Wednesday, January 13, 2016
The Source of Creativity is Within!
How do we get closer to the source of CREATIVITY?
Maybe eradicating the fear of being wrong could help.
Fear shuts down creativity.
Sometimes this fear shows up in unexpected ways. For example a parent who is concerned about their
child getting a high paying job may discourage the arts and music for fear that
they will not make it on creativity alone.
Of course this is just one example but Sir Ken Robinson
(educator and speaker) speaks more on how these good intentions yet filled with
fear can be killing creativity. Fear is
something we are taught. Kids don’t have
fear naturally. Ken Robinson relates a
story he heard about a child who is drawing a picture and the teacher comes
over and asks what she is drawing. The
little girl replies that she is drawing a picture of God. The teacher responds by saying, “But nobody
knows what God looks like.” The little
girl says, “They will in a minute.”
The point of the story being that kids don’t have the fear
of being wrong rather it is something that is taught to them. Kids will take a chance; they will take a go
at it. We must be prepared to be wrong
in order to be able to come up with anything original. Sir Ken Robinson says we are educating people
out of their capacities. Mistakes are
being stigmatized. Picasso once said
that all children are born artists but the problem is to remain an artist as we
grow up. The challenge is to not get educated
out of being creative.
Robinson defines creativity as the process of putting
imagination to work; applied imagination.
Seeing the world through other people’s eyes; empathizing with the way
someone else sees the world takes imagination.
And so through our imaginations we can create.
A poem by Kikakou comes to mind…
A blind child
guided by his mother,
admires the cherry blossoms.
guided by his mother,
admires the cherry blossoms.
This seems to state that if we look at things from other
people’s perspectives; through our imagination, we can see more and be more creative.
Sir Ken Robinson is passionate about creativity and
education. Watch his speech on the Ted
Talk stage at http://n.pr/1Zut6Jd. For more ways to encourage creativity to
flourish check out SmartGamesAndToys
site and the create section
for arts and crafts
as well as imagination
play.
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
Creativity is an expression...an art.
What is creativity and how do you encourage it in yourself and your children?
Take a look at what the famous singer/songwriter Sting has to say.
NPR/Ted Talk radio host Guy Roz interviewed the famous
singer and songwriter Sting about creativity.
He asked Sting how he would define creativity. After a little chuckle Sting replied, “For me
it’s the ability to take a risk. To
actually put yourself on the line and risk ridicule, being criticized or
whatever but you have an idea you think you want to put out there and you must
take that risk.”
Sting said in the
interview he was able to dream a lot as a child. He remembered working early in the morning
with his father who was a milk man. He
says they did not talk much and so he was allowed to dream and he would
fantasize about possible futures he might have.
He says that experience put him in the creative mode at a young age.
Are you giving your child the right tools to express creativity? Check out SmartGamesAndToys site and click on
the create section and find
the perfect toys and games that will give your child the opportunity to express
their creative side.
Check out the entire radio interview with Sting…http://n.pr/1RAbVBv.
Friday, January 1, 2016
Fun Scientific Facts Your Child Needs To Know
Discover these scientific facts to share with your young scientist.
If you are a parent you have probably been hit with questions like "Why is the sky blue?" and "Where does the moon go in the day time?" Questions and curiosity are important to a young learner so continue to encourage your child's inquisitive mind. Science is a fantastic field that promotes questioning, researching and experimenting but here are some important facts to know now.
1.) The sky is blue BECAUSE of a process called scattering. Sunlight might appear like a white light but it really is a mixture of all the colors in the rainbow.
These colors each have different wavelengths, frequencies and energies. The blue color has shorter wavelengths and higher frequencies thus making it pass through the air faster and stronger. The shorter wavelengths (blue) is absorbed by gas molecules in the air and makes the blue light SCATTER in different directions. The blue light gets scattered in all directions and makes the sky look blue. SmartGamesAndToys has fun science information in the science activities section under discover.
2.) The moon has different phases and it takes 30 days for the moon to circle the earth. This is a helpful video to watch for more information on the phases of the moon...Click here for the video...Moon Phase Video.
3.) Volcanoes erupt when they are active and hot magma, gas and ash escapes from an opening in the earths surface sometimes in a violent eruption. Volcanoes are usually located where tectonic plates meet. Hot liquid rock under the Earth's surface is known as magma; it is called lava after it comes out of a volcano. Check out this rock cycle activity to learn more about what is above and below the Earth's crust.
4.) Metamorphic rocks are formed by extreme pressure and heat. Believe it or not but SmartGamesAndToys has metamorphic rock collections AND metamorphic rock study kits!
5.) Around 1% of the Earth's mass is oxygen.
Check back for more fun scientific facts at SmartGamesAndToys.
Thursday, December 10, 2015
The Wonderful World Of Building Blocks...And How They Enhance Children's Brain Development
Getting the most from your SmartGamesAndToys building blocks
They might not be as flashy as a robot or instantaneous gratification like a video game but building blocks have a wide range of benefits for the BRAIN!
Check out these activities that you can share with your children using
building blocks. In this article you
will find some great reasons why building blocks are a great tool for learning
as well as six fun ways to engage your child in the fun learning environment of
building blocks. Also, for more
information check out SmartGamesAndToys
for our selection of building blocks
in the discover section.
When
the structures your child has built with building blocks fall they experience
some lessons. Children learn about
gravity as they watch the previously stacked blocks tumble to the ground. They also learn the lesson of impermanence. The structure was once there and now it’s
gone! Spatial reasoning skills are
developed as they discover if a piece will fit, or if it will make the shape
they want. They improve their math
skills by counting the pieces or comparing the size and width of pieces. Even language skills can be improved as the
child discusses what they are doing.
So
now you know some of the reasons why building blocks are a great toy for
engaging your child’s mind and here are six fun ways to put these building
blocks to use…
- Give your child some other toys such as some people, animals and cars and have them build structures with their building blocks to compliment the other toys. For example, they could build a barn for the animals, a house for the people and a parking garage for the cars. This stimulates creativity and imagination.
- Tell them a story with a structure in it and then have them build the structure. Have them create a new story about their structure to tell to you. This encourages a story narrative to be developed and created. Try to determine which project they enjoy more…if they enjoy building the structure or telling the story. *NOTE: If they enjoy building the structure you may have a future engineer on your hands…if however, they enjoy creating and telling a story you may have a future novelist!
- Encourage your child to play with others in a cooperative manner to build an entire city structure with building blocks. This encourages team work and strengthens social skills.
- Draw a picture of a structure and have your child build that structure. This helps them see a model or blue print and then create it in a three dimensional form.
- Sit with your child and as they pick up the block pieces ask them to say the name of each shape. This helps them with name recall and geometric shapes.
- With SmartGamesAndToys Chubby Edublocks take three or four pieces and make a structure. Ask your child to recreate that structure. It sounds easy but your child will have to count each knob on the block to match the structure you have created and make it align properly. This forces your child to keep track of several different things at the same time.
There
have been observational studies showing that kids who spent more time with
building blocks scored higher on tests of spatial ability. (Jirout and Newcombe 2015; Levine et al
2012) And engineers frequently say
construction toys and building blocks inspired their careers. There is a way that the process of taking
things apart and putting them back together help explain how things work. Whether your child is a future engineer or
not, playing with educational toys helps them learn what they are enthusiastic
about.
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Teach your children how to be emotionally intelligent
Learning to express emotions in a healthy manner is a crucial part of child development
Emotional intelligence is not mentioned in schools as much as math or science but it is important for child development. SmartGamesAndToys is pleased to announce the Feelings Friend that can help children learn to handle emotions in a healthy manner.
Emotional
development is not just a trait that a person has naturally. Often it is developed with practice and
instruction.
For example, it is said that girls are more in touch with their emotions and feelings than boys. This is probably likely because girls are more often encouraged to express their emotions. So with a little encouragement you can help your children begin to understand things they feel and express them in a healthy fashion. Here are some ways to help your child express emotions.
-Brainstorm feeling words like mad, sad, happy, afraid, excited, surprised.
-Take the Feelings Friend and have your child place the corresponding facial expression with each emotion being discussed.
-Next
ask your child how they might respond to the Feelings Friend after each
different emotion.
This
teaches your child how to be empathetic to other people’s feelings. So for example when the Feelings Friend has a
sad face on you might encourage your child to ask the friend why they are
sad. Ask your child how they feel when
sad and how they would want to be treated.
These are great lessons for handling emotions in a healthy way and also
to respond well to other people’s emotions.
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