'I love'shoe charms-April 2025

After spring holiday break for the kids and extended vacation and family leave for the AATLC teachers, a fresh start with some of our youngest St. Monica’s and Althea’s kids was welcome.

On Tuesday, April 22nd, lead teacher, Ms. Linda, assisted by Ms. Pat, introduced these 1st and 2nd graders to 3D printing and a practical example of the ‘E’ for engineering of their STEAMSS (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math plus Social Studies) curriculum.

The social studies aspect of this lesson focuses on embracing and appreciating community. Lincoln Heights is a historically African American and underserved community and the fight for justice, equality, anti-racism, and self-worth continues into 2025. Most children in these centers live in Lincoln Heights and also attend the local elementary school within its borders.

To entice and engage the students, shoe charms in various colors were prepared in advance, that read “I (heart) Lincoln Heights. In the meantime, the students were encouraged to develop and draw, with pencil and paper, their own designs such as ‘I love Mommy’. Afterward, they were fairly successful in transferring these drawings into Tinkercad, the 3D printing software on the laptops.

At the end, the kids chose a completed ‘I (heart) Lincoln Heights’ charm and the teachers helped with tying the charms to their shoes. The kids were served snacks in the second-floor makerspace room, which made them even more excited and anxious to return.

Ms Linda cleaned up their designs, printed them, and had them ready for pickup on the next class on Thursday, April 25th. However, the class was canceled due to unexpected thunderstorm weather.