1,550 Kindergartners will receive bilingual Thinker Player Creator Box
In a groundbreaking partnership between the Children's Museum of Phoenix and the Cartwright Unified School District, the two organizations will provide all 1,550 of Cartwright's Kindergartners with the Museum’s Thinker Player Creator Box.
Created by the Children’s Museum’s education staff, the boxes are the Museum’s newest program to provide fun, creative activities for Valley children this fall to supplement online learning. They will be delivered to Cartwright Kinder students mid-October to provide a much-needed break from academic screen time.
Each Thinker Player Creator Box will include nine weeks of hands-on, fun, highly engaging activities around the themes of Effective Detectives, Ready. Set. Road Trip!, Superhero Adventures, PAWsome Pets, World of Magic and Fantasy. Going, Going, Green, Dinosaur Discovery, and Cosmic Cadets. Each theme – with the exception of Effective Detectives - comes with two activities for the week plus a family activity that the entire family can do together. Effective Detectives will come with five activities for the week plus the family activity.
Box contents include an instruction guide, project supplies, art materials, and access to virtual content that fits in with the weekly themes. Activity plans and virtual content will be provided in both English and Spanish.
Cartwright School District will provide over 2,200 hours of manpower for assembly of the boxes which began this week at Marc T. Atkinson Middle School, located at 4315 N. Maryvale Parkway, Phoenix. Children’s Museum Education Staff members are providing onsite training of Cartwright staff on the assembly as well as assisting with the management of the project and the assembly itself.
In making the announcement, Kate Wells, President & CEO of the Children’s Museum said, "Even in good times, young children are the most vulnerable among us - and during the Pandemic and school shutdowns, they are the most likely to fall through the cracks because they are not able to effectively use technology. They also learn through "doing" which is vital for their physical, emotional, and social development. The Cartwright District's teachers and leaders recognize that their youngest students are really struggling and we are beyond thrilled to partner with them to bring high quality, educational, and fun hands-on activities right into each child's home."
Dr. LeeAnn Aguilar-Lawlor, Superintendent of the Cartwright School District added, "I'm so excited for our kindergarten scholars and their families. This is an incredible opportunity that will help their critical thinking and engagement during distance learning. I want to thank Assistant Superintendent Ema Jauregui and art teacher Kate Cross for bringing us this opportunity! I am grateful to our Governing Board for their support and for our partnership with the Children's Museum of Phoenix.”
