In December, third-graders at Horace May Elementary in Bemidji left hidden tokens throughout the school, each encouraging their classmates to make positive choices and spread kindness.
The tokens were designed by the students and printed on a new 3-D printer purchased with grant support from the Bemidji 31 Education Foundation Fund, a fund in the family of funds at Northwest Minnesota Foundation.
The project extended themes from a novel the class was reading together, reinforcing its lessons on positive attitudes through hands-on work, reported their teacher in the final grant report.
“My class also worked to create geocaches for the school to explore,” wrote Zach McDermott. “Classrooms earned printed tokens for participating in each geocache. Third-grade students secretly passed out the printed tokens during the holidays.”
The token project was one component of a larger lesson on 3-D design. The students also designed bag tags with their names, cookie cutters, ornaments, fidget spinners, and lightboxes.
McDermott asks his students to work with 3-D design each year. These lessons help students apply measurement and spatial design concepts, challenging them beyond traditional academics.
“Students with a good spatial sense who may not always lead the way with their math and reading skills suddenly become the experts that everyone is turning to for support,” he said. “It’s great to see the change in their posture and demeanor as they realize they have become a leader.”
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