Now I am going to go take a nap!
Monday, June 29, 2009
New Member to the Nixon Family
There was a new member added to the Nixon family this weekend! Noah Nixon arrived Sunday at 3:55 p.m. at a light 9 lbs. 11 oz. Wow! Everyone is health and doing great. Needless to say not much has happened as far as lesson production this week but should get back into action in the next week or so.
Now I am going to go take a nap!
Now I am going to go take a nap!
Friday, June 12, 2009
Are Schools Killing Our Childrens Creativity?
“Creativity is as important in education as literacy and we should treat it with the same status” -- Ken Robinson
I watched a very interesting video by Ken Robinson on how our children are loosing their creativity. This is one of the reasons we decide to home school our children, to give them an intentional education. But I think we need to be careful as home school parents not to fall into some of the same traps as public schools.
“Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson challenges the way we're educating our children. He champions a radical rethink of our school systems, to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligence.”
I watched a very interesting video by Ken Robinson on how our children are loosing their creativity. This is one of the reasons we decide to home school our children, to give them an intentional education. But I think we need to be careful as home school parents not to fall into some of the same traps as public schools.
“Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson challenges the way we're educating our children. He champions a radical rethink of our school systems, to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligence.”
Friday, June 5, 2009
Preparing Our Children To Change The World - Visual Arts Training Is Key
“Let them learn to build a slingshot and they will learn to think through the science and math required to execute the project. Let them learn to bake a cake and they will learn to use logical processes and apply math skills. Let them learn to paint a picture and they will learn to see the world differently, to make critical judgments, and to solve problems.” -- Brandon Nixon
My wife and I are constantly asking ourselves the question, “Are we preparing our children to live a life that positively impacts our world?”
As I observe adults I interact with daily, there are two distinct groups: those whose minds are engaged in energetic, profound and thoughtful activity, and those whose minds are filled with complacent, lethargic, and surface activity. The results that these two groups achieve are undeniably different. When given an outcome to accomplish, those that have the initiative and thinking skills to “figure it out” excel in life!
We do not want our children to fall into the shallow thinking category. So we ask, “What can we do to prepare them to be deep thinking, logical, problem solving adults, able to lead our nation and change the world?”
“Learning through the arts promotes the idea that there is more than one solution to a problem, or more than one answer to a question,” said Elliot Eisner, a professor emeritus of education at Stanford University.
In my art class, for example, students are taught to look through a viewfinder with one eye, so that they lose their depth perception and see the world as if it were a two-dimensional picture with flat lines, shapes and colors. Ultimately, the exercise enables students to grasp alternative ways of seeing.
“Students who study the arts seriously are taught to see better, to envision, to persist, to be playful and learn from mistakes, to make critical judgments and justify such judgments,” conclude Ellen Winner and Lois Hetland, authors of the book Studio Thinking: The Real Benefits of Visual Arts Education.
Training our children to be creative builds deep thinking skills. The process of creating things is invaluable in deepening the child’s ability to logically think. Let them learn to build a slingshot and they will learn to think through the science and math required to execute the project. Let them learn to bake a cake and they will learn to use logical processes and apply math skills. Let them learn to paint a picture and they will learn to see the world differently, to make critical judgments, and to solve problems.
Training in visual arts engages the mind and teaches the children to ask better questions. These questions are the key to critical thinking. When we ask better questions, we arrive at better solutions.
What are you doing to build these skills in your children? Will your children be prepared to change the world?
Fine Art Experience can help in this process by providing fine art lessons targeted to build critical thinking skills in your children. Click here to find out more.
My wife and I are constantly asking ourselves the question, “Are we preparing our children to live a life that positively impacts our world?”
As I observe adults I interact with daily, there are two distinct groups: those whose minds are engaged in energetic, profound and thoughtful activity, and those whose minds are filled with complacent, lethargic, and surface activity. The results that these two groups achieve are undeniably different. When given an outcome to accomplish, those that have the initiative and thinking skills to “figure it out” excel in life!
We do not want our children to fall into the shallow thinking category. So we ask, “What can we do to prepare them to be deep thinking, logical, problem solving adults, able to lead our nation and change the world?”
“Learning through the arts promotes the idea that there is more than one solution to a problem, or more than one answer to a question,” said Elliot Eisner, a professor emeritus of education at Stanford University.
In my art class, for example, students are taught to look through a viewfinder with one eye, so that they lose their depth perception and see the world as if it were a two-dimensional picture with flat lines, shapes and colors. Ultimately, the exercise enables students to grasp alternative ways of seeing.
“Students who study the arts seriously are taught to see better, to envision, to persist, to be playful and learn from mistakes, to make critical judgments and justify such judgments,” conclude Ellen Winner and Lois Hetland, authors of the book Studio Thinking: The Real Benefits of Visual Arts Education.
Training our children to be creative builds deep thinking skills. The process of creating things is invaluable in deepening the child’s ability to logically think. Let them learn to build a slingshot and they will learn to think through the science and math required to execute the project. Let them learn to bake a cake and they will learn to use logical processes and apply math skills. Let them learn to paint a picture and they will learn to see the world differently, to make critical judgments, and to solve problems.
Training in visual arts engages the mind and teaches the children to ask better questions. These questions are the key to critical thinking. When we ask better questions, we arrive at better solutions.
What are you doing to build these skills in your children? Will your children be prepared to change the world?
Fine Art Experience can help in this process by providing fine art lessons targeted to build critical thinking skills in your children. Click here to find out more.
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