The official site of the Torch, the student-run newspaper at Glenbrook North High School.

Torch

The official site of the Torch, the student-run newspaper at Glenbrook North High School.

Torch

The official site of the Torch, the student-run newspaper at Glenbrook North High School.

Torch

Students ‘pin’ for preschool projects

Senior Mia Zera uses Pinterest in her Introduction to Human Growth and Development class. She said Pinterest was helpful to find ideas for her final exam project. Photo Illustration by Lauren Sulkowski

About two and a half years ago, Stefanie Anderson, family and consumer science teacher, heard about Pinterest, a website that allows users to explore ideas for projects and interests. She was immediately drawn to “do it yourself” craft ideas and food recipes on the website. Anderson then began using Pinterest for her Educational Foundations, Introduction to Human Growth and Development and Fit for Life classes.

“The nice thing about Pinterest, to me, is [it has] all of the things that I teach,” said Anderson. “It is the best for my [Introduction to Human Growth and Development] class because my students teach in the preschool and Pinterest has loads of activities and art projects [that the students can use].”

Senior Mia Zera, who took Introduction to Human Growth and Development first semester, said she used her Pinterest account for the final exam project.

“For part of our final, we had to come up with activities and healthy snack ideas for young children,” said Zera. “Pinterest has the cutest recipes and tips, so it made the project easier and so fun.”

Zera said that she had a Pinterest account before taking Introduction to Human Growth and Development, which she used for craft and outfit ideas during her free time.

Similar to Zera, sophomore Sophie Knebelkamp also had a Pinterest account before she took Education Foundations with Anderson, which she found very helpful when planning lessons for when she taught in the preschool.

“For [my Education Foundations class] we had to do an all day teach, [where the students teach in the preschool for the entire day,] and the theme for the day was bears,” said Knebelkamp. “I had to find a math project to teach in the preschool and was having trouble finding a simple lesson, so I checked [Anderson’s Pinterest board] and she had a worksheet that fit what I needed perfectly.”

“[Pinterest] is a very helpful teaching tool,” Anderson said.