It’s all a long time ago now but I spent the summer of 1969 playing. With a shiny new degree in Eng.Lit and headed to London University in September to qualify as a teacher. I saw this notice in the college student handout. I went up to London for the weekend, met Rhaune Laslett, spent time on the playground and…
A recent visit to Montreal found us at the MAC Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montréal Fortified with coffee and breakfast treats at Olive et Gourmando on Rue St. Paul, we walked up Rue Saint-Pierre and onto Rue de Bleury to Rue Sainte-Catherine. We managed to miss the entrance – even though it was right in front of us – but nonetheless…
It’s a late afternoon on a winter Saturday of my childhood. And that means the big Ferguson radio – the one that had the exotic place names on the dial – Hilversum, Strasbourg, Luxembourg, Limoges, Toulouse – is warmed up. The fire is lit, the coal scuttle is full and the kettle is on. And my father – who was…
Friends in the UK who usually come to visit in August were prevented by an illness this year. Big disappointment, but there it is. On the visit last year we got into some rainy day playing with art – painting rocks and leaves and acorns and so on. I was looking forward to some more art fun this summer. (They…
Looks like The Failure Toy is coming soon from the good folks at 21Toys. The Empathy Toy worked and the The Failure Toy has lots of promise. This should be fun. And this is what they say about it: The Failure Toy It’s really hard to talk about failure. Failure is an ugly word, but studies show that “kids fail less…
The good folks at 21 Toys are at it again. First it was TThe Empathy Toy and now The Failure Toy The Empathy Toy is beautifully constructed and a pleasure to hold. Not to mention fun to play with and helpful in provoking communication and thinking about oneself and others. I’m looking forward to playing to fail! So much healthier…
We had some glorious fall days last week (as well as some much-needed rain). It was perfect weather for the soccer and cross-country teams. I took advantage of the sunshine to visit the lower school at recess. Plans were being made, plots hatched, games created and imagination extended. And plenty of opportunity to run, slide, chase, ride, jump, swing, hang and…
Great to see these video tweets yesterday. Thanks Jenn and Jill. Making art is messy! @PoughkeepsieDay pic.twitter.com/EL9jE1nx5q — Jennifer Jordan (@artteacherjenn) September 16, 2015 "Air Lock" at the middle school cooperative field day today! @PoughkeepsieDay pic.twitter.com/7ioWh8Jlnr — Jill Walsh (@JillDoesPE) September 16, 2015 Hoppity hops were GREAT! pic.twitter.com/lNDkSpNDX4 — Jill Walsh (@JillDoesPE) September 16, 2015
Unless the mass of workers are to be blind cogs and pinions in the apparatus they employ, they must have some understanding of the physical and social facts behind and ahead of the material and appliances with which they are dealing. – Schools of Tomorrow John Dewey; Evelyn Dewey 1915 Children today need to understand, just as fully as did previous…
Here is child psychologist Dr. Megan Koschnick on why Early Childhood Standards of Common Core are Developmentally Inappropriate. This is her presentation from a 2013 conference at the University of Notre Dame entitled “The Changing Role of Education in America: Consequences of the Common Core.” Why do we care if Common Core standards are age inappropriate? Well, you can answer that…
It’s been a cold winter here in the Hudson Valley. Poughkeepsie records only go back to 1949 but this February was the coldest with a whopping 12.7 degrees below average temperature. And then March came in like the proverbial lion breaking another record with -2 degrees F in the first week. And then there was the above average snowfall. With…
A few years ago Ken Robinson urged us to bring on the learning revolution. Well some took him seriously. The people behind 21 Toys for example. They have developed toys for elementary school and corporate retreats and everywhere in between: Toys as Tools for the 21st Century Teaching Empathy, Failure, Creative Dialogue & Collaboration Take a look: They are in the footsteps…
I like the work of the RSA very much and enjoy their articles, posts and animations. But their continued use of the noun “creatives” is becoming wearing. Here’s the latest: Street based business training for young creatives When I hear or read the word creative as a noun it’s often in the plural – as above – as in statements like;…
I’ve been playing with making visuals for the design thinking process. Here’s the latest.
I love these quotations from the National Institute for Play home page. “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” Plato “The truly great advances of this generation will be made by those who can make outrageous connections, and only a mind which knows how to play can do that.” Nagle…