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Two Great Questions: Math Style
Sometimes it can be easy to think, “Creativity is fine for art class or writing, but not math. Creativity in math is for Einstein, not middle school.” If you’ve ever been tempted to think such...
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Give A Little Love–Creatively
This video has been making the rounds on Facebook, but it is worth repeating here–particularly as valentine thoughts are waning. In it, Noah and the Whale’s rendition of “Give a Little Love,” provides...
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Family Fun for March: Green!
Picking Green as the theme for March Family Fun is probably a combination of my Irish heritage and my Michigan longing for spring. Last year I did a St. Patrick’s Day post of creative school...
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Hey Jude Goes Logical: A Creative Take on Decision Rules
Yes, I’m a long-term Beatles fan. I was a young girl when they first appeared on the old Ed Sullivan Show. Who could resist, really? But now I have a new reason to love the classic song, “Hey Jude”:...
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Invention and Electricity: The Richard Turere Story
Do you teach about electricity? Do you teach innovation? Either way, Richard Turere can help you. Just a few months ago, Richard was a quiet Masaai boy, living on the edge of Nairobi National Park, in...
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Family Fun for May: Let’s MAY-KE Something
This month’s family fun ideas are dedicated to all things maker. A maker, of course, is anyone who makes something, and they are on the rise. From maker spaces, where collaborators young and old share...
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The Question is the Teacher: Creativity and the Role of Essential Questions
I recently read Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins’ Essential Questions: Opening the Doors to Student Understanding, and thought, “How wonderful to have a book so totally supportive of creativity, while...
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Put on Your Thinking Cap for Creativity: Metaphors and More
One of my favorite small education blogs is called “v. to put on one’s thinking cap: A reflection on social constructivism in the elementary classroom.” It recounts the learning and thinking of a class...
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Monkey Business
It is June in Michigan, which means the world is finally green again and the school year is ending. Sometimes, near the end of the school year, you need something that is just fun. If it meets a...
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Weird and Wacky Inventions
Have you ever wandered through an antique shop, intrigued by the strange machinery and wondering what it all did? Do you know a young person fascinated by gadgets? Or do you teach about inventions and...
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It’s virtual! It’s free! It’s Maker Camp!
When I was a kid, camp entailed tents, backpacks, burnt marshmallows, mosquitoes. Today, it’s not necessarily so. Enter free virtual summer camp for teens–with rockets, animation, and (last year)...
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SCAMPERing at the Art Fairs #2
It is 95 degrees with sweltering humidity, which can mean only one thing in Ann Arbor. It’s Art Fair week! It is time to brave the crowds and the heat, to be rewarded with first-class people watching,...
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Family Fun: Inventions
Every summer has some days when it is too rainy, or too hot, to spend all day outside. For days like that, exploring ways to be an inventor can be just the ticket for creative summer fun. 1. Introduce...
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International Dot Day
It’s almost time for International Dot Day, September 15-ish. Anyone who celebrates the creativity of Peter Reynold’s The Dot will love International Dot Day (and if you haven’t read it yet, you really...
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Global Cardboard Challenge
It’s time again, for the Global Cardboard Challenge! The Imagination Foundation describes the Challenge: “The Global Cardboard Challenge is an annual challenge that invites kids around the world to...
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Creativity: Undigested
When I was young, LEGOs® were brightly colored rectangles that came in a box. Children lucky enough to have some could build anything they could imagine. Today, there are all manner of specialized...
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Ten-Minute Lesson: Why Curiosity Matters
School days are jam packed. I don’t know a teacher who doesn’t feel the need for a 25th hour in the school day—and perhaps a 26th after school to catch up on grading! In the midst of such days, it can...
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Google Doodles are Creative Fun
One of the small delights of major, and sometimes lesser-known, holidays is discovering a new doodle around the Google logo. I’ve enjoyed the variations for years, but only recently became aware of the...
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Invent Iowa–And Wherever You Live
If you had to suddenly name five creative people, who would come to mind? Artists? Musicians? Scientists? Almost certainly, at least one of the people you named would be an inventor. Helping students...
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Creative Thanks and Mindfulness
We had a small fire in our kitchen this week. We still aren’t entirely sure how it started, but it seems something toppled something and soon all things near the top of the stove were ablaze. I wasn’t...
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