How much time does it take to be creative? Is ten seconds enough? Ten minutes? This short video, from Café Communications, looks at what happens when students are given a bit more time for creative tasks. Take a look. It made me think, how many times do we do that with students? “It’s time for … Continue reading
Have you ever looked at the rows of games in the toy aisles and thought, “Who thinks of these things?” Or even, “I could design something more interesting than that.” Perhaps now is the time you can! GameKit is a website from the Institute of Play for those who’d like to make games, without a … Continue reading
In the busy moments of the holiday season–or any season for that matter–it is helpful to have a quick lesson to pull out in the 10 minutes before lunch. In one of those times you might want to pull out the story of the secret Nanas. It provides inspiration for both generosity and creativity–both particularly … Continue reading
How many creative young people (and maybe not so young people) like to tinker with “stuff?” I have it on good authority that some of my scientifically oriented friends ended up in their fields because scientists get to use cool stuff. What’s not to like about bubbling beakers, scales, stopwatches, and instruments that buzz? A … Continue reading
Ever wonder why birds wear feathers instead of fur? Why spiders don’t get caught in their webs? What kind of chocolate is the most popular? Me, too. And now we have a place to go for all those wonders, and more. The website Wonderopolis bills itself “Where the Wonders of Learning Never Cease,” and that … Continue reading
We had a small fire in our kitchen this week. We still aren’t entirely sure how it started, but it seems something toppled something and soon all things near the top of the stove were ablaze. I wasn’t home, but a cat worked better than a smoke detector in alerting my husband, and in a … Continue reading
If you had to suddenly name five creative people, who would come to mind? Artists? Musicians? Scientists? Almost certainly, at least one of the people you named would be an inventor. Helping students learn more about inventing, and the processes for developing their own inventions is a wonderful way for students to both learn about, … Continue reading
One of the small delights of major, and sometimes lesser-known, holidays is discovering a new doodle around the Google logo. I’ve enjoyed the variations for years, but only recently became aware of the worldwide scope of Google doodles. Doodles began even before Google was incorporated, when founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin played with the … Continue reading
School days are jam packed. I don’t know a teacher who doesn’t feel the need for a 25th hour in the school day—and perhaps a 26th after school to catch up on grading! In the midst of such days, it can be hard to find moments to teach directly about creativity, even for teachers who … Continue reading
When I was young, LEGOs® were brightly colored rectangles that came in a box. Children lucky enough to have some could build anything they could imagine. Today, there are all manner of specialized LEGOs®: Star Wars LEGOs®, James Bond LEGOs®, even “LEGO Friends” targeted at girls (LEGO Friends Dolphin Cruise®, LEGO Friends Heartlake High®—yikes!). Each … Continue reading
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