4th-graders learn economics making game items

LEIPSIC — Kati Brandeberry loves that teaching 4th grade social studies gives her a chance to engage children with hands-on projects — but she has never seen her students as excited about economics as she has this year. Brandeberry, a Findlay resident, has taught at Leipsic Elementary School for 13 years. "It's where I did my student teaching and I just kind of never really left," she said. In fourth grade, she can do a lot of hands-on projects, she said. Every year, she teaches an economics unit in which students make a product, such as creating something out of a paper towel roll. This year, Brandeberry had another idea. Her 9-year-old son plays Yeeps, a virtual reality game which began as a sort of hide and seek but has evolved into a more complex game involving building competitions and mini-games within the game. Players can build their own maps or worlds and get others to join them, Brandeberry said. Brandeberry had seen that Trass Games, the company behind Yeeps, had come out with a maker kit in which children could make some of the objects they might find in the game, like a disc, a bat or a sleep cap. The maker kit allows children to create physical items to accessorize Yeeps plush dolls which are also for sale. Students also learn sewing skills, as the kits are a progression of five craft projects that introduce beginners to the fundamentals of sewing. Along with her son, Brandeberry knew several students who were avid Yeeps players. Among that age group, even kids who don't play virtual reality games tend to be familiar with Yeeps as they are featured on YouTube and social media, Brandeberry said. And the company behind Yeeps is also creating more Yeeps items in the real world as well as the virtual world, she said. "They're really invested in keeping kids engaged," she said. She thought ordering the maker kits would be a meaningful way to teach economics. "I thought that would be such a good way to tie their world to our world," she said. She reached out to Trass Games to make sure there were no restrictions against her doing this activity with the whole class. The team at Trass Games wanted to know more information about her project, and Brandeberry said she was teaching children about labor, goods and natural resources, so this would tie in well. Trass Games then offered to donate 55 Yeeps plush dolls so each of the fourth-graders could have one. Brandeberry explained that the dolls have magnets in their hands and can be stuck to a child's locker or adorned with accessories like bracelets. Brandeberry said the people at Trass Games were supportive, and also rushed the maker kits to her to ensure she would have them in time for her unit. Brandeberry grew up in Findlay, and her own children attend school there, "but I absolutely love Leipsic" and the staff at the school, she said. "These are some great kids," she said. She especially enjoys teaching fourth grade, because children are old enough to work independently but are still young enough to be enthusiastic about crafts and projects. "We get to have all the fun in fourth grade," she said. For another social studies project, her students studied the War of 1812 and made puppets depicting key figures like Francis Scott Key and Oliver Hazard Perry. Brandeberry said the economics unit has previously included projects such as making products out of paper towel rolls or creating a fictitious lemonade stand. One year, students designed items to 3D print. Later, in high school, the students will be required to take an economics class, she said. The fourth-grade economics unit is to give them a taste of the subject and hopefully spark some interest. The unit includes the factors of production, wants versus needs and how a budget works, she said. The students had to go through all the notes and book study before they could build the items for their Yeeps, and Brandeberry said they were eager and impatient to get started. "I can tell you, it has been such a motivator," she said. "These kids know everything about economics." After leading the students in making their items this week, Brandeberry said she was glad the kits came with self-threading needles. "You would never believe the number of 9-year-old boys bragging they now know how to whip stitch and blanket stitch!" she wrote in an email to The Courier. "It was a huge success."