Anyone who knows me well understands that I am not a winter person. At all. And November is my least favorite month of the entire year. (Well, next to January!) It gets cold, it's gray, and the darkness envelopes us before dinner is served. It's depressing. I thrive on light and being outside. So the rapid retreat indoors feels almost suffocating. So I told the kids that mommy needs extra hugs and kisses now that it's dark, and I proactively have tried to concentrate on some exciting new things for us to learn inside. I've dubbed it "Tinkervember" Which sounds a little like fairies will come visit us, but it explains our focus. For the entire month of November, we will tinker and make. Guided by the concepts that drive STEAM education, we will experiment to tie in as many elements as we can, and as time allows. If you have any questions about what STEAM education is, my friends over at STEAM can explain! Now, my kiddos are maker masters. As soon as Q drops his school bag, he runs to the pantry where we keep our art supplies to create his latest idea. Recently, we've had to convince him that he cannot create a real live friend out of salt and water. "But we have salt in our bodies!" And explaining that fabricated cardboard lens cannot actually be a spy camera was misery last week. R spends a lot of time creating art. And enjoys building. But I would like to entice her to build more....So here is where I will attempt to push all my kids out of their (and my!) comfort zones in an effort to learn more. Girls need more STEAM and I've planned some activities that interest my little guys, but I have some that may tickle and intrigue R. Fingers crossed. In this post, I will explain how I set up our space for tinkering.
First, we painted a pegboard LAVENDER! I included the bin organizer with the PASTELS to draw my girlie in! I made the glue gun, stapler, scissors, etc available to them. Putting the little guy scissors down low. I hooked on an old cafe rod, zip-tied some yogurt cups, and plastic baskets and we were in business! Our maker space has never been so neat! This really helped our little organizers find the places things need to go! I have included a short list of suggested items to start your maker space. 
The other drawers contain different types of builders. Toilet paper tubes hole-punched with skinny dowels, kid k'nex, Dado squares, Zolo builers, and the all-too-wonderful-thought-it-must-be-Christmas-morning-JUNK DRAWER! (But more about that later!)
Some things to add to your "Tinkering" area:
Textiles: cotton balls, felt squares, fabric scraps, ribbon, string, yarn, roving wool, burlap
Tools: mini hammer, stapler, low-heat glue gun, paper puncher, scissors, screwdrivers, paint brushes
Hardware: nuts and washers, nails, paper clips, brass clips, duct tape, masking tape, washi tape, white glue
Loose parts: wood scraps, craft sticks, elastic bands, lids, plastic bottles, cardboard scraps, scraps from electronics including circuit boards, wires, wine corks, clothes pins, push pins, sea glass, mosaic tiles, flat marbles
Art materials: watercolors, markers, stickers, crayons, stamps, collage papers, sequins, jewels
The Junk Drawer!!
Let me tell you! The junk drawer was the single most popular area in the lab. Every house has a drawer, box or bin full of old stuff no one knows what to do with! Well, here you can reuse all of that stuff and create something new and cool with old unwanted toys and broken materials from around the house. A little tape, ribbon, glue and you have a cool new creation! The kids love visualizing something new and cool with the stuff or just playing and returning the item when done.
