Beneath the whiteboard in her 1st grade classroom, Virginia McManus has a dedicated “Mini Makerspace,” a collection of shelves and bins that contain materials students use for making.

Making does not feel like special time in separate place. Rather, it is fully integrated into everyday hands-on learning. In addition to using beads and popsicle sticks to construct things, students can also use them to demonstrate understanding of addition and subtraction.

Having a Mini Makerspace built into the classroom has inspired rich, project-based curriculum in the 1st grade.