There are few places so full of delights as a good bookstore. Recently, I had the chance to explore the newest of Ann Arbor’s bookstores, Literati, and I headed right to my favorite place—the children’s section. There were lots of treasures, but my favorite this week is Chip Kidd’s Go: A Kidd’s Guide to Graphic … Continue reading
November, in the U.S. and Canada, is a time to celebrate gratitude. But since I wrote about family activities around Thanksgiving last year, this year I thought I’d write about one of the things for which people around the world are grateful: bread. 1. You might want to start by exploring the many varied kinds … Continue reading
It may be the day before Halloween in the U.S., but it is never too late for a good parody. I’ve written before about how parodies can give students motivating and effective practice in analogical thinking, and this week I discovered a new one. Ludwig Bemelmans’ classic children’s book Madeline tells the story of twelve … Continue reading
One of the most exciting things about teaching in ways that support creativity, is that teaching for creativity can also support sound thinking. That is certainly true for the website iCivics. Founded by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, iCivics is designed to prepare young people to be knowledgeable and involved citizens—and do it … Continue reading
My husband and I have different views of what constitutes an acceptable level of chaos in our house. But the truth is, though I can obsess about visitors arriving in a relatively clutter-free “living room” space, the areas of our home in which we actually live exist in ever varying patterns of detritus. And our … 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
Do you have plans for November 21, 2013? How about joining an effort to create the largest children’s art event in history? (And U.S. teachers, a Thanksgiving-appropriate activity to boot!) Last year Everyartist.me, brainchild of artist Brendan O’Connell, set the World Record for a collection of children’s art. In April 2012, 8,416 young artists filled … Continue reading
Google is an amazing company on many fronts, and the one of the most recent is the Google Science Fair. Google Science Fair is an online science competition for teenagers across the globe. The fair is sponsored by Google, Lego, National Geographic, Scientific American and CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. Recently the winners … Continue reading
One of the best things about fall in Michigan is watching the leaves change. Trees that are mostly green October 1st are brilliant with color in just a few weeks. I’ve done an earlier Family Fun post on leaf activities, so this month we’ll look at activities that focus on changing colors. 1. Of course … Continue reading
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