Several years ago, Mark and I began bouncing ideas around for a series of children’s books that would help teach and reinforce positive values to children. We wanted this series to complement the book that Mark wrote for adults called “Give a Damn: The Ticket to Cultural Change.” We decided that our main character for this series should be an unusual creature, not often found in children’s literature, and one that would inspire curiosity. For this reason, we decided to

As Sir Ken Robinson asserted in his popular TED Talk, “Do Schools Kill Creativity,” “all kids have tremendous talents, and we squander them pretty ruthlessly.”  Robinson explained that creativity is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.   He further asserts that children will take a chance as they are not frightened of being wrong. Although Robinson states being wrong is not the same as being creative, if our children are not

Hands-on learning is a form of education in which children learn by doing. Instead of just listening to a teacher or instructor lecture about a given subject, the student is able to engage with the subject matter to solve a problem or create something. A few examples of hands-on learning include: Experimenting as part of science class Reenacting a historical event as part of history class Solving problems with manipulatives or creating models as part of math class Participating in

Caterpillars turning into butterflies, bean seeds sprouting and growing into nourishing food, and watching the ever-changing phases of the moon are wonderful events that show us how to slow down, enjoy, and explore. More than anything, we want our children to be captivated by all the natural world offers. For it’s that captivation that will lead to the desire for deeper understanding. The universe holds unlimited lessons for us and is filled with what can seem like magic! There is mounting

It’s beneficial for children at every age to talk about connections. Many of us learned about the relationships between natural things from the two-dimensional world of science textbooks. We absorbed a sequence of facts about various topics in a linear progression. Yet we do not live in a two-dimensional world; very few things move linearly, and science is filled with multi-dimensional relationships that cannot be fully understood or appreciated through the rote memorization of facts. These associations should be established

In the ideal learning environment, students and teachers work together in a space that includes mutual respect and appreciation. In this environment, all students feel valued, and teachers know how each student’s developmental needs and interests affect learning. Teachers identify each child’s strengths and find ways to nurture and develop these gifts and talents. This is not an easy thing to do.       Gifted students often demonstrate exceptional abilities that set them apart from their same-age peers. A child might have