East Grand Rapids — As the district’s Camp East summer daycare program wound down for the season, students had one last chance to experience one of the highlights of the program when Bricks 4 Kidz made its third and final summer visit to Woodcliff Early Childhood Center.
Bricks 4 Kidz is an international organization that works with schools to provide opportunities for fun and engaging STEAM-based learning, using Lego bricks and the principles of coding and engineering.
‘I want (students) to know how technology works. I don’t want them to be intimidated or afraid of it. I want them to engage in it.’
— Sheryl Egner, Bricks 4 Kidz Michigan franchise owner
The task for the final workshop of the summer — to construct a handheld airplane out of Lego bricks, complete with motorized propellers — was one that Eli Laskey and Gibson Hughes tackled with speed and enthusiasm.
The two fourth-graders were the first in a group of about 20 third- to fifth-grade students to complete the project.
It only took the pair about “5, 10 minutes, maybe less!” to get it done, Eli said, “because, me and Gibson, we build a lot of Lego sets.”
“We’re, like, really good at building,” Gibson added.
Eli and Gibson admired their handiwork in the WECC cafeteria area, holding their airplane aloft and firing up the motor to make the propellers spin.
‘A surprise every time’
The rest of the students in the group weren’t far behind Eli and Gibson. In another corner of the cafeteria, fifth-graders Harrison Bertram and Grayson Grinelle put the finishing touches on their plane.
They ran into a few obstacles, Harrison said, but with teamwork and some help from Bricks 4 Kidz instructors, the plane got made.
“We had instructions,” Harrison said, gesturing to a tablet displaying detailed model plans for students to follow. “It was easy once you knew what to do.”
“It’s pretty fun,” he said of the process. “You get to work with a teammate and you get to laugh at funny things that happen. It shows how you can bond with other people.”
Grayson said he loves the fact that each Bricks 4 Kidz visit results in a different project, “and it’s a surprise every time.”
‘It’s the future’
Bricks 4 Kidz teacher Joy Stienstra said the Camp East students were well-prepared for the project, and that their skills have improved with each workshop.
“This is the third time this summer that they’ve done this,” she said. “The first time, we spent a lot of time educating them about how to know which bricks to use and how to follow the model plan. But (now) … they’re a little more advanced.”
She said the workshops teach students about “gears and motors and how that all works together.” The students, she said, just love it.
“You can see the students are just having a ball,” Stienstra said.
Sheryl Egner is the owner of the Bricks 4 Kidz Michigan franchise, which works with several area districts, including Byron Center, Caledonia, Forest Hills, Grandville, Northview and Rockford, plus private and charter schools.
Egner said the goal of the program is to equip students with the skills to compete in tech-focused careers, and to embrace a world that is increasingly full of technology.
“I really see AI and robotics taking over the future of a lot of industries, so I really want today’s kids to know how to build and code robots,” she said. “I want them to know how technology works. I don’t want them to be intimidated or afraid of it. I want them to engage in it. I want them to be curious and grow with it.”
She added: “It’s the future. If they can build and code a robot they won’t be competing with a robot for a job.”
Egner said the Bricks 4 Kidz format relies on cooperation and collaboration, which she sees as a vital skill for young learners.
“When we let kids work alone, they need a lot of support, they need a lot of encouragement to finish,” she said. “When we give them a partner or peer, they’ve got it.”
Read more from East Grand Rapids:
• Zoo visitors help youngest learners cap off curriculum
• Tree identification project will be used ‘for years to come’
