This article from CEREBRUM, a publication of the Dana Foundation, explores recent research into how the brain works creatively. It is fascinating. While the process retains mystery and many unknowns, there are a couple of take aways. In particular, priming our brains before we begin a creative task seems to make a difference, as such …
Windsor Elementary School, 5 minutes from where I live, is embarking on an arts integrated residency exploring connections between monarch butterflies, journeys, metamorphosis in all of us, and creativity. My wife Heather Terrill Stotts did the sizable leg work to make this happen. She teaches second grade and is also a driving force in bringing …
A final article from Wendy Strauch-Nelson. I’m so happy to see her discussing what may be in fact the most important aspect of student learning and experience in school. JOY! Article 6: Why Arts Integration Final Article, Series Wrap-up This is the final article in a series that has provided a brief overview of the …
I wrote this song as part of last year’s crop of kindergarten songs. Tom changed a crucial line to make it work, and in this video he has also made it zipper song with movement. He’s such a master. Today he and I are going into the studio to record some of these songs that …
St Martin’s Day is celebrated in Europe on November 11. I’ve been fortunate to experience it three different times over the last four years. It’s kind of like our Halloween, but without the scary aspects and costumes. Kids carry lanterns made from everyday objects. They used colored paper and light them up with flashlights. In …
I love this article about kids and writing. https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2018/10/23/too-many-kids-cant-write-well-authors-dave-eggers-tim-whitaker-explain-how-fix-that/?utm_term=.f5c2ca738a2f
This song is for Peg West, Molly Rose, Sam Day, and Laurie Ellen Neustadt. Peg was a powerful advocate for children. She created a program called Protective Behaviors that influences my life to this day. She identified ways to empower kids to be their own advocates by relying on listening to their bodies when scared, …
This year the Magic Penny Ceremony of the Children’s Music Network honored Kim and Reggie Harris. KIm and Reggie have been friends of mine for many years. I met them through my affiliation with the Kennedy Center teaching artist roster, and we’ve talked many times. I deeply admire their artistry; they are fantastic singers, activists, teachers, …
Roy Acuff apparently once said, “I don’t sing songs, I sell them.” Whether he said it or not, it’s easy to judge him for commercialism and profit. Artists grapple with “selling out.” But I wondered about another way to look at it. As I watched Kim and Reggie Harris at the CMN Magic Penny Celebration, …
I feel new to writing. I’ve written all my life, but something has changed. So often I’ve written on the run, sitting in a restaurant whispering song ideas into a voice recorder or outlining a chapter for two hours on an unusually free morning. I’ve rarely been able to be deliberate in time to write. …