Browsed by
Tag: nurturing creativity

This square design features a purple, orange, and yellow background to set of a rectangular design by Jeffrey St. Clair. It shows a square design that is mostly orange, with purple, yellow, and black elements. Words surround it. They say: The seven principles: Kuumba: Creativity. To use our creative energies toward creating a vibrant community.”
Creative healing

Creative healing

The sixth day of Kwanzaa This one is especially near to my heart: the principle of Kuumba, creativity! The only way to build a vibrant community is through the creative devotion of the people within it. Is there any community that could not benefit from some creative healing? Just as the arts can help revive a dying neighborhood, so can applying creative energy build positive bridges of hope, where before there were only walls of separation. Our whole country desperately needs this kind of creative healing….

Read More Read More

Valuing Creativity

Valuing Creativity

The Artdog Quote of the Week  Finding a way to value creativity in education, in the workplace, and in life, tends to ignite joy wherever it is found. Keep searching for new ways! IMAGE:  Many thanks to Looney Math Consulting for sharing this image. It’s one of several in their excellent article, “Honoring Creativity in the Classroom.” 

At the top of this square photo montage is a picture of conductor Jerry Junkin and the Dallas Winds standing at the end of a concert. Below is the photo of “Lenny and the Band” on the vintage LP cover. That image is courtesy of Amazon ASIN #B01HLDYR02. The Dallas Winds logo is courtesy of The Dallas Winds. The photo of Jerry & band is from HighResAudio.com. The words say, “G. S. Norwood’s ‘Orchestra Dreams’.”
Orchestra Dreams

Orchestra Dreams

A guest post by my sister, G. S. Norwood I was raised on classical music.  When everyone else my age was arguing Beatles v. Stones, Jan and I were discussing Bernstein v. Ormandy.  So, when I reached the fifth grade and my teachers asked if I was interested in joining the band, taking up the clarinet seemed like the obvious thing to do. I loved it.  Learning new skills kept me from getting bored in our rural school, and gave me…

Read More Read More

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,…

Read More Read More

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…

Read More Read More

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…

Read More Read More

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…

Read More Read More