Free Professional Development & Workshop Space for Educators

Dad’s Garage is a hub where ideas come to life! Fully stocked with tools and managed by our expert creative reusers, Dad’s Garage exists to allow educators and the community to make, tinker, build, and find comradery in all things creative. 

Welman’s professional development opportunities, including our Makerspace Lab and Creative Reuse EDU Workshops, are open only to currently employed educators who are registered with The Welman Project. (If you have shopped at Welman, you have registered!) If you’re unsure whether you’re registered, please click HERE to check your status. If you need to register, click HERE. To qualify to register, you must be employed at any accredited public or charter school, or a 501(c)3 organization, including private schools, that files an annual 990 form.

The Welman Project is a TEA-approved CPE provider.

 

WELLIE PD: 3 WAYS TO PLAY

Makerspace Lab:

Bring in a current project, troubleshoot an idea with our master makers, repair your broken stuff, or sign up to learn a new power tool or skill!


How to Play:

  • Visit us during our Makerspace Lab hours to utilize the space and available tools. Note: use of specialty tools is dependent on staff availability.
  • Got a project you’re not sure how to accomplish or want to learn how to use a power tool? Tell us about your project needs HERE and our Wellie Master Maker Steven will connect with you to make it happen.

Makerspace Lab Hours: Wednesdays & Thursdays 3-6 pm | Sundays 10 am-4 pm


Examples of Available Equipment:
  • Woodworking – saws, sanders, burners
  • Fiber Arts – sewing machines, serger
  • Paper Crafts and More – die cut machines, Cricut, binding machines (regular and thermal), laminator, button maker, Styrofoam cutter

(We have some consumables available for use, along with everything from the educator shopping area, and will gladly work with you to find free solutions for your projects, but you’re also encouraged to bring your own materials if you have specific needs.)

 

Creative Reuse EDU Workshops:

YES, every workshop is a hands-on experience.

YES, every workshop is totes free.

YES, every workshop incorporates creative reuse ideas with materials you can find in our Educator Warehouse.

YES, every workshop is great for all subjects and grade levels.

NO, you will not have to sit through a PowerPoint that could have been an email.

How to Play: Click HERE to register for upcoming workshops.

Bonus: CPE credits awarded for participating in workshops. 

If you have an idea for a workshop you’d like to teach, please fill out our interest form HERE.  

All Play with your Peers:

Got a team, a whole department, your entire teaching staff? Let’s get the gang together and have some hands-on, makerspace fun!

How to Play: Contact Matti at matti@thewelmanproject.org for a list of what we offer and ideas on how we can customize the experience to fit your team needs.

CPE Workshop Descriptions:

Intro to Dad’s Garage

Want to join the fun, but don’t know where to start? Get acquainted with our Makerspace Lab. Use a varied selection of tools to complete a fun and useful project for your classroom.

Appropriate For: All grades and subjects.  

Facilitated By: Steven Alford

See, Think, Wonder: Curating Creativity and Curiosity

Our signature, hands-on workshop explores ways to foster creativity and curiosity in the classroom, whatever the grade level or subject. When creativity and curiosity are nurtured, students are more likely to develop the courage and confidence to problem-solve, think critically, and apply a growth mindset. Every student deserves to dream out loud and freely wonder, which awakens a love of discovery and learning. This workshop celebrates originality, divergent thought, variation, and giving students a space to breathe and be themselves. 

Appropriate For: All grades and subjects. 

Facilitated By: Vanessa Barker 

 

Creative Reuse in the Classroom: Project Edition

Think outside the diorama and fold up the tri-folds, because it’s time to take class project assignments to the next level of cool (and less wasteful).

Appropriate For: All grades and subjects.

Facilitated By: Matti Martin, Vanessa Barker

 

Creative Reuse in the Classroom: Holiday Edition

Hand turkeys are so last season. Let’s celebrate new ways to celebrate with creative reuse! 

Appropriate For: All grades and subjects. 

Facilitated By: Vanessa Barker

 

Sewing Basics

Do sewing machines scare you like the basement radiator monster from Home Alone? Never have you ever sewn on a button? Check out our crash course in hand sewing and sewing machine basics. Bonus project included. 

Appropriate For: All grades and subjects. 

Facilitated By: Vanessa Barker, Tammy Patterson, Matti Martin

 

Cricut Basics 

Ain’t no party like a Cricut party. Wellie Matti Martin, our Cricut whiz kid, guides you through the basics. Way more fun than solo watching YouTube tutorials.

Appropriate For: All grades and subjects.  

Facilitated By: Matti Martin

 

Student-Centered FUNctional Spaces

Creative reuse versus your windowless, closet-sized classroom. Hint: creative reuse wins. Together we’ll make your dream classroom designs a reality through this collaborative, glow-up brainstorming sesh.  

Appropriate For: All grades and subjects, including counselors and support staff.

Facilitated By: Vanessa Barker

 

Reuse Road Trip: A Cross-Curriculum Journey with Route 66

Variations on a theme! Want to connect core subjects with art, music, engineering, and a lot of fun? Take an imaginary road trip with us as we use Route 66 as our curriculum compass to demonstrate how a strong unit theme can be a roadmap for connecting core subjects to the real world. 

Appropriate For: All grades and subjects. Especially great for self-contained classrooms, social studies, history, and GT programs. 

Facilitated By: Vanessa Barker

Mini Books for Many Lessons

Having students create mini books is a fun activity for any subject/grade-level classroom. Your students can create books about themselves and write stories, but they can also do much more.

For example:
– Create a reference guide specific to a unit of study
– Collect sentence starters and frames for use in social or academic situations
– Mock-up timelines
– Illustrate vocabulary words

Mini books are easy (and cheap) to make. They provide students an opportunity to do hands on work that supplements what they do with technology, and provides an opportunity for them to express creativity.

Appropriate For: All grades and subjects.  

Facilitated By: Natalie Parker

Not-Lame Team Building 

Does the term “team building” instigate massive eye-rolling among your coworkers and students? Same, same. How about some not-lame, collaborative activities that’ll connect your class, encourage conversation, and double function as rainy-day play? Yes, please.

Appropriate For: All grades and subjects, particularly great for older elementary and middle school. 

Facilitated By: Matti Martin, Vanessa Barker

 

REboot The Brain with Creative Reuse: SEL Toolkit 

Resident Fairy Godmother of Good Vibes, Wendie Lunsford, facilitates this SEL workshop. You’ll leave with an overflowing kit of creative reuse tools to help your students breathe, focus, redirect, open up, and find a bit of happy. 

Appropriate For: All grades and subjects.  

Facilitated By: Wendie Lunsford

 

Art for Social Healing/Social Change

In this inspiring workshop facilitated by Matti Martin, we will explore different ways in which art created in the classroom and shared across a campus can be an avenue to encourage social healing and social change. We will look at game changers in the real world who have used art to speak out, stand up, and make positive changes in their communities. 

Appropriate For: All grades and subjects, but especially great for sponsors of student government, NHS, Key Club, and student-led organizations. 

Facilitated By: Matti Martin

 

Creative Reuse for PTAs, PTOs, and Booster Clubs

Alright, this one is for all the mamas, papas, and community folks dedicating their time and talents to supporting school campuses. From programming to fundraising, y’all are the unsung heroes that make carnivals, book drives, and teacher appreciation week happen, cap’n. PTA mama and Wellie, Vanessa Barker, will facilitate this exchange of ideas for unique programming, fundraising efforts that don’t require anyone to bake, organizational hacks, and, of course, budget-saving ways to implement creative reuse. You’re not a regular mom – you’re a cool PTA mom. (Or dad.)

Appropriate For: Parent/teacher organizations for all campus levels, booster club board members, and community advocates for neighborhood schools. 

Facilitated By: Vanessa Barker, Amanda Moss