut it into tiny pieces, they can’t get their money back. I also don't let them get their money back for tape or hot glue gun use unless they didn't use it. I don't give them their money back even if they use a little bit. But for most things, they can have their money back.

Tape and the hot glue gun are expensive items that they can purchase. They can have the option of buying a little bit of tape for $5. I don't think they actually can buy a little bit of hot glue gun. They can buy a small amount of tape for five dollars, unlimited use of tape for ten dollars, or unlimited use of the hot glue gun for $10. That's about half of their budget.

The kids are so funny! Some will not want to spend anything and only use free items. Nothing happens if they don’t spend their money. I could have an incentive, and some kids spend it all right away.

What's awesome about this process is when kids are in that planning stage. They will start bringing stuff from home as they build and want more things. I don't ask them to bring things from home. They don't have to since I have plenty of materials unless we need more grocery bags.

Some kids will even think about how they can use their breakfast trays. I had some girls who wanted a specific size bucket for their design, so they decided to use the bowls they used for breakfast that morning. They rinsed out their cereal bowl at the end of breakfast at school and brought it to class for their project. Your students may even get creative with the trash and recyclables they're using already.

What to Do After a Makerspace Lesson

On the last day of the lesson, make sure you leave enough time for kids to clean up all of their materials. That is part of taking care of the space and the whole process of the Makerspace menu. Give them about 10 minutes to put back any supplies they didn't use, return any money they didn't use, and any projects they don't want to keep.

They can take apart the unused projects and put back items that can be reused. Again, some kids will bring things from home, and they'll let me keep the rest, which is awesome because I'm restocked for the next group of kids. Having the students clean at the end must be added to the system. Don't say, “Okay, good job, you're done. Bye,” and your room is a disaster.

Part of the Makerspace experience is cleaning up. I tell my students, “I don't care if you make a mess, but I care if you don't clean it up.”

Conclusion

I know this sounds like a lot, so I wanted to make this setup even easier for you. I have made you a Makerspace bundle for getting started that comes with the Makerspace menu and money that I just shared with you about.

The bundle includes 180 plus supply labels with words, pictures, and different colors to match your classroom theme. The Makerspace bundle also consists of an editable donation letter, anchor charts, and getting started lessons. This will all be linked in the show notes, or you can grab it using this link Naomi meredith.com/tptMakerspacebundle.

Thank you so much for joining me today! I can't wait to hear how this system works in your classroom.