This seems like the easy part of creating an invention center – you just get the supplies you need. The thing is, without a method to the madness, it’s just madness. So here are three plumb line questions to keep you stockpiling instead of just making piles.
Does the material fit into the goal of your invention center?
I know I haven’t brought up the term “goal” in the context of your invention center before, but if you’ve come this far, you probably have a good idea of what yours is already. (If you haven’t read the first two posts on creating an invention center, you can read what it is and Part 1 to get caught up.) If you’re woodworking, you’ll need wood, screws, a drill, etc.
This is the no-brainer stuff to have around. Without a stocked area, you’ll get bogged down looking for that lost paintbrush or copper wire. This is why we’re making an invention center.
How much do you need to get started?
Sometimes the zeal to create can take over, and you end up with a lot more than you need – especially if it’s freebie stock. Like toilet paper rolls. There are tons of art and engineering projects you can do with toilet paper rolls. But if you keep saving and don’t use them, well it can just start to get weird.
There has to be a FULL point. Then move on.
Did you throw a wrench in your plan?
If the answer to the last question is “nope” – then it’s time to find that wrench and throw it into the stockpile! Hear me out on this one. If you want to create a maker’s space, that’s great, but this is a defining moment for your invention center. You want to have something in your invention center that challenges you to break the mold. More than something. A fair lot of things. An acorn from last fall’s hike. A bunch of rusty nails. One red sock.
These are the grains of sand that help your creative oyster make a pearl.
Until next time,
Invent your story
Adding pen and ink to your watercolor painting can really make your picture pop. I tried my first watercolor painting this year, and I immediately wanted to share what I learned with the kids. Although this art form is sophisticated (much more sophisticated than me!) it’s accessible to kids of all ages with supervision.
What you need:
- A big brush and a little brush
- A cup of water
- Watercolor paper
- Watercolor paints (we used a palette-style)
- An ultra-thin Sharpie marker
- A .05 micron (or comparable) pen for finer lines
- A pencil
The first think you do is choose your design. You can freehand a picture with a pencil (like we did in the featured image) or you can trace a design onto your watercolor paper.
Next, wet your paper with the big brush and begin to add the colors you want on your background. Try to keep the background water and paint separate from the area of your design. This will prevent unwanted color blending.
After your background looks the way you want it to, it’s time to use your little to color the details of your design. This can be as precise as you like. Less water produces a brighter color, and more water makes the colors soft/light.
Finally, when your painting is dry, you can color over your original pencil lines with the Sharpie marker or ink pen. You may decide to add more detailed lines that your original drawing didn’t include. Art has a way of taking on a life of its own, so enjoy the process and have fun.
I loved doing this project with my kids, because it introduced them to mixed media art. It was also a relaxing activity at the end of the day. I hope the children in your life enjoy it too!
Until next time,
Invent your story
This question was posted on #PBParty today: What are 3 things every picture book writer should know? I am writing the long version of my answer today, because this is something I am passionate about. Writers have a responsibility to our readers. There are a lot of wonderful resources out there to help you develop your voice, use writing techniques, and improve your craft. But it falls short of the goal without these three components.
Number 1: Know Who You’re Writing To
More than that, don’t underestimate who you’re writing to. Picture book writers don’t just write stories for children. They write stories for everyone. The creative license is off the charts with children’s books, and it’s easy to get lost in marshmallow fluff and lose substance.
Even if the reader is 3-6 months old and likes to eat a book as much as look at it. That kid is smart. And as pieces come together, authors owe it to their audience to make pages come to life.
Number 2: Know Why You are Writing
This isn’t a question you have to ask at the beginning – but you definitely need to know the answer inside out before you submit your work for publication. What moved you to write what you did? Why did you push through?
Write about the thing that is important to you. You need a compass to complete a writing work. “Why” is a great compass.
Number 3: Know How Will it Benefit the Child/Reader
Say your answer to “why” was “because I like puppies.” I like puppies too. I’ve written about my puppy, and I had a ball doing it. But when you write about puppies, and consider thinking deeper.
Hear me out on this. We can all celebrate puppies – I’m on board. As a writer though, don’t forget you have a rare opportunity to inspire, teach, and build up brilliant young minds. Seize that opportunity.
Let them read your last page ready for more in life.
Invent your story.
I did not come up with this idea, but I’ve seen tutorials and was curious if this odd little trick really worked. It does! If you have nail polish around the house that you want to get rid of, this is a great way to put it to use. Here’s how it works:
Supplies You Need:
Bowl
Stirring tool (I used a straw)
Nail Polish
Water
Object (white or clear works well) to design
Fill it!
Fill the bowl about halfway with water. You want it deep enough so there’s some distance between the surface of the water and the bottom of the bowl, so you don’t bump it. You can adjust this to your liking.
Mix it!
Take your favorite colors, and experiment. You can use as many as you want, although following a color scheme is usually a good idea. The nail polish will float on the surface of the water, and when you have the colors you want inside, go ahead and give it a stir.
Dip it!
Now’s the fun part. Gently dip and turn your object onto the surface of the water. The nail polish will adhere to it right away! I found that all of the bowl was not covered to my liking with my first turn, so I simply put more nail polish in and did it again!
The project can get a little bit stinky and messy, but the results are fantastic. Plus, it’s a cinch to set up. This little bit of inventiveness is the perfect way to add a splash of color to your life.
Happy Inventing!
Games are a great way to build skills while having fun. So this St. Patrick’s day, grab a few tools that will get those kids thinking. This project has some unusual pieces, but is easily modified, so if you don’t have it at home, try something comparable.
Here’s the basics of what you need:
A cup (for the goal)
Some lightweight balls (to shoot at the goal)
A jumbo popsicle stick (for shooting)
A spring (for resistance)
A paint stick (for the base)
Duct tape (for the hinge)
Decorative stuff – paint, sequins, pipe cleaners, etc. (for fun)
Hot glue
Start by lining the end of the paint stick up with the end of the jumbo popsicle stick. Add a piece of duct tape over the top edge of the sticks so they can open and close freely. This is your hinge.
Wrap the excess duct tape around the sides of the hinge. Secure it with a second piece of duct tape on the un-taped side, and wrap in the same fashion as the first piece. You now have a hinge!
If you press the two sticks together, you will feel a level of resistance, but it’s not enough act as a shooter. Put the spring in between the two sticks, and you will begin to get a feel for where it fits best on the base.
Once you’ve found the sweet spot where it will launch you ball, use hot glue to secure the spring to the base. Do not glue the spring to the popsicle stick! You will need the full motion of the top stick to launch the ball into the air.
When the glue is cool, it’s time to decorate. Your game is ready! There are many ways to play, but for St. Patrick’s Day, why not pretend that you’re a leprechaun and you’re saving up treasure in your pot of gold. The person who gets the most of their color in the cup wins the pot!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Welcome Inventors! I wanted to make a good, old-fashioned flower press. When I was in third grade, I went to a camp where we pressed leaves, flowers, and grasses to create leaf collections, art, and cards. I loved it! So, this summer, flower presses were on my bucket list of things to introduce to my kids.
I needed:
1 – 2×4 ft. piece of ½ inch plywood
2 – ¼ in. carriage bolts (4 per press) about 2 inches long,
3 – ¼ in. wingnuts and washers (4 per press)
That was it! I was able to make four 12×12 inch presses – one for each of us! The kids helped, and here’s how:
First, I cut the plywood cross-wise into four equal parts. I used a scroll saw because I am a big chicken with circular saws. Once I had my four pieces, I cut them in half again.
After we had all eight pieces, I let two of the kids sand the edges of their boards with sandpaper. I worked one-on-one with my third kid (in rotation) using a drill with a ¼ inch bit. We painter-taped the boards together and drilled through both at the same time. That ensured our would holes line up even if the measuring and cutting wasn’t perfect. We drilled 4 holes in each board, about 2×2 inches from the corners.
Once each board had the holes, we pressed four carriage bolts through one board. It took some wiggling, but it worked. Carriage bolts have a square under the head of the screw that will press into the wood and keep it from shifting/falling out easily, but regular bolts will also work great.
The presses were ready for flowers and leaves. We put newspaper down first and then put the flowers in between paper towel sheets. This was cheaper than using all paper towel, and it prevented newspaper ink from staining our stuff.
When our press was loaded, we put the top board on the other side, and secured each bolt with a washer and a wingnut. We turned the wingnuts until there was a lot of resistance and the board was slightly warped. Drying time from plant to plant can vary, but a good rule of thumb is at least 2 weeks.
My kids and I had fun with these. They’re portable, easy-to-use, and when we make memories in the great outdoors, now we have a special way to keep a piece of them forever. Thank you for visiting, and I hope this encouraged you to invent timeless memories in your story today.
Welcome inventors! This past week was spring break, and to celebrate I bought a box of springs. After brainstorming with my kids, we created our own spring-action race car launchers and gate. Check it out!
Here’s how we did it: First, we gathered all of the same size springs together. You could experiment with different strengths and sizes of springs, but in the spirit of good sportsmanship, we opted to keep them the same for racing. We used these materials and painter’s tape.
To make the launchers, we cut a paint stick into small pieces and sanded the edges. Then we super-glued (and doubled security with hot glue) the springs onto the back of our paint stick pieces. Launchers!
After that, we needed our starting gate. We ran out of hot glue, so we used painter’s tape to frame the sticks into stalls. This wasn’t hard, but the sticks moved quite easily.
The ends of the stalls were floppy, so we secured two screws together that faced opposite directions to the end of the starting gate to keep them equally separate. This is shown in the video at the end. We also taped the outside walls to our table.
Ready, set, launch! For our race, we used more painter’s tape to create a finish line for the winners. We also experimented with some interference for our race cars to navigate. My son made a display for our winning cars.
I think it turned out pretty well! Here’s our big race. Give it a try and see what you think. And whatever you do this spring, don’t forget to enjoy life and invent your story.
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Welcome Inventors! I’ve always been interested in language. When I was in elementary school, my friends and I formed a club and made a secret language just for us. No teachers were going to understand any notes we passed!
Step 1: Knowledge – what is a code? A code is a system of rules used to turn information (such as letters, sounds, images, etc.) into another form of representation for communication.
Step 2: Simple Application – a wonderful example of code is International Morse code. Almost anyone could recognize this picture and be able to understand the message.
S=••• O= – – – SOS is essentially “help!” in International Morse code. This is a useful tool in a world full of different languages! If you are interested, click here for some great information on the history of Morse code.
Step 3: Level up – To make our own code today, we need a system of rules and information. I’m going to use letters because I like to make words. Here is the “key” to my code before I begin:
Step 4: Build It – to create your code, make a few designs on a piece of paper. If you want to copy mine you can, but try your own thing! I did find that simple shapes with small details worked well for me.
Step 5: Launch – To turn your design into code, place X’s over your designs. You could also divide them into quadrants with + signs or squiggle off your favorite parts. This gives you the pieces of your code. Once you have what you like, add them to your key next to the letters, and BAM – you’ve invented your own secret code! (I made up Y and Z instead of drawing another shape – you do what you like!)
There you have it! Your own secret code to share with family and friends. Now that you know my code, I’ve got another challenge for you. Then go! Enjoy your day and…
Welcome Inventors! I have a 10-year-old son who an origami enthusiast. Last week, he showed me a boredom buster box he made. You have got to try this!
If you are new to making origami, the box is a doable first project. Go slow and pause/replay the video as needed. This is a 5-step tutorial. Let’s get started.
STEP 1: KNOWLEDGE – what is origami? Origami is the Japanese art of folding paper into decorative shapes and figures. To make the box, you will need 6 pieces of square paper.
I squared my paper by folding a top triangle down of a standard size piece of paper (8 ½ x 11 – as shown) and I tore the extra off. You can also cut the paper into 8 ½ x 8 ½ inch squares.
STEP 2: SIMPLE APPLICATION – follow the steps of this link to make the box. This video was not made by me or my son and it is an excellent guide! When Ben and I watched the video, we had our six papers all set to go before we began, and it took us about 10 minutes.
This wonderful, 3-minute video by VENTUNOART shows how to make this box. Click HERE to watch the video. You can do it! When I was done, my box looked like this:
STEP 3: LEVEL-UP – I love learning new things, but what really jazzes me is learning something new and then finding a way to make it my own. Ben turned this work of art into a game by writing ideas of things to do when he is bored on the triangles on each side of the cube.
STEP 4: BUILD IT – We’d already built the box, but once we started throwing around the Boredom Buster Box, it was in danger of being destroyed by use. To protect it, Ben put clear tape on the edges to protect and strengthen it. This made a huge difference!
STEP 5: LAUNCH – I like to write stories, and like any writer, I get stuck sometimes. Instead of making a boredom buster box, I made a writer’s box. My box showcased different characters and sent them off on adventures – depending on how the box lands. I love it!
INVENT YOUR STORY! These beautiful boxes can also be used to teach kids fractions (again, that one was Ben’s idea) or they can be strung together to make a fun banner or decoration. Whatever you use this for, it’s a great boredom buster!
Thank you for stopping by. I’d love to find out what you decide to create! Leave a comment if you can, and then go – invent YOUR story! ????