Hi John,
Wednesday, November, and the close of Daylight Savings time: how are you already here? Halloween went by in a blur and I have so many interesting things to share with you this week!
“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”
-George Bernard Shaw
- Three new Art Cards (free download). First up, In preparation for this weekend's open studios (see #2), I'm printing out a new batch of TinkerLab Art Cards™ to play with (see photo above!). If you could use a few fun art ideas to get you (and maybe your kids) out of a drawing funk, I've got you covered with three easy, open-ended prompts for making scribble art, magazine collage, and a geometric shape composition.
- Open Studios. I'm hosting open studios at TinkerLab in Palo Alto this Saturday, Nov. 9, 1-4 pm. If you're nearby, please join me at Cubberley Community Center where TinkerLab and over 20 other artists will open for business, art oggling, and hands-on making. It's such a fun opportunity to get a peek behind the curtain with lots of interactive activities for all ages. In the TinkerLab studio (Studio U5), I'll have a bevy of art supplies and TinkerLab Art Cards that encourage play, improvisation, and intuitive art making (see photo above for example). Come by and help me test them out!!
- Creative Adventures in Cursive - just $5! I want to send you a FREE companion PDF workbook. My cursive craft book is back on a crazy Amazon sale. If you buy a copy and leave a review of this book or my other book, TinkerLab: A Hands-on Guide for Little Inventors, email me a link and I'll send you a free PDF companion cursive workbook. 💛
- November Sketchbook Challenge. Get your creative juices flowing with a word of the day.Print out the prompt list here. Gather sketchbooks or paper and art-making materials such as markers, paint, collage papers, and glue. Give yourself a few minutes each day for this challenge. Interpret the daily prompt.
- Turn old books or sheet music into paintings. Try this playful technique at the art table. Old book pages, cardboard scrapers, paint, and bubble wrap = a spontaneous art making session of painted pages for future collage experiments. Try this with your kids, or carve out a little time, just for you
- 50 Winter Family Activities. The air is getting a bit crisper, the clocks are set back, fireplaces are cozying up houses, and winter is on its way. With that, it’s time to start dreaming up ways to celebrate the season.Download the winter checklist (pdf) here.
- Preschool teachers build a "nest" for migrant kids at the border. This story made me tear up. Alise Shafer Ivey is a saint on earth, bringing a bit of relief to families who have faced so much hardship. If you believe in her work, you can donate to the Pedagogical Institute of Los Angeles here.
- MRI'S show screen time lowers brain development in preschoolers. Yikes. Seems obvious, but now reserach is showing excessive screen time is significantly associated with poorer emerging literacy skills and ability to use expressive language. Read the article here.
Thanks for reading! If you enjoy the newsletter, feel free to forward it to a friend.
Your creative collaborator,
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Rachelle Doorley
TinkerLab
Read my books: TinkerLab: A Hands-on Guide for Little Inventors + Creative Adventures in Cursive
Join me in our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/clubtinkerlab/
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tinkerlab/
