Participating in theater is about so much more than playing dress-up. There are significant cognitive, physical, emotional and social benefits to participating in live theater. Many of these benefits are just what our visual-spatial kids need, but are also a safe, fun way for our more auditory-sequential kids to develop their “other” side.
This weekend was the 25th anniversary of our local children’s theater group. The Children’s Theatre of Elgin was founded by two brothers, both of whom are attorneys, and is dedicated to “live theater for children, by children”. Parent volunteers provide most of the labor, while grants allow them to use of state of the art theater facilities. The group puts on four shows a year with student performers ranging from ages seven to twenty one, depending on the show. What a great, creative outlet for your visual learner this summer!
Looking for local activities that cater to kids and families this summer? Look no further than your fingertips! The internet is a great resource for endless ideas of local fun in your community. Check out some of the great websites we found for cities around the nation:
While the typical family is enjoying a casual summer schedule, research shows that the typical student brain is also taking a summer break and forgetting up to 40% of the information learned during the school year. Worse yet, can take up to 6 weeks to get back into the swing of learning once a student returns to school. In the average school year, that can add up to almost 50% learning loss overall, an overwhelming statistic in a make-it-or-break-it educational environment. The good news, however, is that while it’s easy to forget – it’s just as simple to put a plug in the drain and keep that brain active, engaged and learning while still having fun through the summer break.
Summer is a great time of year — the sun shines, days get longer and our schedules loosen. This makes it the perfect time to have a little fun and a lot of R & R, but how much of your family’s downtime is being spent in front of the TV or the Xbox? We’ve compiled a list of our favorite activities for your kids and your family to do this summer…
Summer is a great time to get children involved in outdoor activities. When our children were young, our favorite family vacations were spent in northern Wisconsin. Each summer, we gathered our own four kids and a group of carefully chosen friends and headed north to play. Our plans included swimming, hiking, boating, fishing, game playing, bonfires — just about any kind of unstructured family fun. When we started the Wisconsin cabin tradition, our first cabins were pretty rustic, with few perks beyond running water. Over the years, the cabins have included a few more luxuries. I was determined to keep the focus on interactive play, so the first thing I did when we arrived was unplug the television and bury it in a closet. Initially, the kids were confused, but quickly caught on and took great pride in their ability to go without.
There is tremendous value in developing children’s creativity and learning abilities, but being creative is not just about the arts. Thinking creatively is the ability to see new solutions to a problem, to connect disparate thoughts and find and apply new ideas. This is a process of divergent thinking which comes naturally to right-brain, visual-spatial […]
While at Northrop Grumman speaking about the nuances of left and right-brain thinking, I saw a friend of mine who is a software engineer. After the presentation, he identified himself as a right-brain, visual-spatial thinker. This friend is also a musician — an excellent guitar player — so I asked how he thought that impacted his abilities as an engineer? He felt his participation in music had helped him develop the patterning, sequencing and innovative abilities that enabled him be so creative.
I have been teaching young kids how to draw for over 20 years. The classes and teaching method were popular and effective, so I made a business out of it. But it’s never really been about the business. All I wanted was to work with kids — to do art with kids — to teach and empower — to see their sweet faces light up with every new discovery. My young students thrived when they got the “how to” information they craved. And while teaching children how to draw, they taught me — again and again — how important art is to them.
A few days ago, I shared the hours and hours of summer fun my kids had with Klutz books. Today I want to share a bit about what makes these books so special, along with some favorite titles and where to find them.
I’ve gathered an assortment of fun activities to keep your kids busy. There are activities you can do In the House and activities that are Out of the House. And within each category, there are things kids can do independently and things to do as a family. You could even get a bit of mom time in!