Activities · 12-19-2013
My friend and colleague, Patti, designs creative activities to challenge and motivate primary-aged children. One of her well-liked creations is the Scavenger Hunt Challenge Box. The purpose of the Challenge Box is to increase vocabulary and to encourage higher-level thinking. Enjoy the following winter Challenge Box activity adapted from her idea.
Creativity · 12-13-2013
Did you know books can be "altered" into beautiful works of art? They can be drawn in, bedazzled, and painted. Pages can be folded, sculpted, cut, woven, quilted, and rubber stamped. Personal narratives, poems, photographs, and quotes can be added. The possibilities are endless. My friend Susan (and her elementary school students) have created a variety of altered books/visual journals that are imaginative, inspirational, and poignant works of art. I learned some of Susan's techniques at a...
Activities · 12-06-2013
Are there times when your children have "nothing to do?" If the answer is yes, here are a few holiday-themed activities to encourage creativity. They vary by interests, so there are options for everyone (grades 3-5). Creativity is the ultimate boredom buster.
Activities · 11-18-2013
Rough, soft, sharp, dull, fuzzy, smooth - textures are all around us to serve as inspiration. They can be man-made or found in nature. Textured objects can generate beautiful, unique patterns. Place a piece of paper over the object, and rub the surface of the paper with the side of a crayon.
Activities · 11-14-2013
My piggy bank is overflowing, so I have been sorting coins for the past few days. I only save quarters (25¢), dimes (10¢), and nickels (5¢). As you can see from the photo, I have LOTS more quarters than dimes and more dimes than nickels. That got me thinking about the least amount of coins required (using only quarters, dimes, and nickels - no pennies) to make change from 5 cents to 95 cents. The following possible combinations illustrate why I have more quarters than dimes and more dimes...
Activities · 11-07-2013
Letter writing is fast becoming a lost art, but who doesn't love getting a handwritten letter in the mail? Use the following letter writing ideas to promote writing skills and to support creative expression.
Activities · 11-04-2013
Museum Monday During a recent visit to the Witte Museum, I was reminded of an animation unit I used to teach. The Witte currently has an exhibit of magic lanterns (through June 2014) which are the predecessors of slide and movie projectors. They were an extremely popular form of entertainment - especially during the second half of the 19th century. There were even toy lanterns for children. The exhibit features many different types of magic lanterns, slides, and captivating lantern shows. You...
Activities · 10-09-2013
Everyone has unique perspectives. Our differing backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences shape how we react to situations, problems, and conversations. Gifted children possess many strengths, including the ability to view things differently - a perspective that is occasionally unappreciated. One way to foster valuing different perspectives is through art. The following symmetry painting activity is an opportunity for children to understand how we see things differently. Children make the paintings...
Activities · 10-06-2013
Do you know someone who loves geography, maps, and unusual time zone trivia? If so, she will enjoy the following challenge. The exercise also introduces children (grades 4-6) to time zones, the World Clock, the International Dateline, the Prime Meridian, daylight saving time, and much more. There are many internet resources (or apps) for instruction including, World Time Zone, World Atlas, and Timeanddate.com. Timeanddate.com also helps answer the question: Why do we have all these time zones?