Stir up some Halloween fun by transforming simple wooden spoons into silly Halloween monsters. Together, my kids came up with a whole crew of motley monsters! 

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We found wooden spoons at the dollar store, then gathered trinkets like beads, buttons, googly eyes, and pom poms from our crash stash. Get creative!--anything will work to make silly monster faces. 

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Start by painting the spoons. (I always keep my egg cartons because they work so well at holding paint. They are also fun to use for mixing paint to make new colors.) My kids discovered that black, white, green, purple, red, and orange paint make a pretty icky color green when all mixed together...

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After the monsters are painted and dry (yes, ours are wet...patience was at a low today, but a dry spoon is much easier to work with), you can glue on the fun. 

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Once everything has dried, these fun monster spoons are great for decorating the house or just to play with. My kids used them as puppets--and I placed one in our garden to give our yard a festive Halloween touch. 

From painting and ceramics to costume making and crayons, hundreds of easy-to-follow ideas for kids of all ages.

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Art & Creativity

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wooden spoons

Halloween

Wooden Spoon Monsters

Halloween is so highly anticipated in our household. The costumes, the crisp fall air, and...the pumpkin decorating! This year, I wanted to try something a little different. I was inspired 
by a combination of materials and activities I've seen in preschool 
classrooms. We pulled together pushpins, yarn, scissors and, of course, 
pumpkins.

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"Sharp pushpins for kids?!" you might ask incredulously. I asked the 
same thing when my daughter, who was 3 at the time, would come home from
 preschool with outlines dotted with pinholes. The teachers assured me 
that the kids did really well with them and developed their fine motor 
skills. I was sold (though I did watch carefully over the kiddos to make
 sure things were going safely and all pins were accounted for).

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As for the combination of pins and yarn, I thought we could recreate geoboards on our pumpkins.  Have you seen these?  The combination of nails in boards along with rubber bands is geometric magic.  Perhaps the kiddos could wrap yarn around their pushpins to create new patterns and shapes?  So, we set up all of the materials, and off we went.  My three-year-old began making a line of eyes, which evolved into a 100 eye pumpkin.  Good thing we had a lot of pushpins!


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Then, some yarn was weaved amongst the pushpins.  I helped start and 
stop the yarn by simply wrapping it around the pin and pushing the 
pushpin all the way.  (Frankly, he would have been completely happy with
 pushpins alone.)

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My five-year-old created a little girl pumpkin with a flower in her hair.

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On the back of her pumpkin, she made a heart and then weaved the yarn between the pushpins.

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They were thrilled with their creations, and they're asking for more pumpkins to decorate!

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Meanwhile, I had to try the technique myself. Here's my attempt at a spider web. Ooh--hexagon in the middle!

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Pins and Yarn Pumpkins

Here's a fun (and super easy) Halloween craft from last year that the kids really enjoyed.

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Cut out a circle/oval shape from black paper for the spider's body, then cut out strips of black paper to make the spider's legs. 

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You can leave the spider as is or attach a string to the top of the spider to hang around the house. Happy Halloween!

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card stock (or construction paper)

string (optional)

Paper Spiders

Window Garden

Learn about plant science in a hands-on way, by assembling your own suction-cup window planters and growing a set of green bean and squash plants. Learn to take care of your plants, identify new plant parts as they sprout, and make yummy dishes using fruit and other plant parts!

Electronics (4-Pack)

Shop for advanced electronics favorites and save when purchased as a pack. Qualifies for free shipping!

Balloon Cars

Add racing stripes and patterns to your cars with a hand-powered airbrush tool and stencils. Build out your cars and then, experiment and tinker with the wheels and balloon to see how fast they can go.

Young Chemist (3-Pack)

Ignite a passion for science at an early age and save when purchased as a pack. Recommended for Ages 5+.

Eggsperiments

Conduct a series of egg-themed experiments that show physics, chemistry, and biology in action. Color eggs using chemical reactions, create sparkly eggshells through crystallization, and more! Eggsplore the scientific method in a hands-on way, all while seeing bubbly, fizzy, bouncy, sparkly science at work! 
Eggs not included.

Chemistry (4-Pack)

Ignite a passion for science with 4 complete chemistry lab kits. With Electrochemistry, you'll complete 2 experiments and engineer a clock that runs on just saltwater and strips of metal. With Fire Lab, you’ll create a colorful flame lamp and complete 7 combustion experiments. With Glow Lab, you’ll receive a UV light and mix up 3 glowing solutions. With Vortex Lab, you'll build a magnetic mixing machine and explore 4 amazing reactions. Recommended for Ages 14+. 
Delivery note: The Chemistry Pack is only eligible for Ground Shipping within the Contiguous United States. This pack will ship separately from any other items in your order. Your entire order only qualifies for Standard Shipping (delivered within 3-10 business days).

Astronaut Starter Kit

Build and launch a pair of model orbiter spaceships using the power of pumps. Paint a set of model planets, then construct a miniature solar system that really spins. Explore the ins-and-outs of space travel — from the history of space exploration, to the challenges of astronaut training, to amazing facts about life on the International Space Station.

Light-Up Wire Art

Build two custom electronic art pieces with EL wire. Choose from five existing templates, or create your own from scratch.

Enrichment for Grades 9-12 (3-Pack)

Light-Up Speaker

Explore the science of sound by building an amplification circuit to power your own personal light-up speaker.

Tinker Crate Engineering (3-Pack)

Shop for Tinker Engineering favorites and save when purchased as a pack. Recommended for Ages 9+. 
Qualifies for free shipping!

Koala Crate (3-Pack)

Paint a very special water-play mat with a water-dipped paintbrush to reveal the ins-and-outs of Kellan’s neighborhood. Experiment with color mixing, build a fishing rod, and explore different sea creatures! Then make a cuddly snake, play a game with a chameleon, and build a turtle box.

Innovation Factory

Color-Mixing LED Crystal

Make a color-mixing LED crystal and explore the physics of color!

Enrichment for Grades 3-8 (5-Pack)

Headphones

Build the headphone headband, rig up the speaker drivers, and experiment with stereo sound. Explore how speakers and other electroacoustic transducers turn electricity into sound, then learn about the historical technologies that made modern headsets possible.

Crystal Ombre Soap Making

Craft and customize two kinds of colorful, crystal-inspired soaps. Explore mineral science, colorful ombre geodes, and chemical reactions.
 
Requires microwave. One project can make 3 unique soaps.

Enrichment for Grades K-2 (5-Pack)

Crystal Chemistry Garden

Craft a colorful chemis-tree and garden using felt shapes and liquid watercolors. Then concoct a chemical solution that'll make your garden grow fun and funky crystals over two days, and learn the science behind them!

Slime Circuits

Engineer a basic circuit, using your slime as a conductor to light up an LED (and a love of science!). Then conduct a series of electric experiments that showcase the science of switches, resistance, LED color-mixing, and more!

Cannonball Launcher

Build a launcher that uses elastic power to shoot foam cannonballs. Contains everything you need to build a working launcher and matching mount.

Bubble Machine

Explore bubble chemistry, and how the construction and physics behind your machine helps bubbles form. Experiment with different wand positions and bubble formulas to make bigger, better bubbles, and practice noting your observations like scientists do! Then take a stab at more at-home explorations, from concocting your own super bubble mix, to building a pipe-cleaner bubble wand, to practicing bubble tricks.

Hydraulic Claw

Construct your own lifting claw and learn how hydraulic systems work. Continue the experimentation with bonus design challenges.

Atlas Crate (3-Pack)

Go sightseeing in Indonesia, where you can design a canvas tote and build a racing komodo dragon. Then visit Colombia, where you can take in the sights and sounds of the country! Finish off with a trip to Italy, where you can build a spinning pizzeria automaton and make eye-catching art.

Punch Needle Pillow

Take a stab at punch needle art, decorating, sewing, and stuffing a punch-needle pillow.

Robots and Coding

Build and decorate your own friendly robot buddy. Create a robot rabbit with a customizable track to run along. Write programs to solve puzzles and send your robot along a path.

Friction Climbers

Engineer 3 wooden animals to explore the mechanics of friction!

Light-Chasing Robot

Light up a love of electronics with this light-chasing robot starter kit! Wire up the motors, add the switch, and assemble your robot — all while exploring the science behind circuits and sensors. Customize your robot with one of two skins (a turtle or a beetle), then use the included flashlight to make it get a move on.

Basketball Catapult

Aim, shoot, and score with this physics-friendly crate! Engineer an adjustable catapult and play a spirited game of basketball. Learn about the science of sports, and experiment with different angles and arcs until you're a hoop superstar.

Veterinarian Starter Kit

Check up on a favorite stuffed animal with a stethoscope, syringe, and other handy vet tools. Explore animal anatomy by assembling organ and muscle systems. Play a "find the fracture" game using an x-ray lightbox and a set of animal cards. Learn to read cat and dog body language, and how vets understand animals when they can't talk.

Solar System

Create your own solar system mobile, complete with a light-up sun in the center.

Professions Starter Kit (2-Pack)

Discover two of the coolest careers around with this crate bundle packed with hands-on learning!

Froggie Lab Dissection

Open Froggie up, then use a pair of kid-friendly tweezers to explore the major internal organs that you and Froggie have in common — heart, lungs, stomach, and more. Then play a diagnosis game to figure out why Froggie isn't feeling well. 
Froggie comes as a finished product, not a DIY building kit.

Doodle Crate Art School (3-Pack)

Screen Printing, Geometric Candles, Paper Bowls.

Kiwi Crate Mechanics (3-Pack)

Shop for Mechanics favorites and save when purchased as a pack. Recommended for Ages 5-8+. 
Qualifies for free shipping!

Color Changing Slime

Explore the science of thermochromism — with squishy slime that shifts color when it changes temperature!

Electric Pencil Sharpener

Sharpen some pencils — and your engineering knowhow — with a pencil sharpener you built yourself!

Geometric Laser Projector

Construct a variable speed laser projector, capable of producing a variety of different geometric patterns.

Speedy Race Cars

Create a custom speedy race car and use black washi tape to create a speedway on any surface.

Butterfly Wings

Personalize the butterfly wings set with felt stickers and velvet ribbon before flying away!

Monster Mix & Match Art Pack

Trace pairs of stencils to customize a monster body, then rub colored pencils over texture cards to color in your monsters. Top it all off by adding stickers, or drawing your own finishing touches, to bring your monster friends to life. 
Monster Mix & Match Art Pack comes as a finished product, not a DIY building kit.

Light-Up Lantern

Puzzle together the pieces of an LED-powered lantern, fit for any budding explorer. Sharpen your spatial reasoning skills while crafting with wood, foam, and fabric.

Hand-Crank Flashlight

Assemble your own hand-crank flashlight, great for outdoor adventures, emergencies, or just battery-free fun.

Camping

Build a glowing campfire, cook up tasty treats, and make a beary fun backpack! 
Through Koala Camp, supplement & extend Camping with FREE content, video and additional DIY activities. We are aiming to provide ~4 hours of content & activities per day - though your camper might go faster or slower!

Explore Australia

Build a wooden kangaroo that hops when you press it down. Craft a colorful coral reef art piece, and explore the undersea wonders of the Great Barrier Reef. Get inspired by the Tjanpi Desert Weavers and make your own fiber dog sculpture. Play kolap, a strategy game from the tropical island of Mer. Then whip up a batch up Anzac biscuits — you're going to need a snack after all that kolap competition!

Red Cape

Make your own one-of-a-kind cape and personalize it with felt stickers!

Electrochemistry Lab

Produce an oxidation reaction that "eats" up aluminum foil. Test a voltmeter to learn about electric potential, and build a coin battery-powered LED light. Then put everything you learned together to engineer a clock that runs on just saltwater and strips of metal! 
Delivery note: Electrochemistry Lab is only eligible for Ground Shipping within the Contiguous United States. This item will ship separately from any other items in your order. Your entire order only qualifies for Standard Shipping (delivered within 3-10 business days).

Little Artist

Encourage little artists with a color-block painting project, abstract bead sculpture, and a personalized art smock.

Kellan Plushie

Everyone's favorite koala makes the perfect cuddly companion for a Koala Crate kid — whether they're learning about science, making amazing art, or having a pretend-play adventure. 
This Kellan Plushie comes as a finished product, not a DIY building kit.

Glow Lab

Explore UV light and mix up 3 solutions that glow in the dark. Explore the chemistry of fluorescence, phosphorescence, and chemiluminescence. 
Delivery note: This item will ship separately from any other items in your order. Your entire order only qualifies for Standard Shipping (delivered within 3-10 business days).

Robot Sewable Circuit

Explore wearable technology, conductivity, and the science of sewable circuits! Sew up a soft, flexible circuit using conductive thread, add LEDs, then craft a robot keychain whose eyes light up when you touch its hand to its belly. Ready to glow?

Pegboard Games & Puzzles

Play 11 different games — from Tic-Tac-Toe to Tapatan — using a single travel-friendly pegboard and a set of removable game boards and game pegs. 
Pegboard Games & Puzzles comes as a finished product, not a DIY building kit.

Blue Cape

Safari

Embark on a wild safari expedition with 3 engaging activities and a bonus magazine.

Marble Run + Art Easel

Explore engineering with a marble run gameboard, complete with 35 track pieces and spinners to build all sorts of marble-ous machines. Then turn your gameboard into an artist's studio with a reversible chalkboard / whiteboard panel and built-in paint cups and art tray to help your imagination soar. 
Dimensions: 21" L x 25" W x 38" H 
Delivery note: This item will ship separately from any other items in your order. Your entire order only qualifies for Standard Shipping (delivered within 3-10 business days). 
Marble Run comes as a finished product, not a DIY building kit.

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Paper Spiders

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