August 20, 2018  by

Invitations To Create: New Videos & Prompts!

Are you familiar with Invitations To Create?

Invitations To Create are open-ended art prompts set up for kids to encourage creative exploration of materials. I first learned about these types of art prompts when I was a Reggio-Inspired preschool teacher and have since used them with my own kids for the past 9 years.

Invitations To Create have been the one tool I go back to again and again to keep my kids engaged with their art supplies and to learn new skills.

I’ve been working on a few new projects that involve Invitations To Create and I’m so excited to share them with you today!

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in Art Projects / Art Supplies / Creative Learning / Creative Projects / Homeschool / News 0 comments
March 6, 2018  by

Big Kid Art Space

I set up our current art space 4 years ago when I had a toddler and a kindergartener. Now that my girls are 6 and almost 10, I recently realized that it’s time to make some updates to this creative work space.

I want this space to reflect their interests and to inspire them to use a variety of tools and materials in their work. So I sat down with the girls and asked them for their input before planning the new items.

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in Art Spaces / Art Supplies / Creative Learning / Home / Homeschool / Indoor Creative Spaces / Portfolio 4 comments
July 28, 2017  by

How To Incorporate Tinker & Maker Materials Into Your Art Space

Art spaces for kids are places of exploration, investigation, discovery, and creation. It’s important not to limit your materials to only art supplies (especially for kids over age 3), but to offer them a variety of materials to enhance their learning experience.

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in Art Projects / Art Spaces / Art Supplies / Creative Learning / Creative Projects / Home / Homeschool / Indoor Creative Spaces 0 comments
September 14, 2016  by

Got STEAM?

You probably know by now that I’m all about art, design, and child-led learning, but there’s one hot topic where I feel sadly inadequate when it comes to working with kids. That topic is STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math). Thankfully, the new STE(A)M initiatives have added the A for Art so I’m not at a total loss! I have been learning more about how to engage my kids in STEAM activities and am excited to share a new resource that is helping me do this.

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in Art Projects / Creative Learning / Creative Projects / News 2 comments
July 31, 2016  by

Reggio Inspired Art Secrets

You probably know this by now, but I am a huge fan of the incredible art teacher and blogger, Meri Cherry. I remember discovering her work a couple of years ago when she wrote a post about wood working with toddlers. I immediately felt a kinship and was so excited to find another Reggio inspired art blogger. We eventually got to meet in person over a plate of tacos and we both couldn’t stop blabbering on about Reggio and kids art. We have been friends ever since! Meri has a way of sharing her experience as a teacher that is unlike any other teacher and blogger I know. Her beautiful photos and down-to-earth voice bring you into her world and make you feel like you are being let in on a secret. So it’s no wonder she recently published an e-book called  Art Secrets Every Teacher Should Know, A Reggio Inspired Approach.

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in Art Projects / Art Supplies / Creative Learning / Creative Projects 0 comments
May 19, 2015  by

Art Supply Organization: What’s in the baskets?

Art Supply Organziation 2

Whenever I share a photo of our art space, I often get asked, “What do you keep in the large baskets at the bottom?” As an art teacher, I became accustomed to keeping large bins easily accessible for over-sized art materials like paper towel rolls, egg cartons, scraps of cardboard, fabric pieces, or bits and bobs of broken toys. Now in our home art studio (as well as my client’s art spaces) I always include these types of items without even thinking. But, of course, these materials don’t always come to mind for most people when thinking of art supply organization or setting up an art space for kids. So thank you for reminding me of this! I’m excited to give you a peek today into our large art bins and what we do with the materials.

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in Art Spaces / Art Supplies / Indoor Creative Spaces 8 comments
August 11, 2013  by

Making Science Creative

This week, Karuna had the amazing opportunity to attend Camp Galileo. As her third camp this summer, I was curious to see how it would compare to the other two camps. As I mentioned in a recent post, Camp Galileo talks a big game.
During each one-week session, they hope to inspire innovation by offering opportunities to imagine, create, and test their creations. Campers work together to build on their ideas and discover new ways to re-work their designs. All of this is based around a weekly theme and infused with fun & enthusiasm. After hearing the daily reports from Karuna and visiting the camp during their “art class,” I was pleased to find that this camp definitely walks the walk!
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in Creative Learning / Uncategorized 0 comments