Makerspaces: Remaking Your Play and Steam Early Learning Areas

Makerspaces is a first-to-market resource for early childhood professionals that focuses on how to cultivate the maker mind-set in the youngest learners, how to engage young children in maker-centered learning, design and introduce makerspaces, and how to select/use open-ended tools and materials.

Field tested in real classrooms, home settings, libraries, and museums, the authors have practical suggestions, student samples, implementers’ suggestions, photographs, anchor charts, and many other forms of documentation. Each chapter focuses on a different type of makerspace, details ways to successfully set up that makerspaces, offers provocation ideas for how to extend learning, and shows how educators can document evidence of how a child can develop a stronger growth mind-set by interacting with the makerspace. Full-color demonstrative photos give readers additional visual guidance.

Michelle Kay Compton, MA, has been in the education field for over 15 years and specializes in inquiry practices with early learners up to children in the middle school years. She holds a master’s degree in varying exceptionalities from the University of South Florida and is endorsed in gifted as well as reading and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). For the last 10 years, she has worked to design curriculum aligned to state and international standards collaboratively with teachers. Michelle provides training to teachers within the district of Manatee County, as well as at the state and national level related to reading and writing instruction, inquiry practices, and content area literacy. She has worked as a volunteer consultant with the International Baccalaureate Organization to train teachers and visit school sites interested in improving their practices in inquiry instruction. Currently, Michelle works as an independent learning environment consultant. She is the coauthor of StoryMaking.

Robin Chappele Thompson’s work in education spans 25 years. Her master’s degree in elementary education, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) endorsement, certification in K-12 reading, and certification in preschool education provide her with a strong knowledge base in the teaching and learning processes. She has been a teacher, literacy coach, and curriculum coordinator. After earning her Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis in childhood reading and language arts, she worked as an instructor at the University of South Florida, where she supervised interns and taught literacy, assessment, and writing courses in the College of Education. Currently, Robin works as the director of early learning in the school district of Manatee County, where curriculum design and implementation for pre-K–2 has been a focus area for her work.She is the coauthor of StoryMaking.