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Tag: Creative educational approaches

Is your school safe for all students?

Is your school safe for all students?

The Artdog Quote(s) of the Week This has been a very “full” month, but the teacher in me just couldn’t let Pride Month pass without at least one post! Also, I did an analysis recently, and realized I haven’t been writing about this topic nearly often enough! So I’m brushing off my “teacher hat” to ask: is your school safe for ALL students? No, gun violence, frightening as it is, isn’t my “safe schools” topic for today. That’s because it’s not the only–or at all the most prevalent–life-threatening hazard lurking in…

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Kids reading to dogs benefits the DOGS, too!

Kids reading to dogs benefits the DOGS, too!

A few weeks ago, I posted an article, Canine reading tutors, about the growing popularity of using therapy dogs to boost children’s literacy. Kids who read aloud to dogs never get corrected when they say a word wrong or spend time puzzling over it, and they never get hurried up if they read slowly. Instead, the dog lies next to them, warm and reassuring, and always seems to like being read to. It’s a great confidence-builder. But could it also benefit…

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Intergenerational magic

Intergenerational magic

This week’s Artdog Image(s) of Interest:  Elders and elementary kids, reading together: bridge-building between generations helps all parties. The “loneliness epidemic” in our society is well-documented–we may have instant communication, but “proximity, as city dwellers know, does not necessarily mean intimacy,” Olivia Laing noted in her article, “The Future of Loneliness,” in The Guardian. And loneliness hits older people hardest of all. But I would argue that the divide hurts the younger generation, too. Divorce and separation of families to far…

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Growing knowledge in the teaching garden

Growing knowledge in the teaching garden

The Artdog Image(s) of Interest  Sometimes there’s no substitute for getting your hands dirty and learning from the ground up. This little video gives a glimpse of the massive potential for tying lessons to life experiences with the Teaching Garden at a Fairfax, VA elementary school. Oak Hill is clearly a fairly upscale neighborhood (note: they still have the Teaching Garden in the 2016-2017 school year), but schools from all different parts of the country, and all different socio-economic levels,…

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World’s best Kindergarten? Maybe so.

World’s best Kindergarten? Maybe so.

Perhaps you’ve heard about Fuji Kindergarten. I first learned about it from a YouTube video I no longer can find–but it’s an amazing school, and a fascinating concept. Listen to a 2014 TED Talk by its architect creator, Takaharu Tezuka, as he explains his concept: The Montessori approach of the educators fits well with the open classrooms and the children’s freedom of movement. The school has been profiled by the international Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Monocle Magazine’s Asia…

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Poverty’s cure?

Poverty’s cure?

The Artdog Quote of the Week Singer-songwriter and actor John Legend has had an amazing career, but he feels if he’d had an education that valued and nurtured his creative talents his life might have gone much better. If every child’s greatest potential could be activated and empowered, it seems reasonable to believe that poverty could decrease. “We must break the long-held expectation that schools exist to mold and manage kids,” he said in a CNN interview. “In today’s world, expecting…

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Curl up to read in the Enchanted Forest

Curl up to read in the Enchanted Forest

This week’s Artdog Image of Interest Unfortunately, they don’t seem to make these big-people-sized . . . These “reading pods” are part of a nature-inspired reading area at the Madison Children’s Museum (Madison, WI). But the awesome coolness doesn’t stop there. Designed by The Kubala Washatko Architects, Inc. to repurpose an old office building, this museum is vibrant with creative enrichment. Learning through play is the guiding theme for areas such as the Art Studio, Log Cabin, Possible-opolis, Wildernest, and many…

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