Popsicle stick Exploding Flower
This project is very advanced.
https://www.puzzleshiftcreate.com/popsicle-stick-activities/
Here are the projects that are less advanced. Have fun!
Category: Innovative Arts
The Idea Cart, additional names TBD
Years ago, I gutted a small sample “Smart Table” that the SMART corporation sent with the massive order of smartboards, back when districts were first…
The big book of creativity
I’ve set myself on the task of creating a book (of some form) that will grow over the years, have idea pages for every project…
Under/over estimations
I’ve always heard that you overestimate what you can accomplish in a day and underestimate how much you can accomplish in a year. Each day…
Building Projects for Kids: 20 Creative Ways To Start
Are you looking for open-ended, highly customizable building projects for kids? Projects that’ll keep them engaged? Look no further! This site has a growing collection…
How to Cultivate Curiosity in the Classroom
Curiosity is one of the most valuable traits a student can possess. When we cultivate curiosity in the classroom, we open up a world of…
Discovering limitations
I am going through the book “Creative Acts for Curious People”, a collection of prompts from the d school at Stanford. I keep having the…
Two years later…
I made the video below about two years ago. It holds up in a lot of ways! The motorized projects were a definite success…. but…
Becoming a content creator
I’ve developed the ideas (links below), sorted them, piloted them, and started systematically deploying them in my classroom. The last step is to share them.…
Whole other approaches
When a class walks into the classroom, some kids are ready for whatever you’re about to teach them. Others aren’t. Finding the sweet spot –…
Encouraging emulation
A part of Innovative Arts is teaching how creativity and being great at something do not just spring out of you from nowhere. We all…
Coaching, feedback, accountability
I’m in that familiar place, where many students have finished and turned in their work but not all. There has been plenty of time. Instead…
Teaching Engineering to 5th Graders Using Simple Materials
Engineering is a great way to get kids interested in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. It gives them an opportunity to use their…
The nature of learning – fast and slow
It struck me early this morning how there is a fundamental tension built right into teaching and learning. These two elements are in constant tension…
21 Cardboard Projects for Creative Classrooms and ‘Thinking like a designer!’
These projects are perfect for giving students a way to grow creatively and get their first hundred mistakes out of the way. We use them…
REAL examples of student choice in the classroom
If you’re new to this site, “examples of student choice in the classroom” is a great way to get acquainted. Innovative Arts is my dream…
We need a new vision for education
It is really easy to criticize education, principals, teachers. It's a lot harder to propose actual solutions.
You hear it all the time - "Why don'…
‘Shift’ technology resources being developed
The ‘Shift‘ in ‘Puzzle Shift Create‘ is short for ‘Shifting how we use technology’ Topics that I need to formalize from class: On this site,…
20+ Fun Ideas for a STEM Project!
I started as a science teacher and have been designing and implementing STEM project ideas for over a decade. Check out the resources that are…
Redo-ing the ‘why’ on this site
The first tagline, which I found in the 3-year-old settings of this site, were “Free creator resources for all students.” That’s a ‘what’, not a…