Northview — Students in Katie Shiffer’s developmental kindergarten class at West Oakview Elementary are honing spatial and fine motor skills through play, thanks to a grant from the Northview Education Foundation.
Since it arrived the first week in March, up to five students at a time can sit around their classroom’s new LEGO table. And as they appear to be at play — and they are — Shiffer’s 17 students are also learning to think spatially, create and design structures utilizing fine motor skills, and practicing perseverance while following unique directions at times.
Shiffer said the table, chairs and tiny blocks and other shapes allow her students to demonstrate many fundamental and foundational skills of early childhood, including creativity and problem-solving, as they build a sense of community and collaboration with their classmates.
“I have seen cities being built, skyscrapers and even replica buildings they may see in … Grand Rapids,” Shiffer said. “The creativity has been endless.”
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