About Tinker Teachers |
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Founders, Cynthia and Elizabeth are both dedicated and experienced, bilingual educators who are committed to connecting literacy and creativity through engaging, hands-on experiences.
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Cynthia would love to consider herself an honorary Austinite, having spent more than half her life here. She eagerly moved into the University of Texas at Austin’s Jester dorms in 1992, ready to learn what it meant to Keep Austin Weird. While on her quest, she quickly discovered that she fit right in and that Austin would always be home. In 1997, after many live shows, festivals, hikes and studies she received her BA degrees in Spanish, Latin American Studies, and Bilingual Education from UT. Now, she is raising her own little Austinites with her partner Da’Mon and has been teaching with Austin ISD since 1999. Presently she is working as a bilingual special education teacher at Ridgetop Elementary. However, she has developed a new love…teaching literacy with a maker state of mind.
Elizabeth, much like a unicorn, is one of those rare creatures we have all heard about, and unlike Cynthia, she IS a born and raised Austinite! She grew up in central Austin and is now raising her kiddos here with her husband, Patrick. Having danced with Roy Lozano Ballet Folklórico and having lived in Saltillo & San Miguel de Allende, Elizabeth nurtured her connection with Spanish and the culture the language brings. Eventually she connected her love of the language with her studies, graduating from Southwest Texas State University with BS degrees in Bilingual Education and a Masters in Education. Most recently she received her Masters in Library Science from the University of North Texas. After 10 years as a bilingual classroom teacher, she has now started a ‘new chapter’ as a librarian with Austin ISD, playing an important role in bringing makerspaces into AISD libraries and classrooms.
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About Tinker Teachers Camps
After being exposed to a variety of books, campers will develop their own adaptations and connections via a discipline of their choice whether it be a stop motion project, a screenplay, characters built out of Legos, or programming a song. Together they will become makers and a maker only needs a space big enough for their desire to question, collaborate, and create.
Projects may include:
stop motion movie making
recycled construction
coding
creating characters out of Legos
programming a song
sewing
perler beads
comic strips
and more
More specifically students will participate in:
at least two read-a-louds (Spanish & English)
wellness activities
social emotional learning lessons (SEL)
tinker-take apart & free creating time
outside playtime
choice time (reading, games, arts & crafts)
Students will be encouraged to use both academic and conversational Spanish.
However, Spanish experience is not required.
Campers will practice accountability, kindness, and proactive community building using the Bucket Fillers philosophy
http://www.bucketfillers101.com/faqs.php
“Education is teaching our children to desire the right things.” – Plato
Projects may include:
stop motion movie making
recycled construction
coding
creating characters out of Legos
programming a song
sewing
perler beads
comic strips
and more
More specifically students will participate in:
at least two read-a-louds (Spanish & English)
wellness activities
social emotional learning lessons (SEL)
tinker-take apart & free creating time
outside playtime
choice time (reading, games, arts & crafts)
Students will be encouraged to use both academic and conversational Spanish.
However, Spanish experience is not required.
Campers will practice accountability, kindness, and proactive community building using the Bucket Fillers philosophy
http://www.bucketfillers101.com/faqs.php
“Education is teaching our children to desire the right things.” – Plato
Tinker Teachers promote social emotional learning in order to ensure that each camper learns more about themselves and others via lessons of empathy and advocacy.
What is S.T.E.A.M.?
Science Technology Engineering Art and Math
The STEAM movement is based on the idea that kids should actively participate in a fluid, interdisciplinary framework that facilitates problem-solving through inquiry and collaboration.
The goal? ...to create learners for the future! ...to create learners who like a challenge! ...to create learners who see mistakes as opportunities for growth!
So let Tinker Teachers encourage your kids to question, explore and imagine. Together we will make the movement happen!
The STEAM movement is based on the idea that kids should actively participate in a fluid, interdisciplinary framework that facilitates problem-solving through inquiry and collaboration.
The goal? ...to create learners for the future! ...to create learners who like a challenge! ...to create learners who see mistakes as opportunities for growth!
So let Tinker Teachers encourage your kids to question, explore and imagine. Together we will make the movement happen!