Do you teach about electricity? Do you teach innovation? Either way, Richard Turere can help you. Just a few months ago, Richard was a quiet Masaai boy, living on the edge of Nairobi National Park, in Kenya. Frustrated by the lions attacking his family’s cattle, Richard decided to do something about it. Working with bits … Continue reading
Yes, I’m a long-term Beatles fan. I was a young girl when they first appeared on the old Ed Sullivan Show. Who could resist, really? But now I have a new reason to love the classic song, “Hey Jude”: Lucidchart’s “Lyrical Flowchart,” available on YouTube. Lucidchart is a company that prepares online diagramming software. To … Continue reading
Picking Green as the theme for March Family Fun is probably a combination of my Irish heritage and my Michigan longing for spring. Last year I did a St. Patrick’s Day post of creative school activities. Many of them could be fun for home, too, so you might want to start there. Then continue with … Continue reading
This video has been making the rounds on Facebook, but it is worth repeating here–particularly as valentine thoughts are waning. In it, Noah and the Whale’s rendition of “Give a Little Love,” provides the background to a short story of cause, effect, and kindness. Think about how this video could be used to spark a … Continue reading
Sometimes it can be easy to think, “Creativity is fine for art class or writing, but not math. Creativity in math is for Einstein, not middle school.” If you’ve ever been tempted to think such thoughts, take 5 minutes and watch Annie Fetter at an NCTM Ignite session. She describes a math lesson based on … Continue reading
One of my favorite Christmas gifts this year was a Magic Orange Peeler. (And no, this blog does not have sponsors!) We all have small things in life that annoy us. One of mine is struggling to peel an orange, ending up with broken nails and orange (if delicious-smelling) fingers. Enter the Magic Orange Peeler. … Continue reading
Not everything we teach in school is best taught through formal lessons. Extra curricular activities and clubs provide plentiful opportunities for students to develop skills, leadership, and creativity. For years, schools have sponsored teams for Future Problem Solving, Destination ImagiNation and other problem-solving ventures. Now another type of club has emerged for our technical age: … Continue reading
One of the most tender responses to the horror in Newton, CT came from newcaster Ann Curry, who first proposed that in honor of the 20 children killed, individuals commit to doing 20 acts of kindness in their honor. This idea has, as they say, “gone viral,” with the number of acts raised to 26 … Continue reading
Have you ever found yourself in trouble with a teacher because you were doodling in class? Have you doodled through a meeting? Or maybe every meeting? Because last week I described a possible link between stress and perceived boredom, this seemed a good time for a tribute to the underestimated art of doodling. Being able … Continue reading
One of the best things I’ve read about creativity recently did not come from a book on creativity—it came from a book on learning targets. In their book, Learning Targets: Helping Students Aim for Understanding in Today’s Lesson, authors Connie M. Moss and Susan M. Brookhart describe the use of learning targets (goals) to focus … Continue reading
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