Creativity scholars increasingly point to perception as a key to creativity.   Gregory Berns of Emory University argues that to think of things differently, which is the first step toward creativity; we need to stimulate our senses with phenomena our brains have yet to encounter.  This allows our minds to move beyond our typical way of thinking and imagine new alternatives.

This is no different for our children, and we can stimulate our children’s creativity at home through a number of techniques.  Today I want to talk about one of those tools:  modern and contemporary art.

Ask your children them to look at an abstract image and discuss what they see.  While there are many places to find such images, two great places to start online that include fun art games as well are the Art Safari at the Museum of Modern Art http://www.moma.org/interactives/artsafari/ or London’s  Tate Museum website for children  at http://kids.tate.org.uk/.  My seven year old daughter and I love to play the Memento Mori game at the Tate site in particular.

With my older boys, we used to love a large painting by Robert Mangold that was essentially a few big squares, but felt as if it was a portal to another universe.  Whenever we went to the museum, we could stand in front of it and do a small jump and pretend we entered another world and describe it for a few minutes.

You can also just type “modern art” in a search engine and look under “images” to find great starting points.  Ask your kids to tell you what they see, but don’t stop there.  Ask them to look at the images from different angles and see if their perception changes.  Ask what emotions the art conveys.  Ask if they could guess what the artist was thinking.  The key is to let our kids stretch their imaginations without fear of being corrected.   Many children will want to draw their own works after seeing artwork.  Rather than have them copy what they just saw, ask them to try to create the same emotion or artistic idea in their own style.

Do you use art/galleries/museums/websites in this way?  What works for your kids?

Mark Rothschild

This week’s In the Classroom is about one of our most popular classes, Wild Wild West.  In keeping with the goals of the Right At School’s Diamond Curriculum, the Wild, Wild West course engages students in fun and educational experiences that develop their creativity and condition their bodies through active and engaging activities.

In this course, students are transported back in time to the 1800s when people from the eastern part of the United States moved out west for land, gold, and adventure. Students develop their own character and confidence as they learn about people who took risks and set out to improve their lives in a world unknown to them. Students will enjoy learning about this amazing time in history, when fortunes were made and lost, and legends were created.

In this course, students are transported through imaginative play to the days as the Wild West. Much has been written on the benefits of imaginative play for children. Imaginative play allows children the opportunity to experiment with taking risks in a safe environment. It develops problem solving skills. Imaginative play also provides children with the experience of “walking in someone else’s shoes” which develops character and empathy. The imaginative play in the Wild, Wild West course also introduces a part of United States history.

Activities in this course include a nice blend of creative crafts, physical activity, and language development. To spark their creativity student make Wanted posters of themselves and decorate bandanas from potato brands they make.

Students move their bodies as they pan for gold, run Pony Express style relays, kick up their heels in a square dance, learn some roping skills, and herd cattle in a Cattle Drive game. Language development and creativity is enhanced as they learn some songs of the old west, create shadow puppet shows, listen to and write an American tall tale, learn some cowboy slang, and create messages using Morse code.

The fun and adventure of this course culminate in a Western Hoedown where students perform shadow puppet shows and a square dance for the guests and then everyone enjoys singing some songs of the old west and playing some western games.

For more information about the Wild, Wild West course and other classes we will be offering in the Course Catalog located on the Locations Page.

Dear Right At School Parents and Friends,

When I was 5 and my brother was twelve, my mother would make an “international dinner” about once a month.  My job was to find the national flag in the encyclopedia (yes, I am that old) and to draw it, while my brother’s job was to write a short essay on the country.  I don’t recall either of us loving this ritual, but it certainly did have a lasting impact.  (For better, I think!)

Today, my own family lives in a big city, so we have the luxury of weekly excursions to unique neighborhoods, restaurants and museums, which we do every week after Sunday school. (As an aside, these weekly trips to different ethnic restaurants are the only family activity we do that seems to please everyone from age 7 to 47, including two teenagers!)

Exposing children to diverse cultures and influences provides them with a much wider range of experiences to turn to and reflect upon.  Regardless of where you live, exposure to unique cultures is a mouse click away. Here are a few great sites to visit for fun ways to expose your children to cultural diversity:

International Arts & Games

If your child is attending a Right At School program, consider signing them up for Play Around the World, The International Book Club, or African Arts next quarter. There are alos a number of great websites to allow your children to explore international arts and games. Two we like in particular are www.internationalgamesdatabase.org and www.kinderart.com/multic/.

International Pen Pals

At Right At School we have created a pen pal relationship with FINO, The International Project For Forgotten Children, who have an afterschool program in rural Mexico.   International pen pals give your children exposure to their peers who live dramatically different lives.  This is a great way for your child to better understand how other children live.  A safe and easy way to start your own international pen pal relationship is at EPALS, the international pen pal site at www.epals.com

Visual Arts

I am a big fan of  The National Gallery of Art, found at  www.nga.gov/kids/kids.htm and The Museum of Modern Art, at  www.moma.org/interactives/destination/   Older children can find a great resource at Khan Academy under art history. www.khanacademy.org

 Foreign Travel 

While nothing beats international travel with your family, this isn’t a reality for most of us. The next best thing may be some really great websites to let your children wander.  Two that we like to use are National Geographic For Kids http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/ as well as letting your child loose on Google Earth, which you can safely download for free at www.google.com

What other ways do you expose your children to unique cultures?

Sincerely,

Mark Rothschild

CEO of Right At School

Even though the weather is not Chicago’s typical December weather, it is obvious by the lights, decorations and shoppers that we are in the middle of the 2012 holiday season. During this time of the year, many of us start planning our holiday gift exchanges, parties and our New Year’s Resolutions.

The staff at Right At School is no different. We are busy reviewing the feedback from our parents, schools, educators, and staff on how we can improve in 2013 and already taking steps to make those improvements.

We are excited to be introducing new curriculum this coming New Year.  This will be adding more variety to our offerings at each of our schools. We are also looking into new ways of providing healthier snacks to our students.

We are also diving into the world of social media. Please come follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest to get extra advice, activities and news.

Every few weeks, we will be introducing you to one of our enrichment courses. The goal of our enrichment programs is to help develop children’s creativity, confidence, character and conditioning, what we call the Four C’s.

This week our “In The Classroom” is about our “Paint Like Picasso, Draw Like Van Gogh”.  It’s more than just an arts and crafts class, it introduces students to a wide range of artists, types of art, and techniques spanning across three hundred years of history.

Each class, the students will learn about a different artist and what made their art special. They preview a slideshow of the different works while the teacher gives them a brief background of the artist and point out the techniques or characteristics of the artist’s work.

Then the students will create their own piece of art inspired by the artist. One week they may use coffee filters and watercolors to imitate Chagall’s America Windows. Another week they may make mini murals that represents ideas that are important to them like Keith Haring. And of course, the students may make 3D models of their bedroom like Van Gogh.

Each class will expand a student’s knowledge of art history, types of art, and learn different ways of being creative.

To see if this class is available at your school go to our Locations page.