So You Want a Makerspace? 15 Sites

So You Want a Makerspace?  15 sites to help you along:  ideas, inspiration, and impetus. From coloring to creating to building, the sky’s the limit with your Makerspace.  Although some of the craft projects are geared to younger grades, the projects could be modified for older students. For your Makerspace, take plenty of photos from the very beginning. You will want to see how your Makerspace grew each month and year. Your Makerspace success will help other libraries plan their own adventure. Now go forth and MAKE!

 

Getting started:

Your shopping list for Makerspaces: http://renovatedlearning.com/2014/11/17/the-arts-and-crafts-makerspace/

Everything you need to know about Makerspaces: http://worlds-of-learning.com/

How one library grew a Makerspace: http://renovatedlearning.com/our-makerspace-journey/

 

Crafts, games and fun:

Children’s craft collective. http://wwww.thecraftycrow.net/

Coloring sheets http: http://twistynoodle.com/coloring-pages/nature/

Make a cartoon: http://pbskids.org/go/studio/

Craft patterns and ideas; http://www.allfreecrafts.com/

Dinosaur lovers’ activities: http://alphabet-soup.net/dir7/dino.html

Camp games: http://www.ultimatecampresource.com/site/camp-activities/camp-games.html

Camp crafts: http://www.ultimatecampresource.com/site/camp-activities/camp-art-projects.page-1.html

Busy Bee Crafts including printable content: http://www.busybeekidscrafts.com/

DLTK Crafts for Kids: http://dltk-kids.com/

Funology games and crafts: http://www.funology.com/arts-crafts/

Origami for kids (from beginner to more advanced): http://www.origami-fun.com/origami-for-kids.html

Disney family fun crafts: http://family.disney.com/crafts

 

Book Giveaway: Princess Labelmaker to the Rescue!

Princess Labelmaker to the Rescue!
by Tom Angleberger
Amulet
2014

I have FIVE free copies of the latest installment in the Origami Yoda series that kids LOVE up for grabs. For your chance to win, post a comment to the blog. Please include first name, city, state and email address. U.S. and Canada only. Deadline for posts is April 29 at noon MST. Winners are chosen randomly by Randomizer. Winners will be notified on April 29 shortly after 12:00 p.m. Please check your email at that time. Winners have 24 hours to respond to my email. Books will ship from New York courtesy of Amulet.

May the folds be with you! Good luck and start posting, Pamela

In Honor of Star Wars Reads Day: Origami Yoda Giveaway: The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett Standee

In celebration of Star Wars Reads Day, October 5, 2013

The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett

I have 10 FREE Jabba the Puppett standees up for grabs! Your library will rock with a giant standee featuring the entire Origami Yoda series!

For your chance to win, simply post a comment and be sure to include your first name, city, state and email address.

Deadline for posts is September 23 at noon MST. Winners will be chosen randomly by Randomizer. Please check your email on September 23 in the afternoon. Winners have only 24 hours to respond to my email. If there is no response, the standee will go to the next post on the list. The giant standees will ship from New York courtesy of Laura and Amulet. Thank you, Laura; thank you, Amulet!

Winners should receive their standee by October 5 to celebrate Star Wars Reads Day!

Good luck and start posting, and as always, May the Folds Be With You!

Pamela

Super Book Giveaway: The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett

The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett
by Tom Angleberger
Amulet Books
2013

For origami folding and more

I have FIVE free copies of the newest in the Origama Yoda series. Kids LOVE Tom's books, and you will, too!

Simply post a comment and be sure to include your first name, city, state, and email address. Deadline for posts is Tuesday, September 3 at noon MST. Winners will be chosen randomly by Randomizer on that date. Please check your email after noon MST. Winners will have 24 hours to respond to my email. Books will ship from New York courtesy of Amulet and Laura. Thanks, Amulet! Thanks, Laura!

Good luck, start posting, and May the Folds Be With You!

Pamela

Origami Yoda/Fortune Wookiee Giveaway

I have 10 Fortune Wookiee standees (they stand about 4 feet in height)  up for grabs! In honor of May 4--May the Fourth be with you! and May the Folds be With You! For your chance to win your very own Fortune Wookiee standee, simply post a comment to the blog and include your first name, city, state (U.S. and Canada addresses only), and email address. 

Deadline for posts is May 8. Winners will be chosen at random by Randomizer. Winners will be notified by email on May 8 in the afternoon. Please check your email that day. Winners have 24 hours to respond to my email. Standees will ship from New York courtesy of Amulet and Laura. Thanks, Laura!

May the Fourth Be With You! Pamela

Book Giveaway: Art2-D2's Guide To Folding and Doodling

Art2-D2's Guide To Folding and Doodling by Tom Angelberger. I have FIVE copies of this little beauty to give away! This fun book is a how-to book every kid is dying to get his/her hands on! It is packed with drawing advice, origami folds and includes a fun lesson teaching readers how to talk like Yoda!

For your chance to win, simply post a comment on the blog and be sure to include your first name, city, state, and email contact. Deadline for posts is April 11 at noon MST. Winners are chosen randomly by Randomizer. Winners will be notified after 12:00 noon on April 11. Be sure and check your email on that date. Winners have 24 hours to respond to an email from me. Books will ship from New York courtesy of Amulet (Abrams).

Start posting, and good luck. May the folds be with you, Pamela

Fun Pick: Art2-D2's Guide To Folding and Doodling

Art2-D2's Guide to Folding and Doodling
by Tom Angleberger
Amulet Books
2013
163 pages with origami sheets for folding

Tommy and friends Keelen, Sara, Caroline, Cassie and Lance are back, and this time with an interactive activity book! Fans of Angelberger's Origami Yoda series will want to get their hands on a copy. The kids' quips and drawings are cute and funny and this book is  bound to find even more thrilled new fans.

The kids each teach beginning doodlers how to draw, how to fold Origami Yoda characters, how to draw faces, and even how to talk like Yoda!

The directions and illustrations will help beginners learn easy folds and breaks down drawing figures and faces to a fun science. Angleberger is spot-on with his "kidspeak" and the snarkiness and fun digs the characters engage in will delight young readers. The book is packed with more than 75 actitities and a 16 page color insert with 10 pages of perforated origami paper. "May the doodles be with you!"

If you know an aspiring artist or someone who loves origami, this is a must-have!

Highly, highly recommended for anyone who loves the series and who loves Star Wars and/or origami and drawing. Recommended grades 4-up.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensationfor this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Fun Pick: The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee

The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee (book 3, Origami Yoda)
By Tom Angleberger
Amulet
2012
190 pages with illustrations
Hilarious, goofy and churlish, downright disrespectful, and insanely entertaining, The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee picks up as the kids continue another school year at McQuarrie Middle School without their beloved Dwight. Dwight was suspended last year and is now attending Tippett Academy and word is out that he’s BEHAVING. Dwight…behaving??? The kids all miss Origami Yoda and wish Dwight was back at school.

The origami kids are making a new case file and meet daily in the library. Principal Rabbski thinks origami is a big waste of time and “a major disruption of the learning environment.” Harvey disagrees and Mrs. Calhoun—the world’s greatest librarian---backs him. The librarian gets major props from the entire group of origami Star Wars fans. The students each comment in the new case file and then they sometimes comment on everyone else’s comments. It is truly hysterical. Tom Angleberger must be channeling his inner 7th grade nerd because whatever he’s doing, it’s clearly working.

Mike whines about having to attend church and dress up every time. His mother says it’s disrespectful to wear jeans in the “Lord’s house.” Tom says, “Personally, I think it’s disrespectful to be itchy in the Lord’s House.” Later, he says WTS? for What the spaghetti? at the church’s spaghetti dinner.

Sara makes a cootie catcher (her new origami puppet) that she swears tells fortunes and students begin to ask the Fortune Wookiee for answers. Another student, Murky, has invented his own vocabulary but is so hard to understand that the other boys write a Murkish Dictionary with words like “plastic dinosaurs,” “bolt,” and “Jell-o” --all Murky’s adjectives for when something is awesome. Harvey comments that all Murky says is awesome, but the other boys disagree—he doesn’t even use the word awesome—he has invented a whole new language for awesome.

Tommy visits Dwight and tries to persuade him to come back to McQuarrie. He asks him to take Yoda down from the wall. Dwight realizes that maybe he misses Origami Yoda after all.

Highly, highly recommended for anyone who loves Star Wars and origami. Fans of the series will have to read this one. This will be a big hit for middle grades and up. Grades 4-up.

Don't forget that there are 5 copies of this book FREE. Win your copy today! Post a comment after this review or on the giveaway (scroll down). Deadline for posts is August 15 at noon MST. Please include your first name, city, state and email. Winners are chosen randomly by Randomizer and will be notified by email. Thanks, and start posting!

FTC Required Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

Book Giveaway: The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee

The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee
By Tom Angleberger
Amulet Books
2012
208 pages

Available August 7, 2012

I have 5 copies of this great new addition to the series. Author Tom Angleberger’s earlier books The Strange Case of Origami Yoda and Darth Paper Strikes Back were hits with the middle grades and tween crowd. Win a copy of the new book.

Post a comment and include your name, city, state, and email. Deadline for posts is August 15 at noon MST. Winners are randomly chosen by Randomizer and will be notified on August 15. Please check your email. Books will ship from New York.

More about the book:

From the publisher’s website:

About the book:
With Dwight attending Tippett Academy this semester, the kids of McQuarrie Middle School are on their own—no Origami Yoda to give advice and help them navigate the treacherous waters of middle school. Then Sara gets a gift she says is from Dwight—a paper fortune-teller in the form of Chewbacca. It’s a Fortune Wookiee, and it seems to give advice that’s just as good as Yoda’s—even if, in the hands of the girls, it seems too preoccupied with romance. In the meantime, Dwight is fitting in a little too well at Tippett. Has the unimaginable happened? Has Dwight become normal? It’s up to his old friends at McQuarrie to remind their kooky friend that it’s in his weirdness that his greatness lies.
With his proven knack for humorously exploring the intrigues, fads, and dramas of middle school, Tom Angleberger has crafted a worthy follow-up to his breakout bestsellers The Strange Case of Origami Yoda and Darth Paper Strikes Back.

Visit the author’s website here

Now get busy and post a comment :)
Good luck! Pamela