Happy Monday, Tinkering friends!
How was your weekend?
My family has been busy with a lot of transitions and I’m finally beginning to emerge from the haze of it all. Maybe you’ve noticed that I’ve been hibernating a bit over here and the posts haven’t been flowing as quickly as they once did? The good news is that I’m finally getting into the rhythm of having my kids back to school, and I can put my thinking cap on once again.
I have a few fun bits of creativity and education interestingness to share today, so I’ll just chunk them together for easy reading…
Back to School
So first, a little catch up on my personal life…
My older daughter, who I fondly refer to as “N” on this blog (and sometimes Nutmeg) recently started kindergarten. I wrote a little bit about how her new school encourages a fail-forward point of view over here.
And my little daughter, “R”, which is short for Baby Rainbow, just turned three and starts back to preschool this week. She goes to school a few mornings each week and she’s so excited to finally be to school just like her big sister.
As for me, I’m in search of a new art studio. I’ve been looking for one in my area and they’re few and far between. It’s times like this that I wished I lived somewhere like Portland! I’m considering building a studio shed in our small backyard. If you have any experience with this, I would be thrilled to hear from you. And of course, if you happen to know about a rad + cheap studio in Silicon Valley, give me a holler!
How about you? Have you been busy with transitions, a new school, or changes with work?
Arts in Education Week
Did you know that this week is Arts in Education Week? If you’re an art teacher (waving hello to all my colleagues out there!), I’m sure you are in the know. Just three short years ago the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution designating the second week of September as “Arts in Education Week.” Check out this link to read all the legal details. I especially love that they included this quote in the resolution:
‘‘After a certain high level of technical skill is achieved, science and art tend to coalesce in esthetics, plasticity, and form. The greatest scientists are artists as well.” – Albert Einstein
If you’d like to advocate for arts-rich schools, the National Arts Education Association is full of advocacy tools for the taking.
Creative Bug
I recently met Jody Alexander at ALT San Francisco. Jody is a wildly talented book maker who teaches online classes at Creative Bug. Do you know about Creative Bug? Basically, they host hundreds of online crafting classes that are beautifully shot, so that you can learn how to knit, make screen prints, crochet, or make beeswax collages from the comfort of home. And with the ability to pause and play if you need a short break.
Jody will be with us next week to teach us how to make a Bamboo Rubber Band Book. Her photos and instructions are gorgeous and clear, and I know you won’t want to miss this.
Kiwi Crate
Do you know about Kiwi Crate? They send a thoughtfully designed box full of thematic activities directly to your home each month. Each crate now also comes with a bonus magazine that’s full of even more ideas that will keep your child engaged and learning. They’re having a back-to-school promo if you’d like to sign up: Save up to $20 on a new Kiwi Crate subscription (that’s 2 months free) plus free shipping!
Tinkerlab Newsletter
We recently switched newsletter hosts, and I’d like to encourage you to sign up for our newsletter, even if you have in the past. We haven’t sent out a newsletter in quite a while, but when it finally launches I don’t want you to miss out on little nuggets of useful tinkering and creative goodness that we’re sure to share.
Have a great Monday, happy Arts in Education Week, and I promise that you’ll hear from me soon.
Note: This post includes affiliate links, but we only share links to products that we adore and/or that we think you’ll find useful.
This is nice!!!
Thanks 🙂