Books · 08-27-2014
Get ready for another chapter of the National Book Festival -- perhaps the greatest book festival on the planet! Just ask the Man in the Moon. It is free and open to the public and will take place from 10 a.m to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. If you plan on going with children, use the Festival's guide to help you. For book lovers unable to attend, the Festival's website is filled with: Author Videos Creative writing and...
Creativity · 08-22-2014
The new school year is upon us with new beginnings and goals. One important goal, whether you’re a teacher, parent, or administrator, is to include the arts in daily instruction. Numerous studies indicate how arts opportunities benefit students. According to a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) study, “at-risk students who have access to the arts in or out of school also tend to have better academic results, better workforce opportunities, and more civic engagement.” Recently, the...
Museums · 08-16-2014
Using creativity across disciplines was the theme of a museum forum I attended at the Hirshhorn Museum's ARTLAB+. Hosted by the Museum Education Roundtable (MER), the event included presentations by inspirational facilitators from the Columbus Museum of Art, ARTLAB+, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, and the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture. Equally engaging was the environment within ARTLAB+, a design studio that offers teens the opportunity to create...
Books · 08-12-2014
“The word gifted has never been applied to a kid like Donovan Curtis. It’s usually more like don’t try this at home. So when the troublemaker pulls a major prank at his middle school, he thinks he’s finally gone too far. But thanks to a mix-up by one of the administrators, instead of getting in trouble, Donovan is sent to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction (ASD), a special program for gifted and talented students.” — Gordon Korman, Ungifted Ungifted, by Gordon Korman, explores...
Museums · 08-07-2014
We voted for the 50 artworks we wanted to see across America! Now our selections will be seen by millions of people every day throughout the month of August "when we are commuting to work, taking the kids to school, hailing a taxi, shopping in a mall, catching a bus or pursuing other routine activities." I am fortunate that many selections are within a thirty minute drive, including one in my hometown (within walking distance)! Please don't take our John Singleton Copley away! For a map of the...
Resources · 08-03-2014
“Don’t worry, I’m well-behaved 90 percent of the time!” That was the greeting from a twelve-year-old boy who sat next to me on a recent flight. Traveling alone, and well versed in the art of making flight time pass quickly, he made our 5 hour flight fly by. His unsolicited advice about school life could have been a primer for the need for differentiation. While he loved most subjects - especially math and science - he desired assignments based on “real projects” instead of...