Dig into Creepy Carrots

“The day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution.”
― Paul Cézanne

Today marked week two of the summer reading program.  Last week we read about yucky worms and made worm art, this week we read about creepy carrots and made creepy carrots.  So far, so fun.

Does it seem like we've approached Dig Into Reading from the dark side?  I hadn't realized it until I wrote that first paragraph.  Oh well, yucky and creepy are fun.  Next week we'll tackle bored potatoes.  WHAT??  Oh great; I guess we are not all happy sunshine over here with the reading program.  

Let's see: Yucky, Creepy, Bored are the sub-themes for the first three weeks of the summer reading program.  The first two weeks were super fun.  I have high hopes for next week.  Who doesn't love to be bored?  I don't know exactly what the final three weeks of the program may entail, but I'm sure it will be better than it sounds.

You can stop at the library and pick up a reading log.  I like to keep track of the time spent reading versus the number of books.  That way a kid who reads Harry Potter over the summer can have equal footing with kids who read one Mo Willems book after another.  Each oval is worth 20 minutes of reading, so if you only read for 10 minutes, just fill in half of the oval.  We'll have prizes to give away on August 13th; but if you fill out one whole book log before then, you can bring it in for an extra prize and get another book log to start the process over again.  Of course, to make it more challenging, your second book logs ovals are worth 30 minutes of reading.  (I'd hate for those avid readers to claim all the great prizes right away.)

I'm at the Coleraine Public Library on Tuesday mornings from 10:00-11:00, and at the Marble Public Library on Tuesday afternoons from 1:00-2:00.  This is a fun, free program.  

Stop by next week, we'll explored being bored together!

“What I say is that, if a man really likes potatoes, he must be a pretty decent sort of fellow.”
― A.A. Milne

There's always something happening in my brain.

Think left and think right and think low and think high.  Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!  ~~Dr. Seuss



I've been reading and listening to some interesting books lately.  In many ways the books draw many of the same conclusions in different ways.  Obviously, we aren't talking fiction here. 

The first two I've been listening to, the third I actually read (no, I haven't seen the movie).   There have been parts in each book that bring up something I remember from one of the other books.  The first two books encompass different ways of looking at genius and the role of right brain thinking in the future.  Left brain thinking used to be the way, but Daniel Pink makes a strong argument for promoting right brain thinking.  Right brain thinkers are those people who not only see the big picture, but they think outside of the box.  Right.  Yep, that's me.  Right brainer, mostly.  Google right brain vs. left brain quiz and the search will land all kinds of choices.  I took a few, and they all came back with my right brain taking a slight edge over my left brain.  Hunh.  Imagine that.  Malcolm Gladwell makes a case for genius being a product of time, place, and practice rather than person (or their right or left brains).  Bill Gates became Bill Gates not only because of the unique opportunities he was presented with but also because of how he used those opportunities.  It would seem like these two titles wouldn't get along, and yet somehow they do. 


What does Waiting For Superman have to do with either of the previous titles?  It's a different way of looking at education, from a couple different viewpoints.  Do you need to think outside the box to embrace some of the changes that are proposed, or to alter them to suit your needs?  Yes.  Do you need to be a little right thinking to do so?  Perhaps.  Will your previous life experiences color your views?  Yes. 


Can you change from left thinking to right thinking if that's the way to success?  I haven't gotten to that part of Daniel Pink's book yet, and since it's an audio version I don't actually know if there is part of the book on that.  So I don't know what the experts say, but I think you can.  You may not be able to switch over entirely, but I think it isn't a bad idea to give it a try.  You certainly wouldn't lose anything except a bit of your time.   


Where does right brain thinking come from?  I don't know.  Books?  Genetics?  Situations?  Is it possible to change from seeing a problem by concentrating on one part of it to seeing a problem with all of it's causes, ramifications, effects, and beyond?  Do you know when you're only seeing part of the whole?   When I was a kid, I got into a "gifted" program.  I got to do some extra fun things, I got to be creative and think outside of the box.  We learned about problem solving.  Not problem solving math problems, or grammatical problems, but future problem solving.  I don't remember much about the specific problems, I just remember that they were heavy topics at the time, and we were told to find ways to solve them.  A whole process ensued, and creativity was a huge factor in it.  Why did the "gifted" class get to hone our critical and creative thinking skills?  Perhaps it's because this was during the 80's when the left brain still reigned supreme.  


One fun thing I remember from this class is being shown an object and then asked to list in a minute or two as many things as you could think of that it could be used for.  How my imagination flowed!  Mini-brain storms is what they were.  I could list until the time ran out, often with more ideas than time allowed.  (Or are my rose-colored glasses tinting my memories?)  Daniel Pink mentions this in his book, or was it Malcolm Gladwell? 



Play this game with a kid: find a rock or stick and take turns listing off things it could be used for.  Anything and everything is a good answer as long as it uses the object.  Do you run out of ideas before the kid does?  Remember, there are no wrong answers as long as the object is being used in some way.  Remember the "what if" stage of childhood?  How do answers to the game of "what can this be used for" change before and after that phase?  It's a bunch of food for thought.  How do you recapture some of that "what if" attitude of endless possibilities?  Will answering questions about what a tin can can be used as help you get it back?  I don't suppose it would hurt to stretch your brain a little. 


Imagination.  Fun.  Thinking out of the box.  Creativity.  Is it any wonder I enjoyed these books?

Waiting For Superman is a look at how our education system is failing.  I started reading it because I'm interested in the ways the education system is trying to improve.  What I found is that much of what we're looking for in improving our education system is reflected in Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and A Whole New Mind by Daniel H. Pink.  It was an interesting thing to be reading/listening to these books all at around the same time.  They each played off of the other in ways I didn't really expect when I checked them out. 



What do you think?  Have you read any of these books or similar works by other authors?  Are you a lefty or a righty?What's going on in your brain?    

Isn't the brain fascinating??




The creative person is both more primitive and more cultivated, more destructive, a lot madder and a lot saner, than the average person. ~Frank Barron, Think, November-December 1962

10 Minutes a Day

To think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted.

~George Kneller

10 minutes isn't a lot of time. Everyone can find an extra 10 minutes in their day. Right? Okay; maybe not every day, but most days. Would you consider doing something creative for 10 minutes a waste of your time? Writing, doodling, sewing, crafting, painting, singing, the list goes on and on for creative activities that you can do for 10 minutes. It's good for your brain, or so researchers say. Granted, I didn't read all of the wikipedia article about creativity--there was a lot of information there. In the world we live in, thinking outside of the box is becoming more important. I think we should all take 10 minutes a day to do something creative.

Oh, you're not creative? Hunh. Good thing I have confidence that creativity can be fostered in even the oldest of old dogs. You don't need to buy yourself a pack of colored pencils and a sketch pad. The first step in getting those creative juices flowing is to take 10 minutes to just sit and observe. Use all of your senses to absorb what is around you. Smell the smells, see the sights, hear the sounds, feel your surroundings, taste the table. No, scratch that last one. See if you notice three things that you've never noticed before. See if you can see something new in a place that is familiar. Observe without passing judgement. (Extremely difficult if you're observing a huge pile of clutter that may or may not be of your own making.) If you can do this every day for a week, what will you find yourself observing that you had never taken the time to notice before? If you train yourself to find the new in the old, what would you observe in new situations that you maybe wouldn't have before? The possibilities are endless.

I brought up the 10 minutes of creative time because last week I was at Spotlight On Books: A Conference for Adults Focused on Youth Literature; where I got to hear a few different authors speak of their writings, and an illustrator about his artwork. I enjoyed hearing about how they work. Author Alison McGhee remarked that she takes 10 minutes every morning to just write. Write whatever comes to mind. Once the 10 minutes are over, she puts it away. It's an exercise in creativity. I thought about that. Ten minutes isn't very long. It's do-able. The Sunday edition of the Minneapolis Star Tribune had an article about author/illustrator Nancy Carlson and how she started a blog of doodles. Another exercise in creativity. Her doodles are just 10 minutes (or so) of time; and they may feature some of the characters from her books drawn in different ways. Ten minutes to draw whatever comes out of your pen. Fascinating. Two people in two days doing the 10 minute thing. Definitely do-able. Granted, we're a few days past last Sunday when I figured it was do-able and I haven't done anything. On Tuesday I did sit in the sun and observed things. I wasn't terribly non-judgemental though. I think I only lasted a couple minutes before heading off in search of the rake.

I hope I can remember to take 10 minutes a day. Ten minutes to quietly observe, ten minutes to draw, ten minutes to write (haha, this post makes up for a couple weeks worth of 10 minutes). Now is the perfect time of year to get in the habit of observing. Watch as little by little the leaves start popping out on the trees, listen to the frogs croaking, smell the pollen, feel the sneeze building up inside of you. Now is the time of year that the world outside changes on an almost daily basis.

If you need more inspiration on building up your creativity, I found an interesting article on the Scientific American website. 7 Ways To Cultivate Your Creativity. Go ahead, click on the link. Go ahead, sit quietly and soak in the things around you. Go ahead, allow yourself the freedom to think outside of your usual box.

I promise, it's fun!