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Don’t Say It, Draw It
Quick, draw something important to you. Try to do it in five minutes or less. Is it an object, a person, an idea, a goal, a value, or something else entirely? Image courtesy of...
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Fun Theory
Wikimedia Commons I’m not aware of any official Fun Theory in the field of learning. But fun shimmers under the surface of motivation and focus like a very big fish. And the fish named Fun shouldn’t be...
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7 Ways To Make Your Day More Magical
Creative Commons image Flickr photostream of Estadão.com.br 1. Head off to an interesting destination with your family or friends for an Alternative Identity Day. On the way, everyone makes up his or...
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The Boy With No Toys
Image courtesy of eyeofboa.deviantart.com Before he was born, his mother decided her son would have no toys. Abandoned by the father, she was already a single parent. She made a living cleaning for...
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1,000 Ways To Play With A Cardboard Box
CC 2.0 Flickr photostream mollypop A large appliance box waiting at the curb has always been a call to action. We’ve done whatever is necessary to get it home, mostly dragging it behind our bikes or...
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Global Village Construction Set
It’s possible to plant 50 trees in one afternoon. To press 5,000 bricks from the dirt beneath your feet in one day. To build an affordable tractor in six days. It’s possible thanks to the members of...
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Get Kids To Predict The Future
Back in 1964, sci-fi writer Arthur C. Clarke introduced a program on future predictions by stating: The only thing we can be sure of about the future is that it will be absolutely fantastic. So, if...
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How To Grant Wishes
Image:helen-carter.deviantart.com When I was a child an elderly neighbor shared her life-long dream. Lottie Borges had always wanted to get behind the wheel of a semi, start it up, and drive. I got a...
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Respecting A Child’s Urge To Discover
misspenthopesxx.deviantart.com The kids had a bunch of boards, some old nails, a hand saw, and a few hammers. They also had the two most important ingredients, the desire to make something and the...
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Feeding Creativity With Constraints
Maybe an unusual assignment will amp up your creativity. Perhaps: ~make a poster of shadows ~write the phone call you wish you could have ~compose the saddest song ~describe your ideal government...
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We Need Hidden Worlds
Image: maskrosesong.deviantart.com When I was very small I liked to climb what I called a tree. It was actually a sturdy shrub. I sat between branches less than a foot off the ground, sure I was...
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Recognizing Each Child’s Particular Genius
A child’s gifts can be difficult to recognize, perhaps because they tend to unfold in mysterious ways. What we might consider idiosyncrasies or problems may very well indicate a child’s strengths....
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“It is good to love many things” ~Vincent Van Gogh
Sunflowers, by Vincent van Gogh “It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love, is well...
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Keeping Creativity Alive
dbz-obsessed.deviantart.com/art/Creation-19299077 “The world is but a canvas to the imagination.”—Henry David Thoreau Imagination springs from nowhere and brings something new to the world—games, art,...
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Poet Seeks Words
Amy Heath. Sojourner, tinker, acrostic poet. Amy Heath is a writer, poet, and artist. The past few years she’s lived a somewhat nomadic life, exploring ways to sustain herself while being true to her...
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Are You Eccentric?
Being yourself. (image: Irish_Eyes) I met Betty years ago when I moved to a place teeming with all sorts of progressive people. Still, Betty stood out. She was a large lady dressed in layers of...
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Flee To An Inner Playground
Image: CC by 2.0 Ben_Kerckx I cannot bear to hear a baby cry. I feel it right to my core. But in the first year of my daughter’s life she suffered from a chronic illness that caused a lot of crying....
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Make Storytelling a Family Tradition
image: CC by 2.0 echoroo “Language exerts hidden power, like a moon on the tides.” ~Rita Mae Brown We began to tell stories not long after we humans gained the power of speech. Stories gathered...
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Innovation Doesn’t Come in a Kit (8 Better Options)
There are all sorts of companies selling STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) kits and Maker kits these days, often as pricey subscription services. They promise adventure! inspiration!...
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Flapping My Wings
“Wing” by Skia Some mornings when I get up, I walk to the front door to let the dogs out while flapping my wings. I waft them up and down as if they’re moving me through thermals high in the air, then...
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