Sweet Home Teacher Capitalizes on Space Age Idea

A Sweet Home Central School District teacher is helping students with the new normal. She shared her space-age ideas with News 4 (WIVB-TV) reporter Gabrielle Mediak.

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Kendra Herbold teaches second grade at Maplemere Elementary, where this fall students attend class in person, five days a week.

Herbold said her classroom has a different theme every year and this year is no exception. Kids need to feel a certain degree of normalcy at school and with that in mind, her classroom has been transformed into the coolest place in space.

“I thought the distancing thing was going to be hardest for little children and really wanted to make it fun for them to actually stay in their space,” said Herbold. “So I thought the Space Station idea would make it a little bit easier and more comfortable for them.”

She has arranged for each of her 12 students to sit at their own space station keeping their supplies in a space dock. To add to the effect they wear goggles and the area features a space command center, where students receive their daily missions, in other words lessons.

While this year is a little different, Herbold is happy to be in the classroom teaching. “We’re really just happy to learn together and be together,” she said.

We would be remiss if we did not note that during this entire pandemic teachers have been in the forefront never forgetting the educational and social needs of their children, and doing everything possible to further their educational mission.