Resources · 06-28-2014

Here is the first post from last year and the welcome page. Since you're reading this post today, thank you for being part of the creativity!

Resources · 06-24-2014

Teaching gifted and talented children requires a flexible and supportive learning environment filled with interesting and challenging material. The following list of questions is designed to help teachers assess the effectiveness of the learning environment for gifted students. These helpful questions (and many others) can be found in the book, How the Gifted Brain Learns (second edition) by David A. Sousa. Have you helped students become more aware of their learning styles? Have you asked...

Activities · 06-21-2014

Upon entering my classroom, students would often head straight to the “wordplay of the day” section of the room, where I had warmups to jumpstart our thinking. They loved the challenge of solving word puzzles, codes, palindromes, and especially anagrams. What is an anagram? It is a word (or phrase) that is made by rearranging the letters. For example, face can be rearranged to form the word cafe. They see is an anagram of the eyes. The following Anagram Concentration Game will introduce...

Books · 06-14-2014

Summer is ripe for opportunities to exercise creativity and fun. With the clever book, Sneaky Art: Crafty Surprises to Hide in Plain Sight, your child can create art projects that she can sneak into unsuspecting places for others to discover and enjoy! “Each project is meant to be displayed in a public place, for people you may or may not know, in a made-you-look-twice spirit of fun.”

Resources · 06-05-2014

Fans of children's books will appreciate my recent good fortune in meeting two Caldecott Award-winning writer/illustrators: David Wiesner and Paul O. Zelinsky. I can't tell you how many times I have shared their books with children, but I can tell you that both men were funny, observant, and generous with their time. I was able to meet them thanks to Mr. If Then Creativity. He was returning their artwork, which was included in an exhibit he had recently curated, Beyond Words, The Artistry of...

Books · 06-02-2014

Children adore planting seeds and digging in the garden. Gardening is also a wonderful way to promote interest in nature. The following books offer "fresh air" inspiration for young children (ages 1 to 6). Consider reading them in the garden for the happiest of learning environments.