I wasn’t allowed to have Barbie dolls as a child. My mother—ahead of her time, for sure—objected to doll’s the unnatural proportions. She did not want anything in our house giving the message that her daughters needed to look like something other than a normal human female. One night, hearing a banging, I found her … Continue reading
Sometimes creativity walks a line. The space between innovative and new-for-the-sake-of-new (or clever and tasteless) can sometimes be tricky to determine. That was a bit how I felt reading Brett Wright’s YOLO Juliet. YOLO Juliet, published—unsurprisingly–by OMG Shakespeare, recounts the tale of Romeo and Juliet in texts—emoticons and all. It is part of a series … Continue reading
A few weeks ago I wrote a series of posts about students as questioners, ending with posts on questions in particular disciplines: What do historians ask? How about scientists? Mathematicians? Then, I’ll admit, I got stuck. In each of the previous subject areas I considered the types of questions professionals asked when engaged in creative … Continue reading
In our family, road trips mean exploring bookstores. So, naturally, our holiday travels meant time to discover new resources for children of all ages. I know many of the books I share with you are appropriate for elementary-age readers, but I long-ago learned that picture books are not just for children. In fact, I often … Continue reading
Because I live in Ann Arbor, where fairy doors are part of the local landscape—and because it was fun—I gave several fairy doors as gifts this Christmas. I bought some wooden fairy door kits and went to town painting, adding mosaic “porches,” and other embellishments. I had a grand time creating accessories for various holidays … Continue reading
I didn’t mean to take most of December off from blogging. I really didn’t. But this year the end of the semester about did me in. Somehow the combination of the end-of-term grading, sewer pipe lining (don’t ask), last minute legal needs regarding my dad’s estate, and trying to manage a semblance of Christmas, meant … Continue reading
The holiday season has official begun—time for rejoicing, rushing, celebrating, shopping, giving, craziness and eating. Lots of eating. This seemed the perfect time for a post about creative exercising. While her TV persona was a bit much for me, I enjoy the monthly workouts that Jillian Michaels does for the Curves exercise system (no, this … Continue reading
How would you like to explain the Theory of Relativity? In seven minutes? On video? That’s the task Ryan Chester took up when entering the Breakthrough Junior Challenge. Not only did Ryan succeed in creating his video, but he won the Breakthrough Junior Challenge, earning a hefty college scholarship and a prize for his high … Continue reading
In the United States, it is almost time for Thanksgiving, our national celebration of gratitude and food. Two years ago at this time our household was recovering from a fire–nothing huge, but enough to fill the house with smoke and our lives with chaos for weeks. It reminded us of the many things we take … Continue reading
OK, I’ll admit it. Staying up late to watch the beginning of Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show is one of my guilty pleasures. I know I should go to bed. I know I can see videos the next day. But Fallon’s inventive craziness is sometimes too much to resist. One of my favorite segments is Fallonventions. … Continue reading
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