Cheryl-Ann has joined buildtastic! this year and is teaching the Kindergarten level.  She is a native of Canada and has been living in Switzerland for 17 years.  She is a qualified Early Childhood Educator with 17 years of international experience teaching Preschool/Pre-K and Kindergarten. Currently she also serves as the Craft/Design/Technology teacher at Obersee Bilingual School (for the last 2 years).  She loves working with kids and is a master at unleashing their creative inner selves.  In her free time, Cheryl-Ann enjoys travelling, baking and jewellery making.

WHAT WE BELIEVE

 

KIDS LEARN MORE WHEN HAVING FUN


With a box of LEGO in front of them, kids can hardly wait to dig their hands in and start their crafty brains working on the next masterpiece.  We aim to channel that energy and focus on solving a specific problem in the context of playing with LEGO.


Structure of each session: 

  • Each child has a LEGO kit (to be returned at end of session)

  • Discussion of problem using story and illustrations

  • Building a solution following illustrated instructions

  • Experimentation and investigation 

  • Summary of new vocabulary and learned principles

  • Show-and-tell to the group and accompanying adults
     

Goals:


Being in a fun and friendly environment, your child will improve their listening skills as well as learn to follow instructions.  With the other children in the group, they will practice socializing and develop their problem solving skills.  The curriculum also includes scientific principles such as forces, power, and speed.  And last but not least, we will practice a bit of public speaking with the show-and-tell.

WHO AM I?

My name is Winnie and I am an American living in Zurich for the last 20 years.  I started buildtastic! for my son, when I couldn't find a suitable Lego Class for him.  Besides loving engaging with kids and seeing them develop, my qualifications include a Computer Science degree from Cornell University and more than 10 years as an IT Project Manager.


Running buildtastic! for the last 10 years has been such a rewarding experience.  I hope to reach even more kids with this fun and educational activity!