I design the monthly boxes for Outside the Box Creation. Each box includes a book to read to spark kids’ imaginations and set the stage for the art project. I try to choose books that are unique, somewhat less mainstream or even a little bit older, so that parents and kids are less likely to …
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3 Awesome Books to Spark Your Child’s Imagination
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Success in Life STEMS from Art
Have you noticed that many schools are promoting STEM to the exclusion, or at least minimization, of the arts? I firmly believe we must be promoting STEAM (science, technology, engineering, ART and math). And there are compelling reasons to do so despite the fact that the STEAM acronym has been slow to gain traction. Try …
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Cultivating Visually Literacy – a 21st Century Skill
Kids are bombarded with images every day – both still images and moving images! We typically only hear the word literacy connected to reading and writing,but in our image heavy world today it is more important than ever to give our children the skills to make meaning out of these images and to use images to convey their own thoughts, feeling, and ideas.
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Is It Arts or Crafts?
The terms arts and crafts are frequently used interchangeably these days. Have you ever wondered what the difference is? Does it matter?
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How To Create Art Invitations for Your Child
You know how important art is for your child’s development so you want to encourage him to do more art. The first thing you’ll want to do, if you have the space, is create a designated art area. It doesn’t have to be an entire room. Just a corner. The key is to have art …
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How to Use Transition Times to Ease Back to School Stress
August and back-to-school season have always evoked mixed emotions for me. I feel sadness at the end of lazy, long, warm days of summer. Having my kids around for long periods of unstructured time is such a gift (well mostly). Summer has always been a time to take trips and spend lots of time outside, …
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How Art Can Help With Body Image & Perfectionism
How many of you have struggled with body image? I know I have. In fact, I don’t know many women who haven’t struggled with it at some time. We may have been raised with constant reminders don’t get fat, but clean your plate. And we are constantly bombarded with images of perfectly proportioned people without a wrinkle or hint of cellulite. What we don’t realize is …
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How To Talk To Your Child (Or Anyone) About Her Art
When your child shows you a picture she has just drawn and you can’t tell what the heck it is supposed to be, don’t ask her “What is it?” Although that may be the question that is top of mind for you at that moment, there is good reason to hold back and ask her …
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Easy Ways to Avoid Summer Slide
Have you heard of the summer slide? I’m not talking about a playground slide, but rather a slide downward that kids tend to make in learning during the summer. It is sometimes called summer learning loss or summer setback. These names all refer to the phenomena that many children begin the next school year with academic achievement levels lower than they were at the beginning of summer break.
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Give Mommy Guilt the Boot
When my children were little, I worked full time. Like many women, I felt guilty when I was at work that I wasn’t at home. I often also felt guilty when I was home that I wasn’t at work! But beyond that, I am a pretty high energy, type A person and I often felt …
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