BY PAGE CRAMER
Lynae Soderholm’s kindergarten class is creating future scientists, engineers and mathematicians one STEM Center activity at a time.
As soon as the students put on their lab coats, safety goggles and tags, Soderholm encourages them to work together in order to create new inventions.
Last fall, the Eudora Schools Foundation awarded over $17,000 in Teacher Excellence Grants to 21 teachers in the district, including Soderholm.
She said she wanted to give her students the opportunity to experience more than just the four science units taught in the year and add a hands-on aspect to the STEM program that was already in place.
Soderholm said that in just the first few weeks of adding the gear to the program, it has gone farther than she expected.
“It’s been really cool to see their imagination take hold and just run with this,” she said. “To just kind of add another layer of excitement and engagement and just immerse them a little bit more into this science idea.”
Eudora Schools Foundation Executive Director Shanda Hurla said the foundation strives to provide opportunities like these to both the kids and the community.
She said her favorite part of her job is visiting the grant winners in their classrooms.
“How can you not love hearing and seeing what is happening in the classroom?” Hurla said. “The fact that they are learning about different careers in terms of they’re saying ‘I can be a technician, I can be an engineer, I can be a mathematician,’ do all of these things, that is just implementing possibilities for the future.”
This year was a record high for the amount of money awarded, and Hurla attributed it to the belief the community has in the foundation’s goal.
Soderholm said these kids will change the world some day and hopes this grant will help instill that belief into their minds as well.
Reach reporter Page Cramer at eudoratimes@gmail.com.
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