If you were to take a patch of earth near your house, how many species would you find living there? This is a great question for pondering, curiosity, and scientific investigation. Consider doing a species tally for a bit of yard, field, woods, or even sidewalk near your school or home. Lots of groups conduct … Continue reading
Remember, for the summer, each Monday Creativiteach will feature family activities designed for both fun and creativity. Our second week of creative Family Fun activities is all about WATER. 1. There is nothing like a warm summer rain, so why should it keep us indoors? Invent a new game that can only be played in … Continue reading
How would you like to spend 20% of your time doing something creative, just because you think it is interesting? Sound impossible? It’s not. Here’s one example. One of the most famous “perks” of working at Google is that for many employees, twenty percent of their time can be used on any project they choose. … Continue reading
Here it is, that magical summer time of the year. For those of us who live where winters are long (that is to say, everywhere I’ve ever lived), summer days are to be treasured. For most teachers, this is a time for change—for study, for stopping to breathe, for reflecting on what the next school … Continue reading
I really enjoy John Spencer’s blog Education Rethink. I don’t always agree with him, but he always makes me think, and his ideas consistently point both teachers and students toward critical and creative thinking. Today I thought I’d share one of my favorites: his collection of visual prompts. Unlike most such collections, this one is … Continue reading
Have you wished to wander among the stones at Stonehenge, walk through the ruins of Pompeii, visit the shrines of ancient Kyoto, or even explore Yellowstone National Park? Now you can! Visit the Google World Wonders project. The ever-amazing folks at Google have collaborated with a host of partners, including UNESCO and the World Monuments … Continue reading
You never know where a book will take you. In this case, the book Little Paper Planes has taken me on a host of high-flying adventures. The book itself is a treasure of creativity. In it, twenty artists present their interpretations of paper planes, from fairly conventional gliders to a shark plane, a balloon plane, … Continue reading
The International Children’s Digital Library is a wonder.It is a free online library of books targeted at children from preschool into early adolescence, but I could easily browse there all day. Certainly it is wonderful for children, but don’t underestimate its value to older students. And what a great place for summer browsing! The library … Continue reading
I’ve spent a fair amount of time in the last few weeks exploring the web looking for writings on creativity and students with special needs. Guess what? Not much there. I can find examples of art activities to do with students with disabilities, which is fine, but the arts are only one area in which … Continue reading
Science is all about logic, right? And scientists are those folks who spent high school wearing pocket protectors and too-short pants, aren’t they? Wrong again. The reality of science, and scientific creativity, is so much messier and more wonderful than the stereotypes of movie nerds or geniuses with computer-logic brains. The We Are Science celebration … Continue reading
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