Using just drawing paper, a black sharpie marker, colored pencils and markers, these easy optical art projects are great for kids of all ages. What looks like advanced drawing techniques turn out to be quite simple. In fact, none of these projects require a steady hand or straight lines. Optical Wave Designs Julianna Kunstler’s step [...]
Posted in Activities, Art, Make 
Tags: Art, colored pencils, DIY, drawing, easy drawing projects, kids art projects, markers 
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Makerspaces have finally hit the mainstream. Even churches, schools, and libraries are incorporating makerspaces into their facilities so that community members; especially kids, can tinker, build, and hack toys, devices, and more to make something new. A Google search confirms the craze– the term makerspace returns 44,800 results. Beyond makerspaces, though, is the idea of [...]
Posted in Activities, Art, Back to School, Homeschool, Make, Online Tools Tags: Art, DIY, hand-made, homeschool, make, makerspace, Project-based learning, tinkering Comments Off
Regardless of your plans this summer, its always fun to make stuff. We’ve found several really easy Origami projects that even younger children will enjoy. Best of all, the resulting art is functional and beautiful. Our favorite project is the box with lid. Not only are these little boxes attractive, they are great for gift-giving, [...]
Posted in Activities, Art, Back to School, Make, Math Tags: Art, make, origami, paper crafts, summer crafts Comments OffCheck out some of the cool projects we’ve collected (from Spottybanana and beyond). We created a tidy Pinterest board for our reader’s convenience. What is Pinterest? If you don’t know, you should probably head over there now and find out about the fastest-growing social sharing site on the internet. If you know about Pinterest, head [...]
Child’s Own Studio hand crafts stuffed toys based on your child’s drawings. The examples on the Child’s Own Studio website show that no matter how crazy-looking the drawing seems, a cute, creative, and beautiful toy emerges. This is such a great idea that I wonder how Child’s Own Studio will keep up with demand as the [...]
Posted in Activities, Art, Eclectic Homeschooling, Just for Fun Tags: Childs Own Studio, craft, drawings, stuffed toys, Toy Comments OffScoop.it is a fun way to share online articles, videos, photos, etc. around a topic. It is free, easy to use, and fun to curate. We’ve curated an eclectic collection of disruptive learning articles on our Scoop.it specially for SpottyBanana viewers. In our case, disruptive learning means nonmainstream, non- traditional learning ideas outside of the [...]
Posted in Activities, Art, Eclectic Homeschooling, Learning Methods, Literacy, Online Tools, STEAM Tags: content curation, disruptive learning, Eclectic Homeschooling, Learning, online tools, Scoop.it, spottybanana Comments Off
Halloween decorations can be expensive. Why not take a few hours, gather the kids, and make your own cool origami Halloween decorations. We found several free Halloween origami websites that requires little more than colored construction paper. They are really fun to make, too. Online Halloween Origami Resources Origami Resource Center - Halloween Origami Origami Club [...]
Store bought hero costumes aren’t much fun. Usually, the costume material is thin, tears easily, isn’t very comfortable on sensitive skin, and fits poorly. If your youngster loves epic heroes like Jedi Luke Skywalker from Star Wars, Harry Potter, or Indiana Jones, consider creating realistic costumes using regular clothing and some creativity. Here are some [...]
Posted in Activities, Art, Halloween, Harry Potter, Make Tags: Batman, costumes, epic heros, Halloween, Harry Potter, Heros, Indiana Jones, Luke Skywalker, Pretend-Play, Villains Comments OffLearning opportunities are everywhere. One of the best places to start is in your own backyard. Here are ten lesson ideas that don’t need lots of materials, specific curriculum, or special ability. These lessons focus on learning together, encourage a project-based approach, and are fun for kids of all ages. We’d love to hear some [...]
Posted in Activities, Art, Biology, Environmental Conservation, Games Tags: Art, ecology, Fibonnaci, golden ratio, insects, microscope, observation, photography, play, weather Comments OffNeed ideas for a rainy day science or art project? Need to spark enthusiasm for the upcoming school year? Get ideas and inspirations for all sorts of projects on the Pinterest website. Better yet, set up your free Pinterest account to start collecting or “pinning” your own personal favorite articles so you can save them [...]
Posted in Activities, Art, Online Tools Tags: homeschool, ideas, LEGO, online tools, Pinterest Comments Off
