You’ve Got a Lot of Nerve! … and Other Fascinating Things to Learn About the Brain

Of all the mysteries of the world, the HUMAN BRAIN is one of the most fascinating, and it literally connects to all topics of study since it is the organ devoted to LEARNING. In my classroom, a study of the brain began in 3rd grade GT class as part of our year-long unit: SYSTEMS, which … Read more

Celebrate Pi Day (3/14) in a Novel Way

Pi Day (3/14) is one of many math holidays you can celebrate with students! If you’ve never observed it, this Pi Day website is a great place to start. You will find teacher resources, math help, merchandise, and even a countdown to Pi Day. A simple search online will result in dozens of additional ideas! … Read more

Constrained Writing: It’s a Thing!

I had no idea it was a thing. In researching the topic of creative constraint, I was led to this Wikipedia article, and proceeded down a rabbit hole! Writing “with limitations” is ubiquitous. Six-word memoirs, seven-word summaries, haiku poetry, and 280-character tweets are all examples of constrained writing. I became interested in exploring more about … Read more

“Thinking Inside the Box”: Constrain the Brain to Promote Creativity

In a previous post, I shared a fun way to introduce and explain the origin of the phrase “thinking outside the box.” I wonder if “thinking inside the box” could describe some of the brain-training exercises that promote thinking through the application of rules and constraints. A constraint is a limitation or restriction. Most of … Read more