Meet Curiosity Atlas, our classroom robot. He is mounted on a scooter board so children can pull him everywhere. Oh, they do. He is beloved. Of course there is a story behind Curiosity Atlas.
We were learning about robots. Children love Spot, Atlas, and Handle- the Boston Dynamics robots. Their song and video is our ‘wake-up’ song every day after nap. Children are glued, and as the days go by, they notice more and more things about the robots. We have started watching videos of Spot and Atlas doing many other jobs. They are asking questions.
We learned about Curiosity, the robot on Mars. Watching how Curiosity landed on Mars was fascinating. Again, the questions flowed, and the children wanted a robot. I looked at Heidi, my wonderful co-teacher.
“Heidi, we need a robot. We can make one.”
Heidi said ‘yes’ before I could finish the sentence. She was off in a flash.
“I’ll be right back!”
There I was with the children, and we speculated what Heidi would find. Anticipation is exciting and wonderful. She returned with a collection of recyclables. Then, everyone got together and created a robot. What was next? Naming the robot, of course. I used the big white board to write every name suggestion, then each child voted on their favorite. It was a tie between Curiosity and Atlas, so our robot became Curiosity Atlas.
Our story does not end there. Curiosity Atlas was just the beginning.
Children were so excited about the new robot that we decided to write a letter to Spot, Atlas, and Handle so they could meet our robot. They wanted to ask questions, too, after watching their videos and having growing questions.
Then we wrote a letter to NASA with another host of questions.
You would think after all these years I wouldn’t be surprised at the questions children ask. Nope! I am always surprised, because children have an unfiltered lens and can see far more than we see, so their questions are always genuine and exciting.
We invited our Groton-Dunstable High School Robotics Club to visit the classroom and bring their robots. They said yes! On a side note, the Robotics Club had invited Boston Dynamics to attend a few years ago. That was a big deal. The Boston Dynamics engineer told the club he was from Groton and had started his school years at Groton Community School. Yes, he was in my class, and I remember him well.
Back to the Robotics Club. The students were wonderful, and so were their robots. High schoolers who can relate to preschoolers is special.
That was a wonderful day! Real robots came to life for the children. I received an email this week from the head of the Robotics Club, telling me how much they loved our giant thank you letter (of course we wrote a giant thank you letter. That’s what we do.) They hung the letter in the big glass case in the high school hallway. Wow!
Learning should always be exciting for children. Thank goodness for robots!
Jennie
Making a robot (stay tuned!)
A Teacher's Reflections 
My children have had several wonderful teachers, but the one who was absolutely life-changing was Polly. Their school went from age 4 to first grade. All in one classroom, with the children learning from each other. She didn’t teach any of them to read or to write. They instantly became readers, and they taught each other to write. Polly saw her role as being the one who arranged for each and every child to do the things they most wanted to do. She said anyone could be a good teacher, but to be a great one they needed to have passion about something in their lives. She herself had been a dancer, and that was the passion she drew upon.
A child wants to tell a story? She would listen, help write or transcribe, and then suggest they make it into a play. (That child became an international correspondent for PBS, now with his own weekly show.) A child wants to write a fairy tale? She sent that story to a national children’s magazine for publication. (That child, my daughter, now has won Emmy’s as a TV writer, plus has authored multiple best-selling books.) A child likes to know how things work? She brings in everything from toasters to computers for him to take apart. (That child, my son, is now an engineer at an international aircraft maker.) A child likes to sing and dance? Polly helps her create a show, recruit her classmates, and perform for families and friends. (That child, my daughter, performed the lead in her highschool musicals. Eventually, she became a developer in one of the world’s biggest software companies, a young woman in a male-dominated field with the confidence she got from Polly’s encouragement.)
Teachers can shape lives. A very few teachers — teachers like you Jennie — can transform them. The children in your class have hit the jackpot, and their lives will never be the same.
Jennie