For the third year in a row, grade 2 students explored innovation, inquiry and impact by studying a unit focused on inventions and inventors. After completing their research on famous inventors, including everyday people known for coming up with solutions to make something smaller, smarter, faster, or overall more efficient, students discovered that in order to succeed, most individuals experience fail up moments and face multiple trials before ultimately reaching success.
Exemplifying the notion that curiosity and passion drive learning, every student in the second grade was asked to determine a problem they might regularly encounter and subsequently discover a solution to eliminate that problem, in the form of an original invention.
Examples of their creativity include: The Bed-Maker, Sockets (socks with pockets), Tabletop S’Mores Maker, a human dog-hair roller, a pill mixer, Memory Glasses, The Learning Stove, The Poncho Hat and many, many more.
At the beginning of February, the entire grade of inventors brought their inventions, in prototype form, to the 3rd Annual MVPS Invention Convention. With a grand welcome from second grade leaders Jackson Adams, Sam Koontz, Mary Ellen Reagin and Grayson Rogers, parents, faculty and external experts walked the convention asking questions about inspiration, how solutions were found and ultimate perseverance. In true Mount Vernon fashion, guests were asked to offer feedback writing notes and comments on post-its at each station.
As our young inventors tried, failed up, collaborated, asked questions, and learned, they demonstrated several of our basic learning principles:
- Learners Apply Knowledge to Make an Impact
- Empathy Influences Learning
- Curiosity and Passion Drive Learning
Congratulations to the entire grade of inventors!
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