Minds in Bloom

The summer heat is still cooking and its the perfect time to cool off with some family building fun at the Scotland Library.  If you joined us on July 23rd, the photos are now up in the galleries.  Look in your email for viewing instructions and tell all your friends that there will be another Family Building Event at Scotland Library on August 10th, 6:00-7:30 in the evening. Check back for a schedule of Keva activities coming this fall.

Spring has sprung, days are sunny (sometimes) and the Monday Homeschool Classes kids are blooming with creativity!  In the galleries this week, the first projects from the MHC Stop Motion class are ready for viewing.  Be sure to visit the Animation Samples as well.  Builders in the MHC Keva Creations class can view their dazzling towers built in the first class and an imaginative set of ramps, roller coasters, and “contraptions” from our second week.  Keva videos should be up soon, so check back later in the week. Viewing and downloading details are being distributed by email.  Enjoy!

MHC Stop Action Animation: The Magic of Motion class is off to a spinning start.  Last week we explored toys that trick the eye into seeing motion.  We tinkered with thaumatropes and marveled at the praxinoscope (everyone should have one of these) and finally tried our hands at the movie wheel project (phenakistoscope) from www.sciencetoymaker.org. Links to these projects and other animation sites as well technical information can be found on my site by following “classes” and selecting “animation”.  The gallery also has an album of animation projects, which will grow as we complete projects.  Check back often and have fun!

If you came to our first session of the Scotland Library Keva Club you got a real taste of just how fun building with Keva Planks can be.  We had two wonderfully creative groups who explored tower design and went on to create elaborate scenes, including an extensive city.  Thanks to all the families who are participating.  Photos are now up in the gallery. Check your email for viewing details and send me your comments!

Photo galleries for MHC Keva Classes and the recent Share Day are ready for viewing. Check your email for password info and download tips. MHC families can view photos from all three Keva classes from the winter session, so be sure to look around and see what other builders have been up to. Send me a message and tell me what you think! If you are building at home, send me your Keva photos and I will share them with other MHC builders. Have a great break, and I’ll see you at MHC intersession activities!

Welcome! Thanks to the generous, creative, and talented Mike Palumbo, MindsInBloom.com has come to life! A special welcome to Monday Homeschool Classes families. Visit the galleries and see what all the MHC Keva classes have been building during the Winter 2011 session and a new gallery of Special Events, which has photos from previous MHC Share Days and our Winter 2010 Intersession. Coming soon, I will be creating an archive of the previous MHC Keva classes. Thanks also to the parent volunteers who have taken many of these photos. You have given us a wonderful window on the creativity, talent, and dare we say–genius–of our builders. If you have photos or video from our classes that you’d like to contribute, please let me know. The site is still under construction, but you simply have to see all these wonderful photos. View them, enjoy them, download and print them (downloading is fairly intuitive, but I’ll provide the details shortly) and do so following all the privacy/use policies of all MHC photos.

Thanks for all the support of the MHC families and the committee. Come build with us on Share Day, March 14th. We’ll be designing habitats for Hexbug Nanos.