Giving Students with Autism a Creative Chance
At the Creativity Project event in Sydney last week, Professor Sandra Jones takes the stage, followed closely by her co-presenter, author, Lincoln P. Jones. Their topic is 'How educators can help and inspire young people and develop their creativity' and they have travelled a journey to find those answers together. Read full article
Do Your Children Play on Smartphones in Restaurants?
Late last year, I was sitting in a pizzeria in Balmain having dinner with my then 14-year-old. The restaurant was full with most of the tables taken up with families, not a great surprise on an early Saturday night. However, as I looked around the room, I noticed a pretty astounding thing. Apart from our table, every single child in the restaurant – and I mean every single child – was playing on some smartphone, tablet or games device. And these were children of all ages, from kids in prams and high chairs to older teenagers. Read full article
Mind and Its Potential Conference - Win a Gold Pass
How do we learn? How can we reach our potential? How should we live our lives? Now in it's 7th amazing year, Mind & Its Potential is a fascinating exploration of how to apply the new science of the mind to learning, creativity and personal development. Featuring one of the world's most influential scientists, Professor V. S. Ramachandran, USA best selling author of Phantoms in the Brain and dubbed the "Marco Polo" of neuroscience. You can win a Gold Pass to the conference here - valued at $1855. Read full article
Caine's Arcade - Imagination, Inspiration, Cardboard and a Boy
Thanks to happychild blogger Carol Duncan for leading us to this wonderful 10 minute video about a nine year old boy, Caine, who built a games arcade out of cardboard boxes. He gets a huge surprise when an adult arranges, via social media, for a lot of eager customers. A fun and inspiring ten minutes for adults and children about play, creativity, vision and social media. Read full article
Why Unstructured Play is Important for Your Child
Unstructured, unsupervised fun could be more beneficial for your child's future than you realise. Parents are feeling they need to provide an array of structured and adult-directed activities to raise smarter children...but it is also backfiring as children are not being given the freedom to develop their own interests and creativity. Read full article
Not Crushing the Dreams of My Young Video Game Creator
For a couple of months last year my then 8 year old son had an obsession with inventing a new video game. He expected to be able to dictate to me over my shoulder for a few hours on our home computer and ‘voila!’ - we would have a brand new highly-functioning, multi-level, multi-platform video game to distribute to the market at large. Then he wanted to be entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest child to create a video game. Read full article
Magazine Living with Children - I Can't Do It
While I privately salivate over images of 'magazine' houses, I have publicly railed against what I see as a modern day obsession with having a perfect home, a home that is forever 'open house' ready. I do not understand how such homes can allow children, let alone adults, the ability to unleash their creativity. Not long ago I attended a birthday party where the children’s bedrooms were jaw-droppingly beautiful. They really did look like something out of a Home Beautiful catalogue, but apart from jealousy something else bothered me. Read full article
Wednesday 2 February 2011 Latest Parenting and Education News
Wednesday 2 February 2011 - Links to Latest Parenting and Education news: Foreign Language Teaching Australian Schools ~ Julianne Moore Talks Parenting ~ Teenagers and Alcohol ~ Children's Artwork ~ How Much Television Children are Watching ~ Single Mothers and Boys Read full article
Thursday 13 January 2011 Latest Parenting and Education News
Thursday 13 January 2011 - Links to Latest Parenting and Education news: Twins in Womb ~ Teaching Arts at School ~ Restore Untidy Play ~ Education Policy ~ No Child Left Behind ~ Men as Child Predators ~ Facebook Help for Missing Children ~ My Schools Website Read full article
Small Fry Outdoors Inspiration for Being Outdoors with Kids
Book: Small Fry Outdoors by Susie Cameron and Katrina Cook. This book helps children find the magic in everyday outdoor activities. The outdoors is a place where kids can get down and dirty with a bug-catcher and magnifying glass in hand. They can be conquering explorers, artists, amateur botanists, pirates or fairies - all in the blink of an eye. Featuring ideas to inspire children, activities are related to the senses and concepts, everyday activities and chores, ideas for rainy days and the seasons. Read full article
