Eat Your Crayons
OK, so it's no secret that many educators deal with stressful situations and 'stressed-out' kids each day.
The designers over at Imprint have an unusual solution: coloring for grownups. From edible crayons to 'pouring colored lights' (you'll have to watch the video clip at the end to see that particular piece of utter coolness) to coloring books for the elderly, they've got a new take on one of the delights of childhood: expressing our creative selves with color (and crayons!). Take in the fun, here.
Check out another post on the same site for a pretty fascinating history of the color wheel. (Thanks to my friend Paul from Dudecraft for referencing this article on his eponymous blog.) Those two color history posts are here.
Some fascinating reading to fit this color-saturated season....see you later--I'm off to go color.
--K
10/7/10
10/6/10
Learning Link, 28
How to get more from a practice session
An interesting post over at Lifehacker about combining passive listening (i.e., headphones) with practice time. Applicable to music sessions and other learning experiences. Worth a try!
Want more info? Check it out here.
See you tomorrow.
--K
An interesting post over at Lifehacker about combining passive listening (i.e., headphones) with practice time. Applicable to music sessions and other learning experiences. Worth a try!
Want more info? Check it out here.
See you tomorrow.
--K
10/5/10
Learning Link, 27
How to make things happen
Have you ever heard of 'mirror neurons'? Apparently, they're part of the explanation for why it can sometimes be satisfying to read about doing something---so satisfying, in fact, that our motivation to actually do the activity is reduced.
Hmm....interesting concept, explored further here. (---and a post from The Simple Dollar exploring how this plays out in daily life, here.)
See you tomorrow.
--K
Have you ever heard of 'mirror neurons'? Apparently, they're part of the explanation for why it can sometimes be satisfying to read about doing something---so satisfying, in fact, that our motivation to actually do the activity is reduced.
Hmm....interesting concept, explored further here. (---and a post from The Simple Dollar exploring how this plays out in daily life, here.)
See you tomorrow.
--K
10/4/10
Learning Link, 26
How to help kids love to read and to write
Mem Fox cares deeply about people reading aloud to children (see post from Saturday, 10/2/10, for more info) as a way of fostering the love of reading.
826 National cares deeply about helping children to discover the joys of reading and writing, through 1:1 tutoring in an 8-city network of non-profit learning centers. It's an amazing and vibrant organization--one which yields results.
We (in the public school system) could learn much from the philosophy and methods of 826 National...and perhaps even be inspired to teach, as they inspire kids to read and to write.
Interested to know more about this great organization? I learned about it from Paul Overton, over at
Dudecraft. ( His site is featuring a direct link to 826 National as well as an in-depth post about the organization.) Great stuff all around!
See you tomorrow.
--K
Mem Fox cares deeply about people reading aloud to children (see post from Saturday, 10/2/10, for more info) as a way of fostering the love of reading.
826 National cares deeply about helping children to discover the joys of reading and writing, through 1:1 tutoring in an 8-city network of non-profit learning centers. It's an amazing and vibrant organization--one which yields results.
We (in the public school system) could learn much from the philosophy and methods of 826 National...and perhaps even be inspired to teach, as they inspire kids to read and to write.
Interested to know more about this great organization? I learned about it from Paul Overton, over at
Dudecraft. ( His site is featuring a direct link to 826 National as well as an in-depth post about the organization.) Great stuff all around!
See you tomorrow.
--K
10/3/10
Daily Life, 77
Thinking, this morning, about dreaming.
Busy school days---packed with transitions and the myriad details inherent to a smooth operating system when there are hundreds of people involved--understandably busy, but not conducive to providing space and time for children to dream.
Busy afterschool hours, too: music lessons and team practice and dance rehearsals and tutoring and chores and and and......
Just wondering where, in all of that noise, a child could find even a small expanse of quiet space to dream....and wondering what the impact will be, later in life.
Not criticizing, just wondering....
See you tomorrow.
--K
Busy school days---packed with transitions and the myriad details inherent to a smooth operating system when there are hundreds of people involved--understandably busy, but not conducive to providing space and time for children to dream.
Busy afterschool hours, too: music lessons and team practice and dance rehearsals and tutoring and chores and and and......
Just wondering where, in all of that noise, a child could find even a small expanse of quiet space to dream....and wondering what the impact will be, later in life.
Not criticizing, just wondering....
See you tomorrow.
--K
10/2/10
Books
Check this one out...
Straight-forward, clear talk about teaching kids to read through immersing them in the direct 1:1 joy of stories, read aloud: Reading Magic, by Mem Fox.
Funny, how often language acquisition and literacy skills mirror the same processes in music...
See you tomorrow.
--K
Straight-forward, clear talk about teaching kids to read through immersing them in the direct 1:1 joy of stories, read aloud: Reading Magic, by Mem Fox.
Funny, how often language acquisition and literacy skills mirror the same processes in music...
See you tomorrow.
--K
10/1/10
Daily Life, 76
Wondering, today, how teaching song lyrics could possibly be confused with helping students to gain fluency and enlarge skill sets in developing literacy skills in the primary grades.
Particularly when so many other options exist within each learning discipline.
Just sayin'.
OK, that's my rant for the month.
See you tomorrow.
--K
Particularly when so many other options exist within each learning discipline.
Just sayin'.
OK, that's my rant for the month.
See you tomorrow.
--K
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