Severn Presents "Embracing the Maker Movement in the Early Childhood Classroom" at NAEYC Annual Conference

If you peek inside our busy prekindergarten classrooms, you’ll see smiles and a lot of play. But if you look closer you’ll see PreK teachers Ms. Chrisie Saunders and Ms. Crystal Erskine guide students toward making discoveries. They ask open ended questions and let the kids take the lead. They give our littlest learners the space to create something original, to figure things out and make their own way. This type of teaching is at the heart of the maker movement, a philosophy that Ms. Saunders and Ms. Erskine embrace in their own classrooms. They are innovative leaders on our Chesapeake campus and experts in their field.




“We start with a question,” Ms. Erskine explains the basics of making in the early school classroom. “How can you connect two things? How can you make something taller?” They set out materials and facilitate with questions as the kids tinker and try, discover and try again. They focus on process, not product during dedicated maker time and the results are pretty amazing. In this time of “free” exploration, the kids take the reins. They create stories, games and connections that we might not have the opportunity to see in more teacher-directed lessons.




 “Our kids are naturally creative but they don’t always know how to express it.” That’s where Ms. Saunders’ and Ms. Erskine’s expertise comes into play. They embrace lifelong learning for themselves, attending conferences, meeting leaders in the maker movement and bringing new ideas to their classrooms. And now they will share their knowledge and passion for discovery with other early childhood educators at the NAEYC Annual Conference in early November. Thank you to Ms. Saunders and Ms. Erskine for the incredible work they do for our community and for shining a spotlight on the excellence we see every day at Severn.