To Creative parents:
This link to PBS assures all of us that creative children's programming is alive and well on PBS!
Check it out and Enjoy!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Monday, November 8, 2010
Simple Truths - We Hope You Enjoyed the movie!
This is a wonderful video from Simple Truths. All parents need to know when to make the push. Sometimes it isn't as clear for us as it is for the eagles, but have faith that sometimes it is the correct thing to do. Enjoy
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Creative Parenting #3:
What is a creative parent?
Is it someone who fosters a love of the arts, literature, music, dance, or theater in their child? or is a creative parent someone who fosters a love of learning in their child for any subject? Can Mathematicians and Scientists be creative? I would contend that Scientist and Mathematicians are some of the most creative people. It's just a different form of creativity than those who are Artists-visual or performing.
So what is a creative parent?
So what is a creative parent?
Is it the parent who has all kinds of projects going on with their kids at the expense of the housework? Is it someone who keeps odd things around the house because they might lead to a teaching moment? Is it someone who purchases paints, glitter, papers to create art? Or someone who plays music for their children, fostering a love of sound? Or is it the parent who wants their child to learn how to think?
What is a creative parent?
What is a creative parent?
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Creative Parenting #2
My stepfather was often heard to say that he hoped the one thing he had taught his daughters was how to think. That "how to think" was more important than reading or writing or arithmetic. Now he wasn't talking about a certain belief or religion. He wasn't talking about a certain political affiliation.What he meant by "how to think" was simply a way to put ourselves in a situation and reason it out. He meant that he had tried to pass on to his children the ability to problem solve.
Now if I were to take that statement and add to it, I would say that I have learned there are often many solutions to certain problems. If one solution doesn't work, always there is another to be found. I think this innate belief is my stepfather's legacy to his daughters. I don't believe everyone has this ingrained belief system, so perhaps my stepfather was correct in believing it was more important to teach his children how to think not always what to think.
Many people try to tell children there is only one way to do something...the right way, but perhaps in doing this we squash the natural ability to think something through to a conclusion, test the conclusion then rethink the problem if the solution doesn't work.
Sort of reminds me of the old adage of teaching a man how to fish so he will be able to feed himself forever rather than giving the man a fish to have for just that one meal.
Now if I were to take that statement and add to it, I would say that I have learned there are often many solutions to certain problems. If one solution doesn't work, always there is another to be found. I think this innate belief is my stepfather's legacy to his daughters. I don't believe everyone has this ingrained belief system, so perhaps my stepfather was correct in believing it was more important to teach his children how to think not always what to think.
Many people try to tell children there is only one way to do something...the right way, but perhaps in doing this we squash the natural ability to think something through to a conclusion, test the conclusion then rethink the problem if the solution doesn't work.
Sort of reminds me of the old adage of teaching a man how to fish so he will be able to feed himself forever rather than giving the man a fish to have for just that one meal.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Creative Parenting #1
I often like to revisit simple definitions of words in order to find meaning.....
For instance, the Random House Dictionary defines the word creative(adj) as 1. having the power of creating. 2. resulting from originality of thought or expression or 3. productive or generative.
And the word parent(n) as 1. a father or mother 2. a source, origin or cause or 3. any organism that produces or generates another.
We create our children. Not only in the strictest genetic sense, but also in how they think, what approach they take when problem solving, and even in how they respond to other relationships in their lives. Shouldn't we as parents become more aware of how we shape these creations fostered into our care? Shouldn't we offer them the best (or better) of ourselves, not only as providers of food, clothing and basic necessities, but also as examples on how to approach the world with open minds and open hearts? And how do we create new approaches to parenting when we are limited by our own set of experiences?
These are the types of discussions I hope to have on this blog page. I hope other parents will join the discussion.
For instance, the Random House Dictionary defines the word creative(adj) as 1. having the power of creating. 2. resulting from originality of thought or expression or 3. productive or generative.
And the word parent(n) as 1. a father or mother 2. a source, origin or cause or 3. any organism that produces or generates another.
We create our children. Not only in the strictest genetic sense, but also in how they think, what approach they take when problem solving, and even in how they respond to other relationships in their lives. Shouldn't we as parents become more aware of how we shape these creations fostered into our care? Shouldn't we offer them the best (or better) of ourselves, not only as providers of food, clothing and basic necessities, but also as examples on how to approach the world with open minds and open hearts? And how do we create new approaches to parenting when we are limited by our own set of experiences?
These are the types of discussions I hope to have on this blog page. I hope other parents will join the discussion.
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