Richard Schmaltz is a seasoned-looking man. Fairly tall with gray hair and glasses, he commands an attitude that is immediately friendly. When one speaks with Mr.Schmaltz the individual will feel as if he is a friendly man that can make tough decisions with the best logic. I believe he's from Canada.
I didn't know what to expect from Susan Schmaltz (the wife of Mr.Schmaltz, obviously). I don't think she expected me either as our meeting was not a planned for event. So I sit down with Mrs.Schmaltz. I give her my Kindle Fire (which had a copy of my paper “Game Mechanics in Education”) and she read the first line of my paper “To play is to learn.”
I didn't know what to expect from Susan Schmaltz (the wife of Mr.Schmaltz, obviously). I don't think she expected me either as our meeting was not a planned for event. So I sit down with Mrs.Schmaltz. I give her my Kindle Fire (which had a copy of my paper “Game Mechanics in Education”) and she read the first line of my paper “To play is to learn.”
As head of the Escuelita (the little kid area, essentially) for Safe Passage, Mrs.Schmaltz has a play focused methodology. I believe we spoke for about 2.5 hours.; after which, I make the decision to finally take a gap year and volunteer at Safe Passage.
Mrs.Schmaltz shows me a small section of playground. It is not a bad playground, just small. This small section is meant for the youngest students and is nowhere near the size of the epic playground only 30 feet away. I ask myself, What can I do with this?
Simple idea: get a sandbox digger (little manual mechanical excavator, often put in sandboxes), get a sandbox, fill it with plastic caps like those from milk jugs (sand gets in the eyes, it's messy and doesn't make too much sound). Put the excavator in the middle of the sandbox, a pathway to get to the excavator, and you've got yourself an excellent play area.
[Ed. - I had some groundbreaking schematics here,
I see lots of opportunity here. For instance, there is a bus in one of the classes that is made out of wood. It's cool as is, don't get me wrong. But beyond the steering wheel, it's not extremely interactive. The simple solution is a Switchbox LED (a term I just made up): You have a small box (maybe ¼ the size of the shoe box), you throw in an LED, a battery (no exposed wires), and a switch (button, toggle, anything) and you've got a fairly sweet bus. If all I did was build toys like this, it'd be my dream job even if there's no pay.
Susan and I also shared ideas and information. I gave her names like Roger Callois, Albert Bandura, James Paul Gee, Jane McGonigal, and Johann Huizinga. She gave me the names Howard Gardner and Jean Pizget (names I can't believe I've missed in my research).
I had an excellent time speaking with Susan. I look forward to working with/under her. (Note: Connor illustrated many of his ideas in his journal- great job!)
I see lots of opportunity here. For instance, there is a bus in one of the classes that is made out of wood. It's cool as is, don't get me wrong. But beyond the steering wheel, it's not extremely interactive. The simple solution is a Switchbox LED (a term I just made up): You have a small box (maybe ¼ the size of the shoe box), you throw in an LED, a battery (no exposed wires), and a switch (button, toggle, anything) and you've got a fairly sweet bus. If all I did was build toys like this, it'd be my dream job even if there's no pay.
Susan and I also shared ideas and information. I gave her names like Roger Callois, Albert Bandura, James Paul Gee, Jane McGonigal, and Johann Huizinga. She gave me the names Howard Gardner and Jean Pizget (names I can't believe I've missed in my research).
I had an excellent time speaking with Susan. I look forward to working with/under her. (Note: Connor illustrated many of his ideas in his journal- great job!)
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