Meet Ms. Quezada
Esteemed, Current Braddock Instructor
With a passion for working with young children and a natural love for creative learning, Ms. Quezada brings both experience and heart to every class. As a mom of four, she understands how to connect with kids on their level—making her a natural at guiding hands-on activities like our Brick Masters STEM builds.
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She majored in Child Development and Early Childhood Education and spent three years working at the LATTC Child Development Center, supporting preschoolers’ growth through play-based learning. At Braddock Elementary, she served as an Instructional Aide in the Mandarin Immersion 2nd grade class, and currently works as a 1:1 SPED support for students with unique learning needs at the same school.
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Her background in child development, classroom support, and special education makes her an ideal teacher for our Brick Masters classes—especially for elementary-aged learners who thrive with clear guidance, patience, and lots of encouragement. Kids will love building with her!
Overview:​
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Take-Home Kits: New kit provided every 2 weeks; students keep their builds and all kits are compatible with Lego and other major brands
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Class Duration: 1 hour
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Frequency: 1 per week
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Semester Length: 16 weeks
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Fall Semester: September 5th - December 12th
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Schedule: Fri - 3pm-4pm
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Objectives:
By the end of the program, students will be able to:
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Follow multi-step building instructions with increasing independence.
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Strengthen fine motor skills, spatial awareness, sequencing skills and visual planning.
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Engage in math (counting, symmetry, alignment).
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Apply basic engineering and design principles to builds and will further challenge older kids​
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Express themselves through theme-based storytelling and character design.
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Learn perseverance and focus — essential STEM soft skills.
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Take pride in completing hands-on projects from start to finish.​​​
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Session Structure (some will be every other week):​
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Welcome & Theme Intro: Students check in and get excited about the week’s theme
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Engineering & or Science Topics: Learn about the relevant structural engineering concepts and sometimes relevant science topics
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Planning and Sorting: They will review the instructions and sort their bricks
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Hands-On Building: Independent building time with support from instructor
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Reflections: Discuss structural design, engineering techniques, ties to real-world representation and/or aesthetic elements
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Sharing & Storytelling: Optional student sharing about their build, especially creative choices
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Clean Up & Wrap-Up: Organize supplies, check kits for take-home (if applicable)
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Methods:
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Project-based Learning: Each session builds toward a final product students take home to help build motivation and confidence.
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Scientific Thinking: Students will reflect on the physics and/or biology lessons relevant to their build.
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Thematic Play: Uses Pokemon theme to spark storytelling.
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Reflection & Celebration: Story sharing to reinforce pride, communication, and growth mindset.
Want to see other classes?
We would love to hear what kind of afterschool classes you wish to bring to Braddock! Email LittlePandaScholars@gmail.com and we can make it happen if there's enough interest from Braddock families!
