Mrs Maker's Projects

My husband wants always "TO DO SOMETHING". He is a DIY man through and through. This is another one of his IKEA hacks. This time he wanted to make a radiator cover out of a HOL strorage table (size 98x50 cm, 49,90€). It turned out to be quite practical as it acts as a shelf to my plants, too.  We went and bought from Bauhaus the middle bit (see also below picture).  #copritadiatore #lämpöpatterinkotelo #radiatorcover #heizkörperverkleidungen

Boys went back on drawing board as they were determined to build a new go-kart; an improved version of their 2012 Bad Piggies contraption... It's ready, but it wasn't an easy project! Boys and my hubby are enjoying their fruit of labour, which they named as Road Runner. I am slightly concerned should the boys wear helmets, after all I am the Ms Health & Safety.  It looks like Segway now. What looked like Segway yesterday, is today a go kart without brakes, steering and seat!!!  The go kart has brakes now. You activate them simply by pushing the wood board with your foot (see picture here below) and that is  when the rubber meets the road . As you can see from this picture, steering works by pulling the strings that are tied to the "drive shaft". A bakery tray acts as a driver's seat. The pleasure of testing: Bob testing the Road Runner, an improved version of the Bad Piggies contraption, a go kart the designed few years ago. Proud other engineer. ”It is my tur

In addition of doing DIY projects with our boys, we have always bough educational toys to them at Christmas. We believe that children should be encouraged to play, learn, and be curious and creative. It should be a mind-set that they continue to have when they are adults, too.  You might think that teaching about electricity and circuits to 7 and 8 year old children would be difficult, but isn't. Boffin, which I think is a Czech company, has just the right kits to teach children about the principals of electrical engineering. There are hundreds of engineering projects for your children to complete. Check it out. https://boffin.cz/ 

Bob, who is 6 years, has a deep fascination with physical geology and has a passion for collecting rocks and minerals. His absolute favourite gemstone is lapis lazuli. Bob's curiosity extends to volcanoes, lava, coastlines, and other geological wonders.  Recently, he embarked on a creative project with the intention of capturing the essence of science through art.  For his project, Bob envisioned a vivid science-themed painting that depicted the dynamic interplay of lava, solid rock, and the ocean.  He used acrylic paint and some brown gravel to bring his vision to life.  Bob's artistic process began with a sketch that outlined his work. He executed painting, starting with painting the ocean, followed by the sandy beach, and the molten lava with streams cascading onto the beach and into the salty water. To make his sandy beach more "real", Bob ingeniously incorporated brown gravel, which he then covered with shimmering silver paint. As a delightful surprise, Bob impro

As part of our son's Marvellous Me week, I had the chance to visit his class and share something close to my heart: the origins of food crops, biodiversity, and the importance of crop and species diversity across ecosystems. I brought along a variety of apples, onions, and potatoes for the children to explore, with the help of my younger son. The kids were fascinated and even got to draw the fruits and vegetables we discussed. It was a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of preserving biodiversity—something that will affect us all now and in the future. By having the children draw different types of crops, they engaged in a fun, hands-on way to learn about crop diversity and the richness of our ecosystems. It’s such a simple yet powerful way to teach these essential concepts!.  An easy way to teach kids about crop diversity is to ask them draw it!  

Bob (6 years, 10 months) is a Minecraft enthusiast just like his one-year older brother. They often play Minecraft together, because ”it's fun and we have a family account”, confirmed Bob. Boys also play Minecraft with Lego and other plastic figurines, which they received as a birthday gifts from their classmates.  Today Bob decided to paint his favourite Minecraft game tool: the Diamond Pickaxe. He tested different techniques (brushing and rolling). He thought that coating the canvas with a roller was fast and fun, so it was a winning technique. Bob also tried Jackson Pollockian dripping paint with stick technique, but not the other revolutionary techniques (splatter and action technique), that Pollock invented. Bob has already tried the action technique (see my previous post on Bob's take on Mona Lisa), and the splatter technique is something you would not want your child to try out in your living room.  Then we moved from traditional art making to the use of software in art.