Section Drawing

What is a view? What is the difference between view drawing and section drawing? If you ask children to imagine splitting a house in two and drawing a section of it, they will have a hard time with this. That is too abstract for them. But if you bring them something they can cut in two and see the difference between view and section, they will easily get it. This study teaches children different ways to think visually. We enjoyed a lot today! Take a look at your refrigerator to start! Have fun!

The Little House Storyboard

This fun project is about creating storyboards. Storyboard is basically the story of the movie drawn in pictures, very much like a comic strip. If you know how to draw storyboards it makes it really easy to reorganize ideas as you go along.Come on! Get the blank story board and try to brief The Little House's story. Have fun! Link the Little House Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y881yjtFluQ

Pattern in Architecture

Come on! Go out and take a look at some building facades. What do you see? Are there any historical buildings around you? What kind of ornaments do they have? Choose ones you like, make sketches of them and model it. That's it! Enjoy!

Writing Sounds

You can easily play this game with your kids or students. Here are the steps: * Review parts of the body and how they permit us to experience our surroundings: eyes to see, ears to hear, nose to smell, fingers to touch, tongue to taste. * Explain hearing sounds in the environment. Outside noises, like cars, buses and people talking, can be heard through walls. * Choose 5 or 7 songs or sounds to play to the kids. * Tell them to draw the sounds that they hear. That's it. Have fun!

Kid-Friendly Neighborhoods

Now there is a chance for you to design your Kid-Friendly Neighborhood! There is a link for some templates for school, store, library, highrises etc... Print them, cut them out, design their facades as you want. In our design kids designed a community garden to harvest their own veggies and they also put plants on the roofs to prevent the global warming :) They built the school in the middle of the forest to make school life more enjoyable. Imagine! Now create your own ideal neighborhood! Enjoy!

The Spaghetti Challenge

We used the bigger marshmallows and spaghetti to make the towers. This workshop is really useful for the kids as an ice breaker. Using spaghetti is little more difficult than using toothpicks because it is very easy to break. Additionally if you let the kids clean all the mess at the end of the activity, it turns into a real team work. They were so much fun this weekend!

Paper Bridge Challenge

In this week's class our challenge was in constructing a bridge using papers. First, the kids originally thought that the bridge could carry just 30 books on it. At the end of their efforts the bridge was carrying 182 books and some boxes on it. Moreover, they sat on it and it was still strong. Get two chairs and try to connect them with a bridge as strong as you can. Enjoy!

Marshmallow Towers

Do you ever think about what goes into constructing a building? Lets get some marsmallows and toothpicks!This activity is perfect for one student or groups of 3-4 students. It helps teach communication and critical thinking skills. With this great experiment, kids had the opportunity to build a tower using only marshmallows and toothpicks. Then, they wrote stories about the towers they made.

Your Body Ruler

In this week's class we measured the objects by using our body ruler. If you do not have your ruler in your pocket use your body as a ruler! Throughout history, people have been using themselves to measure length. Discover your body now guys! Don't forget that you are growing up and your dimensions are changing :) Enjoy!

Animal Houses

This week the kids from the 2nd grade class focused on section drawing. We were the architects of the forest. Here are the steps for you: * Have students suggest a list of animals and write the list on the board. * Discuss each animal and its home. * Have students choose an animal and design a house for it keeping in mind its natural needs. Enjoy!

Pop-Up City

This week the kids focused on developing an awareness of what elements comprise neighborhoods and landmarks. The kids designed pop-up city cards by using different type of structures. We also discussed the roles of urban planners and how they work with cities on projects.

Haunted House with the Acorn Dolls

Hi Guys! Halloween is here! I was looking for a cup for the Halloween candies. I found a box foam at home. I picked some branches and acorns from the garden. Here is the Wooden Haunted Houses with the acorn dolls. I have already put the candies in it. Don't forget to give names to your ghosts :) Enjoy kids! Happy Halloween!

Geodesic Domes

Sustainable Design for Kids

This week with the kids we talked about natural resources and how humans affect the natural environment. The kids also described the meaning of sustainability by using the following words: Air, Electricity, Heat/Air Conditioning, Water (hot and cold), Natural Material, Man Made, Pollution, and Earth Friendly. The kids then designed little posters that explained what people can do to help protect their environment at home and in their neighborhoods.

Acting Out Structures

In this week's class the kids discussed different types of structural systems and acted like them. During their play acting out structures they discovered that : . Some structures, such as a column, can function independently. . Other structures, such as an arch, require cooperative effort or “opposing forces.” . Noticed how tension and compression forces can be used to oppose the force of gravity. You can easily play this game with your kids or students. Enjoy!

Geoblock Activity

This week kids focused on constructing and describing 3-D objects by using Geoblocks. We talked about 2-D views and then they drew the front view of their constructions.You can buy the Geoblocks or you can make them own your own.Please check the dimensions attached to the post. Enjoy!