Junior Craft and Tinker

 

This is the third in a series of posts on the Craft and Tinker Badges.  I previously wrote about the Daisy and Brownie plans.  I did this review by reading the VTK plans.  I do not have the badge brochure, and as I do not have Juniors, have no intention of buying it.  If you have it, I'd love it if you'd leave a comment about how it is different from VTK. 

Badge Steps

Learn how to make something with care, skill, and imagination and then improve it.

• Explore crafting and tinkering
• Tinker with a craft
• Learn about users
• Craft for form, fit, and function
• Tinker with your project

When you've earned this badge, you'll know how to craft and tinker to solve problems.

Opening Activity

The opening activity for Juniors is the same as the one for Daisies.  The leader provides a variety of craft supplies and girls make whatever they want to make.  Like the Daisies, the girls share about these creations at opening circle.  

Explore Crafting and Tinkering

Examine the World of Making

First the girls discuss various types of crafts, and the leader makes sure the discussion includes the words "tinker", "craft", "maker",  For each craft the girls name, they discuss what materials, tools and skills might be needed.  Then the leader shows the Juniors examples of crafts and they talk about the problem the craft solves, how it is used, who uses it, how it is made and the differences between various examples of the craft. Then the girls use the internet or books to explore who a craft is made around the world. Girls share what they learned and brainstorm how they could tinker with the craft to create their own version.  Girls draw a sketch showing how they would tinker with the craft, and if the troop has the time and the materials, makes the craft.  

Try It Out

This choice begins with the same discussion about types of crafts and the vocabulary words.  Then she shows them an example of the craft they are going to make. The girls use books or computers to learn about the history and process for creating the object and then they make the craft.  Suggested projects are to build a weaving loom and create a small tapestry, make candles, build a box or bookstand with woodworking or to create a multi-course meal.  

Discover Crafts or Inventions in Your Community

This suggestion is for a guest speaker or field trip to some type of maker space. The talking points are the same as for the other two options.  

Tinker With a Craft

Tinker With Tools

After a discussion that includes the words "tinker", "function" and "feature", girls identify the function a objects brought in by the leader and discuss the parts and features it includes as well as the tools that may have been used to make it.  Then they discuss various tools and how they can be used.  

Next the leader shows off a craft she has made and the girls identify its function and the materials and tools used to make it.  Then the girls research what tools would have been historically used to make that craft. Then after testing the tools and discussing how they could tinker with the tools to make crafts in the future, the girls make the same craft as the leader. Suggested projects are making a leather belt, making wire-wrapped jewelry or making a bench. 

Tinker With Materials

The talking points are pretty much the same as above, but also include a discussion of upcycling, and then the craft is to make something with upcycled materials, after, of course, sketching it first. 

Tinker With Function

Again the talking points are similar, but with this choice, you talk about how tinkering with something can change its function.  After the girls make their craft, you then tinker with it to change its function.  Suggested activities are building a shelf--and then tinkering with it by adding hooks or closed sides to improve or add function; sewing a pencil case, and then adding a strap to make it a cross-body bag; or sculping a vase before adding a  handle to change it into a pitcher or mug. 

At the end of the meeting, the girls have to decide on a user for the craft they will do at the next meeting and fill out a user profile--which they may have to do between meetings.

Opening Activity 2

As girls come in they are invited to sketch different crafts and machines the user they selected at the end of the previous meeting would find useful.  They can think big without any practical limitations.  Then they discuss whether you should find a user for a craft or a craft for a user and share their sketches.

Learn About Users

Reflect on Their Experiences

The discussion in this step focuses on user-centered design. The leader shows the girl a sample of the craft they will be making and the girls discuss their chosen user and how the design could be adapted for that user--color, size, function etc.

Research to Learn More

After the discussion on user-centered design, girls do research on their users and try to incorporate that into the design of the craft. 

Interview them

Yep, after the discussion on user-centered design, Juniors plan how they can interview their user to learn how to improve the design for the user.

Craft For Form, Fit and Function 

Make Something to Simplify Life

After another discussion of user-centered design, and form, fit and function, girls make a craft that simplifies life. Girls begin by looking at the leader's sample and identifying parts that support its function. They also describe its form and how it can be tailored for their user.  Then they sketch  their idea for a personalized version of the craft, and label the parts needed for it to function.  They should focus on the form and on any personalization for their user.  Finally, the girls follow their sketch to build and test their craft.  

Suggested projects are making a tote, designing a password notebook or personalized calendar for the user, and building a caddy for things the user uses often.  

Make Something to Entertain

This has the same talking points as the prior craft, but you make something that will entertain the user.  Suggested crafts are curating digital media, like creating a playlist or a digital photo album, creating a personalized coloring book or designing a trivia game based on your user's interest.  

Make Anything Else

If there was any doubt that GSUSA was more interested in the talking points than the crafts used to earn this badge, this is it.  After the same discussion above, girls make some craft, any craft for which they can name a purpose (even if that purpose is to decorate) and tinker with it to make it more personalized for their user.  

Tinker With Your Project

Add a New Feature or Function

After another discussion of form, fit, function and features and the meaning of tinkering, girls sketch how they could improve their project by adding a new feature or function.  Then they show off their crafts and their sketches.  For more fun, if there are additional materials, they actually tinker with the craft.  

Streamline It

Yes, they discuss form, fit, function and features and tinkering again here too. Then the girls brainstorm about how they could streamline their craft to make it more useful.  They sketch their ideas and, if they have time, implement them.

Test It With Others

Same discussion as before and then the girls brainstorm how they can test their craft.  They test theirs and observe how the other girls test theirs, note any problems and then draw a sketch of how to improve the craft to solve the problems.  If there is time, they can implement their ideas. 

Resources

VTK provides a meeting plan and a meeting overview as well as an overview of the Craft and Tinker badge; they are just truncated versions of the timed meeting plan on VTK.  There is also a useless materials list, since there are so many craft options. 

There are three project ideas:  Make a Spotlight, Make a Tote, and Build a Weaving Loom.  

A vocabulary list of twelve words, plus definitions is provided, as is a User Profile for the girls to complete as noted above. Finally there are handouts on "Making". 

My Comments

Back in the 1980's I was an elementary education major and one of the things we were taught to do was to write "behavioral objectives". The idea was that if you didn't know what target you were trying to hit, your chances of hitting it went way down. I don't know if teachers are still expected to write behavioral objectives but if the folks writing Girl Scout badges are writing them, they are keeping them hidden from us peons in the field.

Reading through the entire VTK lesson plans, I would write the following behavioral objectives for this badge:

• Girls will be able to name a variety of crafts, along with the tools and materials used to make each;
• Girls will be able to define and properly use the words tinker, form, function, feature, and identify them in crafted objects or machines;
• Given a completed object, girl will be able to explain its function and how its features aid in that function;
• Given a completed object, girls will be able to determine how to modify the features of the object so as to better achieve the function of the object, and sketch their ideas; and
• Girls will be able to use user-centered design principals to create a sketch to customize a template craft project.

None of these objectives gleaned from reading the VTK materials have anything to do with actually learning how to do the craft.  While leaders can always choose to use the provided project sheets to do "put this together" type crafts, there is no direction given if leaders want to introduce the girls to pottery, jewelry making, sewing, photography, or even cooking (never thought of cooking as a "craft" but it is listed as a suggested activity).  All I can say is that I hope any revision of the cooking badges doesn't turn them into conversation badges that include a couple of cooking activities.  

I really would rather have a badge program based on gaining practical skills rather than one that just uses skills as carriers for design thinking.  However, I do like the fact that you could use pretty much the same crafts for  Daisies, Brownies and Juniors on this badge and just adapt the talking points.  I do question how much time troops will spend on the talking points though.