Posts Tagged ‘creativity’

Designing a Creative Family Space

It looks like we’re going to be doing some home renovations in the coming months, and given the opportunity we’re planning to incorporate an “arts and crafts” room into the blueprints. Initially I was keen to build myself something more traditional: an office, a den, or a workroom. But I’ve sold myself (and my wife) on the idea of building something a little more family oriented. Since the planning stage has just begun, now is the time to decide on the gritty details of this soon-to-be creative space in our basement. Some of the initial (feasible) construction ideas are as follows… and I welcome insight and comments.

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Full text from April 16, 2008 by Brad
Filed as: Reasoned Education, Skepdad thoughts

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Creative Kids for March 2008

Why creativity? As I wrote in one of my first posts, I think there are “Three Eyes” to encouraging critical thought, and one of those is Imagination. And what I wrote then still holds true: Creative imagination is a double-edged sword for a skeptic; Imagination defines the ability to construct false realities as readily as it defines the ability to extend knowledge, seek answers, and forge new questions. But we need imagination. We need to understand the power and scope of this tool, to harness its potential for the right reasons and with the right momentum. As with any sword, the more apt one is with handling it the less likely one is to cause harm to oneself and others.

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Full text from March 8, 2008 by Brad
Filed as: The Three Eyes

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I just wanna be…

… the dad who can lay back on the summer grass with his starry-eyed kid and not just answer her questions about the planets, galaxies, and random mysteries of quantum physics, but who can also inspire an persistent and probing curiosity about the universe in a young mind.

… the dad who knows why bugs have six legs and spiders have eight, and encourages his kids to come home with a jar full of crawlies so he can explain the local ecosystem and why we need to set the bugs free when we’re done.

… the dad who can build a mean snow fort.

… the dad who doesn’t buy his kids ’stuff’ to make-up, replace, or apologize for anything, but rather comes home with a sheath of paper and a rainbow of coloured pencils to spend a Saturday afternoon side-by-side laying on the living room floor tracing random shapes and abstract arts onto a hundred sheets of paper.

… the dad who avoids the easy-route of plugging in a head-rest DVD, and instead sings ridiculous songs in the car, negotiates the countryside with observational narratives, and carves away hours with dozens of meandering games that point out the colour of the passing vehicles or silly words extracted from the letters of license plates.

… the dad who knows the lyrics to all the crazy kid’s songs.

… the dad who can invent elaborate and entertaining fictions from the lives of his kids, mixing, blending, and extrapolating elements of their personalities and realities into playful narratives to be enjoyed under the safety of their blankets and explored as they drift off to sleep.

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Full text from February 5, 2008 by Brad
Filed as: Skepdad thoughts

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Future skep/dad Topics, Perhaps?

I’ve not had much time to sit down and write this week. Truth is, I scraped together some cash and bought myself a new notebook that has been occupying too much of my attention whilst I try out the many new features. That said, the plan in buying the new notebook was to give me more time and convenience in writing for this project (as well as a few others). Convenience? Well, it’s a notebook, so I can sit on the couch, put on some tunes, and type. Time? A rare commodity as a parent, but the new computer is, admittedly, a Mac so (as promised by the onslaught of advertising) its been running all weekend trouble free right out of the box. No more precious hours shared between changing diapers, reading aloud, and wireless connectivity maintenance. Of course, this gives me reason to pause and consider what I should write.

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Full text from January 20, 2008 by Brad
Filed as: Meta-Skepdad

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