Would your students like to share information through the image of Abraham Lincoln, a space alien or a cat? Would you? How about through an avatar that looks something like you—or maybe the way you’d like to look! There are many technology tools that use avatars in very sophisticated ways. Creating this type of avatar … Continue reading
The Common Core State Standards Initiative outlines core math and language arts content to be addressed at each grade level. That is, the Core Standards carefully delineate WHAT is to be taught at each grade level, at least in those subject areas. But is does not address the ways that content is to be taught. … Continue reading
The Artful Thinking website, from Harvard’s Project Zero, is a fine resource for teaching art—and just about anything else. The program uses the image of an artist’s palette to outline six dispositions, or ways of thinking, that can be mixed to create masterpieces of teaching and learning. The dispositions include: Reasoning Exploring Viewpoints Questioning … Continue reading
September is here, summer is slipping away, and most of the students in the U. S. are beginning the new school year. As promised, I am beginning a first-of-the-month post of creative activities focused on families–after all, we can’t have all our fun in the summer! Many of the activities will be appropriate for school … Continue reading
I am fortunate enough to live just a quick-trip-down-I94 from one of the country’s most interesting museums, The Henry Ford. While there as part of a one-day vacation recently, I discovered a treasure trove of resources for teaching students about innovation and creativity. Home base for the materials is a site called On Innovation. There … Continue reading
It seems impossible that we are in the waning days of summer, but so it is. So, this will be the last weekly “Family Fun” collection for now, as I go back to a focus on creativity in school settings. But Family Fun, has been way too much fun—really—to give up entirely, so for the … Continue reading
Whether you are looking for a rainy-or-too-hot summer day activity, or a beginning of school project, book spine poetry may be just the thing. Book spine poetry is not difficult to construct, but with it you can create poems ranging from the silly to the profound. The concept is simple. Take a book with a … Continue reading
What is summer without popsicles and other icy treats? This week’s family fun activities center around popsicles and ice cubes—just the thing for hot August days. 1. There are lots of ways to paint with ice. You can buy Popsicles and different flavored Kool-aid powder. Sprinkle the powder on paper and then use the popsicles … Continue reading
One of the things I love about living in Ann Arbor is that we have fairies living here. Lots of them. You doubt? We have fairy doors all over town. We have a fairy car that appears regularly at our annual car show. And of course we all know that in the summer the woods … Continue reading
One of my favorite events of the year is the annual Art Fairs (actually 4-fairs-in-one) that take over downtown Ann Arbor during the third week of July. It is invariably hot, sticky, crowded, and glorious. There is art you would expect (paintings, sculpture, glass, fiber) and much you might not—bowling ball jewelry, sculptures made of … Continue reading
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