Nerding Classes

Specialties

Nerding Classes in Tempe, AZ are all about STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Making. Kids can explore amazing tools like Makey Makeys and iPads, build robots, create rocket launchers, or learn to sew!

You won’t find fluff here or flashy science demonstrations with no knowledge transfer to real life. You will find classes that foster curiosity, creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit.

Each class has a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Making) curriculum focus, and usually more than one. You’ll see that listed in the class info. Ms. Westmoreland feels strongly that when presented in a fun and engaging way, kids will voluntarily do rich, difficult learning.

Nerding Class sizes are small. Really small. With no more than 10 nerds, lots of individual attention, help, and encouragement will be provided.

History

Established in 2014.

Ms. W loves a lot of things, but there’s a few things she really really loves… Science. Gadgets. Making stuff. Kids. Teaching.

She started designing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Making classes for upper elementary kids and then taught some very successful summer classes in 2014. She decided to call them nerding, because, well, that’s what they are. Truth be told, she was a little selfish and just designed classes around topics and tools SHE wanted to explore and play with. Yep, she’s definitely a nerd.

Ms. W is passionate about teaching and preparing kids for the future, a future that is ever changing. How can we prepare for a changing future? Kids need to be problem solvers. They need to be resourceful. They need to try new things and sometimes fail. They need to get back up and try again. They need to make improvements and not settle. Acquiring facts in a classroom isn’t enough anymore. Kids need to be able to apply that knowledge to a real world setting.

Meet the Business Owner

Niecy W.

Business Owner

Ms. Niecy Westmoreland exited the womb, cried, and started asking questions. She’s always loved learning and her curious nature has made her a loud and proud nerd since age zero.

Her childhood was happy and reasonably normal considering that she has nine siblings. Some highlights include learning to sew at age eight and surviving The Great Finger Sewing Incident of 1992 with fully intact appendages. At age ten she dabbled in inventing, her most notable invention being WindMuffs. Regrettably, WindMuffs, earmuffs designed to attach to bike helmet straps, never took off in Arizona markets.

Ms. Westmoreland received her degree (summa cum laude, of course) in Elementary Education from ASU, and she is continuing her studies with an M.Ed. in Educational Technology from NAU. She has truly loved her last seven years teaching 3^rd and 4^th grade in the Kyrene School District and her last four years coaching her school’s FIRST LEGO League robotics team.

Ms. W has a motto: «Be curious.»