Our last outdoor classroom teacher brought in a few sets of silicone cupcake liners. I didn’t think they would last long in the sun, but they are still going after two years! Although many have become sun bleached. The kids use them all the time for sand cupcakes, or fill them with water. I almost […]
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Author Archives: Matt
Wall Tapestry
I was browsing on Pinterest and I saw an ad for https://www.dresslily.com/forest-path-print-tapestry-wall-hanging-product2168749.html and it looked amazing! At $20 I thought, “Why not” so I browsed around until I found a pretty neat forest one. I wanted to place it around outside somewhere, so during one of my outdoor classes I tossed an old sheet over the […]
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Washboard
Behrens Galvanized Washboard I was looking up classic old time instruments, and I came across the idea for a washboard so I bought this one! Next I plan on buying a couple sets of thimbles and gluing them to our kid sized gardening gloves so the kids can practice playing the board, but in the mean time, […]
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Crayon Rocks
I prefer having these out most of the time instead of a box of crayons for lots of reasons: They are easier to hold they don’t ‘break’ in half you don’t have to peel the paper off there’s no need to sharpen them they can cover a larger area easier (otherwise you’d have to peel […]
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USB Microscope
After attending a STEM session at the 2016 NAEYC Conference, I was inspired to buy a USB microscope. I purchased the Plugable USB 2.0 Digital Microscope I hooked it up to my MacBook but I use a different matte monitor so it cuts down on the glare from the mac screen. The little arm is great […]
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Digital Camera
What is the best digital camera for kids? When I went through my ECE training in 2002 digital cameras were much too expensive- so when we wanted to have the kids use cameras, we bought disposable ones, and then printed out the photos. Now with the advent of camera phones kids are exposed to them […]
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Polyurethane
I was at home depot and I asked them about the best way to waterproof wood and I described the signs I was making and I was told I needed “polyurethane” or ‘spar varnish’. Then I learned there were many types. Oil based, water based, interior, exterior.. Since I wanted it for outdoor use I had […]
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I first saw this at in 2016 at Rusty Keeler’s NAEYC Conference session. He gave it out as a prize. Basically it allows a kid to easily use it without letting the water just run and run. https://earthplay.net/product/simple-faucet/ The kids simply press the little switch and the water dribbles out. When they release it, the […]
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Mod Podge
For some reason I had always thought people were saying “modge podge”. I’m still learning about the amazing qualities of this stuff. [amazon_link asins=’B0018N96CG’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’wormlets-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’ff831cff-c1ba-11e7-be17-c721a9fa9b64′] They have several different formulas now, and I picked up a couple bottles of the outdoor version. I plan on using it as a top coat, but I haven’t […]
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Eye Protection
I made it a rule that children always have to wear eye protection when working with any tool. We have several of these, and they are great. I can leave them on the table and they can put them on with no hassle. Occasionally though there are some kids with very small heads which is […]
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