Kindergartners are now experts on all things designed by engineers!  They know that the technologies engineers design are human-made, non-living, and meet either a need or a want.  Sometimes, that need or want can be identified as a problem.  Therefore, a concise way to describe engineers is that they are problem-solvers.  

We've taken our journal entries to the next level, identifying problems and creating possible solutions.  Each of the problems can be solved in many ways.  We'll continue to explore this idea over the course of the next few weeks, especially as we compare and improve the solutions to various problems we face!

During the first six weeks of school Kindergartners have focused on learning what engineers do!  As a way to summarize all that have learned regarding living/non-living things, natural/human-made objects, and needs/wants, they were asked, "What does an engineer do?"  And look what they came up with!  I am so proud of you Kindergarten!

Our next focus is narrowing our descriptions of what engineers actually design.  While all the technologies engineers design are non-living and human-made, each technology serves a different purpose.

Technologies that meet our needs are things that we must have in order to survive.  These things include clothes, shelter and money to name a few.  Technologies that we want are things that we desire, but don't necessarily need to survive.  Examples include video games, roller coasters and board games.  They surely are nice, but we definitely don't need them.   Engineers help design things that satisfy our needs and our wants!

Using a variety of ways to sort (cut-and-paste, SMART Board, and actual objects), Kindergartners are expanding their vocabulary regarding the technologies that engineers design.  Not only is technology non-living, but it is also human-made!

Kindergartners are becoming sorting experts, this week focusing on the difference between natural things (like water, soil, and wood) and human-made objects (like scissors, computers, and pencils).  Check out their work!