Code Break: Interested in helping your child learning coding? Check out the resources and code.org in this special section just for coding at home!

Tynker: An award-winning block and text-based programming course. Usually there is a subscription fee for premium courses but parents can sign up for an account and gain access to these courses for free for a short time!

Makerspace at Home: Our school makerspace may be on holiday but that does not mean your children’s desire to make has hit a holiday! Below are some ideas for things you can find around the home (or at a nearby shop) to create a mini-home-maker-studio.

To get started on your makerspace, here are five types of household materials to collect:

• Cardboard: Boxes, toilet paper and paper towel cylinders, egg cartons, and other miscellaneous cardboard scraps are easy to gather from around the house. They make great bases for many projects. Beyond cardboard, add molded styrofoam and shaped acrylic foam packaging. Don't forget to include different colored tapes to hold the pieces together.

• Textiles: Fabric scraps, felt, mesh, ribbon, yarn, and string are perfect additions to a makerspace. No need to include a sewing machine – a simple needle and thread will work just fine. Glue guns are great to have and can be found at the dollar store.

• Art and craft supplies: Paint, paintbrushes, wire, buttons, scissors, paper, old magazines to cut up, and other odds and ends provide endless possibilities for creative projects.

• Building tools: Legos are a must-have for any makerspace. Screwdrivers, pliers, and a few other basic construction tools come in handy. Wood scraps, wooden dowels, and duct tape can be used to support handmade structures. (If the group includes children kindergarten age or younger, plan to be close by to supervise their use of some of the tools.)

• Tech tools: You certainly don't need to buy a 3-D printer; but consider including broken technology items. Kids have fun disassembling old keyboards and using the keys in their projects. An old cell phone case could become something else entirely.
  

Makerspace Experiences Delivered?

• Perhaps you are short on space, apartment living is something Dr. Rurik can relate to, and need to have bundled packages for your makerspace experience. Consider subscribing to Tynker Crate. They have kits that you can help your children create with geared to a variety of ages.

• A recent addition to the home makerspace market is the Young Woodworker’s Kit. There is definitely a gender prejudice in their advertising. Despite this, Dr. Rurik sent woodworking kits to young family members and they all enjoyed building marshmallow catapults before discovering that they could also launch small water balloons. Dr. Rurik is now banned from sending fun packages by both sister-in-laws.