Creative Gift Idea: smART Pixelator

I love gifts that are also activities, because they keep kids occupied, help them focus and give them a goal to work toward. The folks at Flycatcher sent me and the girl a smART Pixelator to try out, and I think it would be a great gift for creative kids, crafty kids and those who love technology.

At a glance this is a peg board with melty beads, but the Pixelator is an electronic device you plug in. Insert the included memory card pre-loaded with designs, add the pegboard to the top and fill in beads using the enclosed tool.

You can also use the device’s app to take pictures of anything and have them be turned into pixelated designs you can re-create in pegs.

My daughter tried out a couple of the simple designs included on the device, then we tried taking a picture of an anime-style character she drew. We had to simplify it a bit in the app and then she changed some of the colors so as not to run out of beads (it actually ended up bigger than we intended, but that was probably my fault).

It was fun and easy to use and the resulting designs were cute. The girl said it was easier to add the beads in by hand rather than with the little tool that’s included; try both ways to see what you like.

When working on a long project the device can time out and turn itself off. Sometimes this made the device reset and we had to download our pattern again or scroll through all the different patterns on the memory card to find the one we were working on again.

This would be great for a creative kid who likes to make their own magnets, charms, decorations for cards or whatever else you might use melty bead projects for (it should be noted these are different from Perler beads and are not interchangeable; they sell their own brand of beads available in many colors). It might also encourage kids who aren’t that crafty because the screen showing the pattern makes it easier to complete than using a printed out pattern.

If you’re looking for a creative, fun gift for a kiddo in your life (package rates it ages 7 and up), check out the smART Pixelator.

Next Plan Idea:

Perler Bead Projects for Kids

I’m in deep denial about the fact that new year is almost upon us again! It’s been the fastest and the longest year at the same time, and I can look back and see some good things as well as some things I wish had gone differently.

Doing a year in review with your kids — whether in the classroom or at home — is a good way to capture some of their memories and the things they really liked about the year gone by.

There are a lot of different printable year in review worksheets you can use if you want to make this super easy. Here are links to a few (often part of larger posts about NYE celebrations with kids that are worth a read, too):

Teach Beside Me has lots of fun printables fro the end of the year, including a year in review that covers favorite memory, funniest memory and the best book they read, among other topics.
NurtureStore‘s version has space for a self-portrait and prompts like favorite toy, best day out this year and future dream job.
Remember favorites, their “best idea” of the year and have room for setting goals for next year with this one from The Keele Deal.
The year in review from Yes We Made This has room for drawing or writing and includes things like something they learned, a memory they made and a place they visited.

Of course you could pretty easily make your own year in review for the whole family to do that asks questions based on what you most want to remember. (Favorite video game? Best friend? Favorite family memory?)

And if after the year in review you’re ready to look ahead a bit, Mrs. Merry has new year’s resolution printables to inspired kids to look ahead and set goals for things they want to try. You can totally fill this one out as a grownup, too.

[Photo: Mrs. Merry]

Next Plan Idea:

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