Life is fun — work can be too! (let’s not risk losing that)

So often when we think of “imagination,” we err by attributing it to kids only, says C. J. Ellis of KidsReadUs.com, and maybe it takes some really “big kids” to remind us that’s simply not always the case!

While recently checking out http://slate.com/, Ellis browsed through Gretchen Rubin’s “The Happiness Project.” Although not exactly filled with Ellis’ definition of imagination, it was linked to Eepy Bird’s Sticky Note Experiment.

Now that’s using your imagination and letting it fly! Coined as “Entertainment by the Curious Mind,” this is a heads-up reminder that “play” isn’t just for kids (the video is definitely an awesome example of creativity!).

Which can be a real cause for concern, Ellis says. Real play — play that is initiated and carried out by kids — bubbles up from within rather than being imposed by a stuffy adult. Joan Almon, author of “The Fear of Play,” expands:

Real play has largely disappeared from the landscape of childhood in the United States. There are many reasons for this, such as the long hours spent in front of screens each day or being involved in activities organized by adults. In addition, preschools and kindergartens that used to foster meaningful play and exploration often spend long hours on adult-led instruction instead.

Are adults not doing enough "sticky note experiments" in their everyday lives? Are we unconsciously curtailing the growth of imagination in children, and, by doing so, are we risking the danger of producing a future generation of stiff-minded adults?

What do you think?

LEGOs, Wiffle ball versus ‘Wordle’ away, ‘Google Earth’: for kids, storytelling can be at the heart of imagination

The Boston Globe, July 26, “Future shock made child’s play” by Christine Murphy sets the stage: In Hartford, Conn.,

... a wavy roof that seems to hover over the Connecticut Science Center like a silver magic carpet. . . my curiosity was piqued upon entering the six-story, light-filled atrium with open-structured elevators and a wall of glass overlooking the Connecticut River.

Murphy goes on to describe the 150 exhibits and all their technologic advances that were designed and developed by adults in an effort to encourage children to learn through hands-on interaction, a gallery scientist, a computer that creates a 3-day weather forecast, exploring space — you get the picture.

But Murphy shows surprise with the setup at the LEGO Imagination Zone, describing it as “really just a table with LEGO blocks that was surprisingly popular.”

“That’s no surprise to me,” counters C. J. Ellis of KidsReadUs.com. “LEGO sets, Erector sets — even Wiffle Ball — help children develop their own imagination. Hands-on joysticks might take a child on a ‘tour’ of the known or unknown, but really, is the child creating anything? To me, creativity is at the heart of imagination and there is no better way to do that than letting the child actually use his or her hands — and not just on a joystick.”

Sometimes kids know better than adults what captures their imagination and keeps their attention and minds occupied.

Not that Internet technology can’t be channeled to encourage creative thought, Ellis adds. On that same day — July 26 — the Dallas Educational Technology Examiner ran a story by Elaine Plybon. The approach was a bit different than the Murphy piece. Plybon shows how teachers can use their technologic savvy to promote a child’s imaginative spirit.



Take, for example, Wordle — a free website that takes kids’ words and creates a graphic that represents those words. How can having a website create an image for the child encourage creative thought?

“You can then ask each child to print the graphic created and expand on it, making one that reflects his or her own creative images,” Ellis says. “LEGO blocks stored in a container do nothing to create imagination. But once the child opens the container and removes some blocks, that’s when the creative process begins. Using Wordle effectively can have the same effect.”

Plybon also suggests that teachers take advantage of Google Earth. Here children can create a virtual trip showing where they went on vacation or where they visited their cousins or where they want to go next year. By creating placemarks at each location, the child can then add images, text, video or audio. Again, Ellis says, there is no reason that parents can't use Google Earth the same way in a home setting.

But, Ellis insists, the best technology lesson Plybon describes might be the power of storytelling — digital storytelling, that is.

“Although Plybon describes how the teacher can break the classroom into groups of four,” Ellis explains, “there really is no reason you can’t have individual children in the family be involved in digital storytelling because the catch is the same — using Photostory 3 [free Windows program] to create a picture — it’s the same picture for everyone. Then each child writes a story about the picture. No two stories will be alike and the kids can enjoy sharing their unique with family and friends.”

An offshoot of this can be having a round-robin sort of storytelling event at the dinner table, Ellis adds.

It sure beats staring at a computer screen! What do you think?

I did nothing today — you’ll see!

Summer vacations are a time when kids can just be kids, reminds C. J. Ellis of KidsReadUs.com. But what are we REALLY doing for summer fun as adults?!

Ellis quips: Gee, it was hard enough to remember what I even did today!

And that sentiment is aptly captured by elementary educator Cindy Middendorf, author of Differentiating Instruction in Kindergarten.

Although Ellis finds Middendorf's classroom instruction book a bit too rigid, Middendorf has filled her blog with imagination, play, and enthusiasm. And so it is with great pleasure that Ellis shares this educator’s fitting blog poem:

What Did You Do Today?
When children come home
At the end of the day,
There’s a question they’re asked
As they scurry to play.
“Tell me, what did you do in school today?”
“Nothing, I did nothing today!”
Perhaps nothing means that I played with blocks.
Tied my own shoes, or found beautiful rocks.
Maybe our monarchs hatched today.
Or maybe I found a new friend to play.
Maybe today was the very first time
My scissors followed a very straight line.
I learned a new song, and sang all the words,
Or I touched a feather from the strangest of birds.
When you’re five or six and your heart has wings,
“Nothing” can mean some wonderful things!

Keeping these words of delight in mind, here is what Ellis says about her own day:

What Did I Do Today?
When it’s all said and done
Work days can be boring or fun.
Trying to create just the right words,
You must admit is for the birds.
But then you can exclaim with lots of glee,
I really did nothing, today, can’t you see?

For some kids, imagination a chilling reality

Today on CNN.com/living, the world of art and the reality of heartbreak caught the attention of C. J. Ellis of KidsReadUs.com. “Our focus has been to encourage children to use their creative talents and imagination to help them have fun while learning. But for some children, using their imagination can leave a chilling memory.”


In “Heartbreaking art helps kids with inmate parents," Dana Rosenblatt of CNN explores a macabre world where children create drawings many of us would like to forget:

. . . stick figures writhing in pain and confusion, a knife dripping with blood and a broken heart. Next to the heart, the child artist has written: "My heart is bleeding, my heart is a broken bleeding heart." Another child has drawn a red bubble, inside of which is written: “I want 2 die."

The powerful drawings communicate their experiences with pain, hopelessness and confusion as clearly as a thousand spoken words.

With those words, Rosenblatt describes the plight of a population of at-risk children that most people don’t even think about — the children of those in prison.

The statistics on prison parents are staggering. According to U.S. Justice Department estimates, 2.3% of children under 18 years old in the United States have at least one parent in prison. More chilling facts:

• 52% of state inmates have minor children
• 63% of federal inmates have minor children

But one former Texas parole officer, Marilyn Gambrell, was determined to help overcome the fears and despair shared by these young minds by forming No More Victims, Inc. , a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to helping the children of parents in prison. For some in-depth coverage of her program, CNN produced a 10-minute eye-opening video http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/07/27/bia.children.of.inmates/index.html?ref=werecommend#cnnSTCVideo.

Without a doubt, what kids draw is a reflection of their thoughts, feelings, and day-to-day life, says Ellis. Mary Ellen Hluska, a child life specialist at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center agrees:

It helps them have a safe place to express what they’ve been through
without using words. It’s there, and they don’t have to say it.

For one 15-year-old teenager in Gambrell’s Houston, Texas, community center, drawing gave her the courage to overcome a troubled life, press charges against a man who had abused her, and become a role model for other children in the No More Victims center, all while her own mother was in prison.

Today — 5 years from when she confronted her fears — this young lady is attending college and working two jobs — with lots of imagination to go around!

It's an awe-inspiring reminder, Ellis says, that much can be done while helping kids channel their imagination and letting them grow into productive, creative adults who know how to pass the message along.

Cloning Marilyn Gambrell would be a start!

kidsreadus.blogspot.com/

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Does “stranger danger” interfere with imagination and play?

Wondering what this image has to do with "stranger danger"? You'll find out really soon.

Here, once again, Joan Almon, an early childhood educator with more than 30 years of teaching experience, talks about the dangers of fearing play.

“Real play — play that is initiated and directed by children and that bubbles up from within the child rather than being imposed by adults — has largely disappeared from the landscape of childhood in the United States,” Almon said. “There are many reasons for this, such as the long hours spent in front of screens each day or activities organized by adults. In addition, preschools and kindergartens that used to foster meaningful play and exploration often spend long hours on adult-led instruction instead.”

Unfortunately, says C. J. Ellis of KidsReadUs.com, many parents are concerned that their kids will accidentally get hurt while participating in playful activities. “It seems that parents do not understand how kids can rise to the occasion.”

In her recent article, “The Fear of Play” published by Exchange Press, Almon agreed: “Playgrounds that offer genuine risk, such as Berkeley’s adventure playground, where children build two-story play structures with hammers and nails, tend to have fewer accidents than traditional playgrounds. Give children real risk and they rise to it; they learn how to handle it.”

On the other hand, when children are subjected to “sanitized” play spaces, they have been known to take risks just for the thrill of doing so, Almon added.

There is also a widespread fear of 'stranger danger,’ Almon wrote. "Most parents will not let their elementary-age children go out unattended. Yet most crimes against children, such as abduction or abuse, are perpetrated by people the family knows rather than strangers on the playground.”

In an effort to be ultra organized, parents also risk abandoning simple activities that can foster imagination. “All of us like to feel in charge of daily events and activities involving our children,” Ellis explains. “But the result has been asking children to sit quietly while completing adult-prepared worksheets.”

“No wonder people love to see young children working at computer screens,” Almon said. “It’s so tidy compared to play, which [can be] messy.”

Play is full of symbols and metaphors, she added. Some elements come from everyday life but the next minute the child will be filled with magical-like thoughts.

That lesson is well exemplified in The Culprit Was a Fly written by educator Lisa Funari-Willever. “Theodore is a precocious child who tangles with a pesky fly that refuses to leave his sandwich,” Ellis explains.

“He considers various creative ways to make the fly disappear but finally realizes what the right solution really is,” she says without giving away the story’s ending. It’s a prime example of how daydreaming and imagination can play a role in a child’s dvelopment, Ellis adds.

In fact, Ellis and Almon said, play can be so powerful that it can help parents Let Their Child’s Imagination Fly!

[Almon is co-founder of the U.S. Alliance for Childhood and co-director of its Restoring Children's Play project. For 30 years, she taught preschool and kindergarten in Waldorf schools in Maryland and abroad.]

Kids’ Korner: The Angel of Science loves the number ‘one’

All of the activities posted each month on KidsReadUs.com reflect the dreams, hopes, and aspirations of children everywhere.

“Kids learn through the eyes of other kids,” explains C. J. Ellis, founder of the website. “That’s why it is important for parents and educators alike to resist temptations that discourage development of each child’s unique imagination and play activities.”

The holiday project created by Adrienne Rudolph for C. S. Mott Children’s Hospital involved art, science and discovery, as well as dramatic play. “Each child had a very special interest, ranging from basketball, to science, to becoming a nurse, to being a teacher, to wanting to cook or dance.”

The Angel of Science, created by Aaryn Fulton when he was 9 years old, captures the true spirit of the project. In this activity, which can be downloaded free, his angel tests your child's knowledge of words that contain "one."

The book Angels are Everywhere truly is an inspiration that encourages children of all ages to Let Their Imagination Fly!


[All activities appearing on KidsReadUs.com were developed by author Maureen McKinney.]

Ah, the joys of play — it’s all about playmaking and storytelling, experts say

It’s really pretty simple, explained Steven Gross, founder and executive director of Project Joy, on his website. “Playfulness is the motivation to freely and pleasingly engage with and connect to the world. It is the single most important trait children can have.

“We’re all born to play. But far too many children lose the desire and capacity to be playful in life. Some are victims of poverty or violence, while others are coping with tragedy,” Gross added.

Artist Adrienne Rudolph, creator of Angels are Everywhere, agrees: “At C. S. Mott Children’s Hospital, the staff understands the need to help the children overcome adversity. Actually, the children are quite resilient in some ways, but we like to believe that we have some input in fostering that resilience!”

When Rudolph asked the young patients at C. S. Mott Children’s Hospital to create their favorite angel, “the result was overwhelming.”

Gross can identify with that feeling. Project Joy is a nonprofit organization established in Boston in 1989 to help the healing power of play to transform children who had been sidelined by chronic trauma.

An ongoing tragedy is the plight of children affected by Hurricane Katrina. Although it has been several years since Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast, young children who witnessed the destruction of their homes and communities still remember the devastation well. “When a rain cloud passes overhead, young children still become incredibly frightened,” an early childhood specialist at Mississippi State University told Project Joy. “Some kids act out with aggression; others can’t sleep at night because they are so afraid.”

The solution? Acting out in real life — telling their own stories in their own way, can help children overcome their fear, says C. J. Ellis of KidsReadUs.com.

It’s another way of Letting Their Imagination Fly!

Taking imagination one step at a time may help

For more than two decades, parents and educators have worried about the lack of play in classroom settings, according to a report published in the March-April 2009 issue of Exchange: The Early Childhood Leaders’ Magazine Since 1978.

“Finally,” says C. J. Ellis of KidsReadUs.com, the profound effects of play in helping children become successful are being recognized by the media.”

Karen Stephens, author of “Imaginative Play during Childhood: Required for Reaching Full Potential," agreed in her recent report published by Exchange Press: “No longer are the benefits of play left sitting in the archives of academic journals,” adding that early childhood educators now have a more powerful tool to use with parents and community leaders.

Stephens’ article confirmed that a child’s self-initiated play — his or her imagination — nurtures overall development, not just cognitive development, such as learning to name colors, numbers, or shapes.

In fact, educators are finally realizing that there is a strong case supporting the role of childhood play in realizing positive development into a civilized adult.

For children, true play is a critical need, not just a fanciful frill, Stephens emphasized.

By recognizing the ongoing need for imaginative play protocols, parents can reinforce the need to take let their child’s imagination grow one step at a time — and never stop Letting Their Imagination Fly!

[Stephens is director of the Illinois State University Child Care Center and a frequent contributor to the Child Care Information Exchange.]

Book Review: Only in Dreams: A Bedtime Story from Paul Frank Industries

Reviewed by the Staff of KidsReadUs.com:

Only in Dreams: A Bedtime Story is filled with imagination! The book invites all kids to dream by capturing the images of Paul Frank’s beloved character, Julius, who takes readers on a wildly imaginative tour of his dreams. Delightful Julius loves to sleep because there he can do fun things, like being in a rock concert while standing on the moon. Or how about paddling down a river made of strawberry milk?

Here’s what Julius has to say:

“Hi, I’m Julius, and
it’s bedtime for me!

I love bedtime because when I sleep, I dream.

And when I dream, I can do anything I can imagine!”

Buy this book from Amazon


Tip of the Day: Taking Dreams One Step Further

Dreaming while awake — guess that’s why we call it daydreaming!

Of course, daydreaming can be frowned on by parents and teachers alike. Instead of frowning, try turning daydreaming into something creative by capturing your child’s thoughts and having him or her write them down, draw a picture, or create an angel!

It's all about Letting Their Imagination Fly!

Kids’ Korner: The Angel of Health brings good luck and much cheer

The Angel of Health likes to come up with some creative ways to keep your child's imagination active – just one example of the free downloads available each month at KidsReadUs.com!

This angel is the creation of Lindsay Leathers, who was a patient at the C. S. Mott Children’s Hospital when she was 9 years old. Lindsay was asked to participate in a special holiday project. Like all the patients there, she faced some difficult treatments, but they certainly did not prevent her from keeping her spirit alive, says C. J. Ellis, publisher of the book Angels are Everywhere.

“This is one of many angels that represented a tough time during each child’s ordeal when he or she rose above physical limitations and adversity to create something truly special — an expression of the delight of being a child,” explains Adrienne Rudolph, creator of Angels are Everywhere and former Artist in Residence at C. S. Mott Children’s Hospital, the University of Michigan.

Each month, KidsReadUs.com features fun activities that can be downloaded free. All designed to encourage kids to Let Their Imagination Fly!

Learning through the eyes of a child — why children need play in school

During the past 20 years, kindergarten has changed dramatically, with many classes having to follow narrowly prepared prescriptive-type curricula based on each state's standards and linked to standardized tests, according to Crisis in the Kindergarten: Why Children Need to Play in School, a report released by Alliance for Childhood earlier this year.

Children are now spending more time being taught and tested on literacy and math skills, insist Edward Miller and Joan Almon, the paper’s authors, adding that children do little learning through play and exploration or using their imaginations.

Imagination — that seems to be a key word in the educational world today, but it also becomes difficult to enforce at a classroom level, offers C. J. Ellis of KidsReadUs.com.

Having children learn only standardized testing protocols can compromise their long-term prospects for success in school, Miller and Almon said in their report. Ellis agrees: “We need to get children more involved with child-initiated play in a classroom setting.”

Miller and Almon also believe that parents need to reinforce their own efforts at building their child’s imagination by supporting teacher’s capacities for creativity, autonomy, and integrity.

“In a healthy kindergarten, play does not mean ‘anything goes,’” the authors said. “It does not deteriorate into chaos. Nor is play so tightly structured by adults that children are denied the opportunity to learn through their own initiative and exploration."

The report reinforced Ellis’ belief that parents need to become more involved with the development of their child’s creative skills — both at home and in a school setting.

It’s all a matter of encouraging kids to Let Their Imagination Fly!

[Miller is a founding partner of the U.S. Alliance for Childhood and co-director of its Restoring Children’s Play project. He has taught at Harvard University and at Sarah Lawrence College.

Almon is co-founder of the alliance and co-director of its play project. For 30 years, she taught preschool and kindergarten in Waldorf schools in Maryland and abroad.

Research and funding for the report were provided by the Woodhouse Foundation, the Buffett Early Childhood Fund, the Novo Foundation, RSF Social Finance, the Kalliopeia Foundation, Bay Area Early Childhood Funders, the Newman’s Own Foundation, and Community Playthings.]

Meet Angels are Everywhere

Being creative and using your imagination sometimes means taking a step backward and reflecting on the lives of children who are less fortunate.

It also means recognizing that children see the world differently than adults do, says C. J. Ellis, publisher of Angels are Everywhere, a unique book available from KidsReadUs.com.

When children look through a window, they see the wonders of a rainbow, want to pick dandelions lying in the yard, or daydream about waddling through recently formed mud puddles. What child doesn’t like to stomp in the puddles, oblivious to the objections of Mom and Dad?

When adults look out that window, do they see the same things? Or do they see the dog that is “blessing” their yard, the rain that is ruining their golf game, or laundry woes because their children went stomping in the mud?

The book Angels are Everywhere is a testimonial from a child’s perspective — that the world is filled with hope, courage, and creativity.

“This book reflects the creative expressions of life as seen through the eyes of young patients who were undergoing cancer treatments, bone marrow transplants, heart and kidney transplants, general surgery and rehabilitation, as well as treatment for cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses,” says Adrienne Rudolph, creator of the book and former Artist in Residence at the C. S. Mott Children’s Hospital, University of Michigan.

Rudolph asked each patient to create an angel that represented his or her interests. “Thus we have angels ranging from The Angel of Hope to the Angel of Science, even Cartoon angel,” she explains.

In all, the book includes 75 creative expressions of life and love weaved together by storyteller Maureen McKinney. “What was conceived as a holiday project blossomed into a book that will inspire children of all ages. You’ll delight in the handiwork of young artists who rose above their physical limitations to create angels — of all shapes and size — that reflect each child’s endless spirit.”

The materials used were diverse, adds Rudolph, ranging from wooden balls, fabric, felt, yarn, paint, markers, jewels and sequins, feathers and bows, flowers, and an odd assortment of medical supplies from the kids’ room.

What is remarkable is the perseverance of these children, some of whom worked on their projects for six months, Ellis says. “Sadly, not all of the children survived to see this book published, but their imaginations — and their spirits — live on.”

What is your child’s favorite interest? Encourage him or her to create an angel with material you have hanging around the house.

Mom and Dad, you can make some angels too! There’s Angel of Golf, Angel of Gardening, Angel of Basketball, Angel of Summer — what’s your favorite Angel like?

It’s time to Let Your Imagination Fly!

(Artwork by patients of C. S. Mott Children's Hospital, University of Michigan, and their families. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Angels are Everywhere will be donated to the hospital.)

Let your imagination fly!

Easy to say, the experts explain, but grasping the best way to accomplish that can be difficult, primary because there are so many viewpoints about how best to develop a child’s creative skills.

There’s science and creativity, math and creativity, writing and creativity, but possibly the best lesson on creativity involves a child’s uninhibited drawings as a preschooler.

“The above image is typical of a kindergarten child’s uninhibited pre-schematic drawing of herself. “Most five-year-olds are totally confident that they can draw, sing, and dance,” says Marvin Bartel, EdD, emeritus professor of art at Goshen College in Indiana, adding that within three or four years, if this child is typical, she will no longer feel competent or creative.

Teachers are partially to blame for this diminished inclination to be creative as children become socialized and more intelligent, he says.

Bartel sees the least imaginative work being produced when a teacher gives instructions by saying, “In this lesson you can draw any topic you want to,” or “In this lesson, you can work in any media you like.”

Even when a kid’s work seems to capitalize on the individual’s creativity, Bartel explains, often it is just a rehash of the child’s previous success at being creative.

“We all have seen how young children have a strong imagination,” says C. J. Ellis of KidsReadUs.com. Why children seem to lose that imagination, however, has never been documented.

Some believe that children “lose” their imagination because they are encouraged to “copy things in workbooks, color in other people’s pictures, and do similar activities that all conspire to discourage creative and imaginative thinking,” Bartel says.

To Ellis, it may just be a matter of encouraging kids to keep their imagination alive. “Instead of telling your child to draw a picture of a horse or cow or truck that someone else has drawn, show several pictures of the same object to your child, then remove the pictures, and let your child’s imagination take over.”

It's as simple as asking your kids to draw their interpretation of what they have seen to help them Let Their Imagination Fly!

Image ©Marvin Bartel, EdD

Broken link doesn’t stop new blog launch

Everyone is excited. The buzz word at KidsReadUs.com is Imagination!

In today’s environment, it’s important to take your website to new levels, most Web experts say, adding that websites need their own “stimulus package.”

Launching a new blog could well serve that purpose, and numerous courses, including one offered by mediabistro.com, are out there to help small businesses and individual consultants alike reach that goal.

So KidsReadUs.com decided to take the plunge and start a new blog that emphasizes the importance of learning and imagination.

“It turns out,” says C. J. Ellis, founder and owner of KidsReadUs.com and its parent company, Angel Publications, “that we now are asking parents to be patient and use a bit of their own imagination when linking to our website to download free activities for kids.”

The problem? The URL link for KidsReadUs is broken, Ellis explains, and a temporary patch — http://www.angelpubs.com/ — is in place instead of the website’s true designation — http://www.kidsreadus.com/. (Hint: The second link doesn't work right now, and no, we aren't trying to send you to KidsRead!)

“We decided not to let this slight hitch stop us from launching our blog so we can get feedback on what parents and kids want and need in the world of learning and creativity,” Ellis says.

KidsReadUs.com is a division of Angel Publications, a company that Ellis started about 10 years ago. “At first all of our titles involved children and angels,” Ellis explains, “but the original five titles of the first angel series are now out of print.”

Instead, the company went in a different direction, adding such titles as Kwanzaa Teddy The Curious Bear and The Theodore Series, Ellis says. “The Kwanzaa book won awards, as did Angels are Everywhere, including the Teachers’ Choice Award and the Benjamin Franklin Award [an industry-recognized award],” she adds.

So about four years ago, the company introduced its KidsReadUs division and changed its website — until the blogging gods decided to momentarily jinx the site!

So be it, Ellis says, because we're ready to go and it's time to start thinking about how you can help your kids “Let Their Imagination Fly”!