Thoughts about My First Ever Workshop

Well first off, it was amazing. Second off, it was tiring.

There’s simply a way about kids that brings energy and yet saps energy at the same time. I’m not talking my age of “kid”, rather around the tween age (9-12). The group for my first ever workshop was an amazing group of tweens who regularly attend a group my library calls “Between Makers” (very clever naming). There were about 8 who really got into the activity, and it was amazing guiding them through the creation process. As intently as they could, they listened to my little presentation, in which I basically told them not to burn themselves with hot glue (the trick is to make it dry really fast by rubbing it if it gets on your skin). I’m glad I didn’t make the slideshow much longer, because they were ready to get making.

I provided a theme. Did they follow it? Mostly.
The theme was superheroes, and the task was to squish your favorite superhero to fit on a single cube, using smart detail simplification to condense the well known character into an adorable size.
Here was my example:

Did anybody end up doing it like that? Maybe one or two. Were there awesome results? Definitely.

Some of the library managers participated too! As far as I know, everyone was really happy with their results, and I think having the cubes pre-made helped them take the step to the final product immensely. The results all looked substantial, because their base was substantial, but the decorations were up to them and they knocked it out of the park.

My method of instruction was more or less that of my high school art teacher. A method where you circle the room, talking to each individual about their thoughts for the project, and helping them where needed. Some students are quite independent, some need a bit more of a nudge, and all of them get regular check-ins, though durations may vary. From my managers’ compliments I’ve gathered it works well in the setting I was in just as well as the high school setting.

What did I learn? I learned that tweens are a very creative bunch, and if they’re invested in something, they’ll see it through for two hours straight. The thing must be incredibly engaging though, so much so that they lose track of time. That’s the hard part. Different things engage different people, so having multiple options and things to switch back and forth from helps garner focus. With every detail I learn from these workshops, I can work to make the next even better.