Category Archives: Kid Creations

The Creation Crate Mood Lamp!

Creation Crate Mood Lamp

CUE FLASHBACK!

So one day, Mom and Dad called me into their office along with Nerdpie and said, “We got sent this buildable mood lamp from Creation Crate, and were wondering if you wanted to make it.” Nerdpie was like, “Kind of, but if Nerdster wants to, he can!” Of course, to this, I said, “I would really like to make the lamp! Thanks!”

 END FLASHBACK!

And here I am, a week or two later, and I learned a lot. A couple of things I learned are:

  • I learned about circuit boards.
  • I learned about charges and how they travel.
  • I (surprisingly) learned about programming.
  • I especially learned about inputting circuits and lining them up.
  • And I learned about CHIMICHANGAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This lamp was super fun to make and incorporated a couple of cool features and skills, including:
  1. Circuit boards
  2. Programming
  3. Troubleshooting and Debugging
  4. Wire attachment
  5. Proper care of wires and LEDs (I learned this one the hard way :)C. Let’s just say, there was supposed to be three LEDs.)
All in all, this was really fun to make. I only have a couple complaints.
1)The wiring is a little confusing.
2)It didn’t come with a power source.
But other than that, the lamp was perfect. I really enjoyed learning how to implement the programming to the board, and how to program the timer for switching colors. Arduino programming is like some of the languages I like, such as JavaScript, Es6, or Python, but it also has its own sort from combining languages like JSON, CSS, or C++. It was really interesting and taught me things I hope to use later in life. Maybe I can get a job making supplies for Arduino. That would be fun. This was a super fun project which was very educational and helped me brush up on my programming skills.  Over all, this was a great experience and I can’t wait to see what will come next time. I rate this creation crate… two enthusiastic thumbs up! Comment on what you think would be something cool to make!
 
NerdMom’s 2 cents:
 
I love Creation Crate and the idea of it! This is one of the first STEM/crafting kits that I have seen that is actually for kids 10 and up.  It is something you can use as an actual curriculum. They claim that if you do 12 kits you will have more hands on programming experience than 99% of college computer science students. The cost ranges between $22.50 – $29.99 just depending on if you go month to month or a year at a time. It was a great project and my son learned a lot. This would make a wonderful gift because it is very educational and very fun!
 
(Disclosure: We were given the Creation Crate by the company and this post contains affiliate links. That said, all opinions are ours and ours alone)
 

CVT: Bird Feeders for All Ages

Home made bird feeders are so much fun!!! And so cheap and easy. I have 3 different sets of bird feeders you can make. Choose based on the age of your child, how much you want to help and the materials you have on hand!

I have Bird Feeders Even Toddlers Can Make! All you need is Cheerios and some odds and ends. There are also Peanut Butter Bird Feeders for young students that need peanut butter and bird seed! There is even Popsicle Stick Bird Feeders that you can fill with anything!!!

These feeders make a great jumping off point for bird watching or the beginning of a bird unit!!!

(Welcome if you are coming here after seeing me on Central Valley Today! The links will take you to the various bird feeders I showed on KSEE 24 today!)

Lego Creation!

My oldest built this during naptime and while it may seem simple it isn’t;). This is a ship. The yellow bolts sticking out are guns (saw that coming) but it is the inside details that got me. There are little spigots for hot and cold water , a shelf for storage and odd looking seats. I just love how he thought of tiny details. So cute!

Cave Paintings

This is what homeschooling is about! A little art that teaches a point. The kids only got a couple of basic colors to make some caveman art. They took brown bags and crinkled them up to make it look like a cave wall. Then they were told to make basic black outlines with fat brushes and they filled them in! Super easy and fun.

Lesson from a Tree

This year was a crazy Christmas. I am once again recovering from surgery. As far as the surgical sight (versus any problems from having the tube down my throat) this is my worst recovery so far. Which has had a large effect on our Christmas because I couldn’t do many things that I normally do for Christmas. I couldn’t do all the baking, decorating, and going (Christmas Eve service, Christmas Tree Lane, etc) that I usually do. Of course I had big guilt and stress about the idea of ruining the family’s Christmas.

Well, this year’s Christmas tree is going to serve as part of a reminder to just let go! Do you notice that there are only decorations about 2/3 the way up? Because that is as far as the tallest kid could reach. That is right, my kids decorated the tree all by themselves. And they loved it! NerdDad and I sat watching as they put them all up. No the decorations aren’t even but who cares!
Make sure you pop over to my food blog and see the results of my similar gingerbread lesson;). The gingerbread solution is going to be repeated every year!