What's Your Creativity Quotient?

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: I'm a volunteer for a non profit and 100% creative problem solving program that benefits students from Kindergarten-College. I'm based in California but this program is actually found all over the world. We have created a new FREE e-newsletter to inspire/empower parents, teachers, and others to make creativity more of a focus in the lives of our children. See our intro message to get a better feel for this effort.... : "Creativity is a critical, but often overlooked, element of education. Did you know that you can greatly enhance a child’s love of learning, simply by introducing more opportunities for creativity into his/her life? This FREE "e-newsletter" will focus on sharing sample lesson plans, resources/links, articles, book reviews, and other appropriate information." : Here is a copy of our premiere issue. We offer no ad space. We are simply attempting to share information. Any input you have would be much appreciated. Please consider sharing this opportunity with others in your circle. : --------------------------------------------- : WHAT'S YOUR CREATIVITY QUOTIENT (C.Q.)? : VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1 : Thursday, July 25, 2002 : --------------------------------------------- : "What's Your Creativity Quotient (C.Q.)?" is a FREE e-newsletter for parents, teachers, and others who wish to increase opportunities for creative fun in the lives of children. : Submissions and/or articles for future issues of "What's Your Creativity Quotient (C.Q.)?" can be sent to Felicia M. Borges, California Creativity State Marketing Director, at feliciaborges@yahoo.com. Please provide source, author, and other : appropriate information to be shared. : --------------------------------------------- : IN THIS ISSUE: : 1. "World Class Programs" offers six steps for developing creative solutions to problems. : 2. "Creative Communication" shares lesson plans and tips for teaching poetry to children. : 3. Book Review: "Playful Parenting: A Bold New Way to Nurture Close Connections, Solve Behavior Problems, and Encourage Children's Confidence" written by Lawrence J. Cohen, PhD (FMB) : 4. Craft tips, creative lesson plans, and more from "i-craft.com" : 5. FREE field trip for your group! : 6. A Lesson in Creativity: PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD! (FMB) : --------------------------------------------- : 1. "World Class Programs" offers six steps for developing creative solutions to : problems. : "In today's complex world the most important thing you can do for your child is to teach him or her how to think." –Edward de Bono : Creative Problem Solving (CPS) allows for the use of divergent and convergent thinking in order to develop creative solutions to problems. Six steps are listed and explained. (Included are great focusing questions, extending questions, clarifying questions, etc.) http://www.worldclassprograms.com.au/concepts.htm : --------------------------------------------- : 2. "Creative Communication" shares tips and lesson plans for teaching poetry. Visit http://www.poeticpower.com/Frebies.htm and follow links to "Poetry Teaching Tips from past issues of Poetic Power." You can also sign up for a FREE subscription for future issues. : --------------------------------------------- : 3. Book Review: "Playful Parenting: A Bold New Way to Nurture Close : Connections, Solve Behavior Problems, and Encourage Children's Confidence" written by Lawrence J. Cohen, PhD (FMB) : I had the pleasure of meeting the book's author at this year's National Association of Independent Schools Conference in San Francisco, California. I really like the message in this book. There are also many practical ideas and easy to follow instructions to help you deal effectively with children, at THEIR level. I have personally used many of the techniques in the book with my own child (as well as other children and even a few adults). If you want to lecture/discipline a little less and laugh/play a whole lot more, I would encourage you to get this book! : Book Summary: "Playful Parenting is a guide to having more fun with young people of all ages, as they tackle new accomplishments, or recover from being hurt, or simply when they are bursting with youthful exuberance. Through Playful Parenting--joining children in their world, focusing on connection and confidence, giggling and roughhousing, reversing the roles and following your child's lead-- : you will learn how to help them through their emotional blocks, handle their strong emotions (and your own), deal effectively with sibling rivalry and other tricky problems, and rethink your ideas about discipline and punishment…written with love and humor, brimming with good advice and revealing anecdotes, and grounded in the latest research, Playful Parenting will make you laugh even as it makes you wise in the ways of being a happy, effective, enthusiastic parent." : www.playfulparenting.com (Paperback now available!) : --------------------------------------------- : 4. Get more out of your creative time with these craft tips from "i-craft.com" : "The less time you spend correcting mistakes or fussing with set-up and clean-up, the more pleasure you get!" www.i-craft.com has some great "craft" ideas and tips for working with children. Here are just a few: : · Remember this adage: clean hands, clean project. : · Use plastic party table covers for messy crafts. They protect better than newspaper and can be used more than once. : · When working with cardboard and glue, lightly wet the underside of the cardboard and it will dry flat. : · Prevent paper from ripping when affixing tape by applying the tape to clothing first to reduce its stickiness. : · Cut Styrofoam® by using a serrated knife well waxed with a candle stub or paraffin. : · Heat from a blow drier causes strings of hot glue to disintegrate immediately. : · When doing decoupage, use rounded lacquered chopsticks to smooth out any air bubbles or wrinkles after gluing. You can usually find lacquered chopsticks (which are smoother than un-lacquered sticks) in Asian markets or gift shops. : · To keep the pattern stationary, have children place a rolled piece of masking tape between the pattern and the surface to be cut. Cut around pattern and surface simultaneously. : While at "i-craft.com" also check out the "Teacher Place" where you'll find : · Creative lesson plans that incorporate crafts with core curriculum subjects. http://www.i-craft.com/teachers/plans00/index.html : · Making the Connection to Project Based Learning in Your Curriculum. http://www.i-craft.com/teachers/connect_teachers.pdf : --------------------------------------------- : 5. FREE field trip for your group! : Visit www.fieldtripfactory.com to schedule a FREE field trip! Whether you are a teacher, a parent or a Destination ImagiNation® Team Manager, "Field Trip Factory" can meet the needs of your group! "Field Trip Factory" offers FREE field trips for children to enable them to learn valuable life skills, make smart choices, and live healthy lives. Does it sound too good to be true? Visit their site to see for yourself! : --------------------------------------------- : 6. A Lesson in Creativity: PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD! (FMB) : Mealtime can provide a great learning opportunity for a child. Consider one of these ideas: : · Practice making geometric shapes out of cheese cubes and pretzel sticks. Try making cubes, pyramids or other geometric shapes. For more fun, try making a watchtower for a pretzel pirate or a footbridge between two cups. : · Create mosaic tile designs out of graham crackers (base), peanut butter (grout), and trail mix, candies or mini-marshmallows (tiles). Sort tiles by size, color, and shape before creating a design. : · Create a modern art sculpture using slices of fruit and/or veggies. Use toothpicks or skewers (be careful!) to connect pieces together. : · Build a sand castle out of pancakes. Use cookie cutters or a butter knife to cut basic shapes. (Add a moat for maple syrup!) : · Draw a picture or write your name with cooked spaghetti. When project is completed, cover with marinara and dive in. (Don't forget to slurp!) : · Make your own ice cream flavors. Allow vanilla ice cream to soften slightly and divide small portions into disposable bowls. Add a flavor to each bowl (such as candies, cookies, peanut butter, maple syrup, chocolate syrup, strawberries, mashed banana, etc.) and refreeze. Play ice cream parlor (role playing) or conduct a taste test (evaluation and comparison) by defining criteria, creating a : survey form, and comparing all flavors to pick the best one. : --------------------------------------------- : "What's Your Creativity Quotient (C.Q.)?" is sent out once a week. Subscribers can unsubscribe at anytime. Addresses will not be traded or sold. To learn more about this group, visit: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CreativityQuotient : Did you enjoy this issue? Share it with someone you know! Anyone can : subscribe to this FREE e-newsletter by sending an e-mail to: : CreativityQuotient-subscribe@yahoogroups.com : --------------------------------------------- : California Creativity is a non-profit and 100% volunteer run creative problem solving program that benefits children, Kindergarten-College. By administering Destination ImagiNation's® fun and wacky brand of curriculum, California Creativity nurtures and celebrates creativity, develops teamwork and problem solving skills and promotes divergent thinking among participants (and volunteers) throughout California. : For more information, contact: : Felicia M. Borges, State Marketing Director : California Creativity/Destination ImagiNation® : 5922 67th Street, Sacramento, California 95824 : (916) 388-1903 eve/weekends : feliciaborges@yahoo.com : www.californiacreativity.org (for California specific information) : www.destinationimagination.org (for program specific information)

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