I was tempted to title this post, “It’s Not Your Mother’s Library,” because the wonderful learning environment described in Amy Koester’s “All Things STEAM” is a long way from the rigidly silent libraries of my childhood. Instead, her website is a wonderful exercise in multi-layered creativity. Amy has used her own creativity to envision a … Continue reading
One of our regular holiday pastimes is exploring new bookstores, and this year was no exception. One of my favorite discoveries on a recent trip was Shakespeare’s Storybook, subtitled Folk Tales that Inspired the Bard. In it, storyteller Patrick Ryan explores the traditional tales that may have inspired some of Shakespeare’s most iconic stories. Imagine … Continue reading
It is winter in Michigan, and as I’m writing the snow is accumulating on the ground and covering the tree branches outside my window. So naturally, my thoughts turn to–fractals. Or, more specifically, to this guest post from Melanie describing creative ways to teach fractals, including fractal snowflakes. Here’s Melanie. Fractals are mathematical sets that … 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
What kid doesn’t love things that go “splat?” There are lots of fine traditions that could be categorized as “splat art”—blowing paint through a straw, bouncing paint with a ball, stomping paint on paper, throwing paint from bushes or shooting it with squirt guns. Each of these has the potential to be wonderful messy creative … Continue reading
Just as Dinovember ended, I discovered a new silly Dinosaur delight, Anne Muecke’s The Dinosaurs Night Before Christmas. I’ve already written about the many versions of Clement Clarke Moore’s classic poem A Visit from Saint Nicholas, and the ways they can be used to teach about parody. But I keep discovering new “Night Before” books … Continue reading
Where do creative kids go to publish their latest story, poem, editorial, review, or just about anything else? One possible answer is Creative Kids magazine. Creative Kids is a magazine “by kids, for kids” ages 8-16—it even has a brand new advisory board of students aged 7-15. Creative Kids aims to include prose, poetry and … 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
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