EARLY CHILDHOOD PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT » creativity

What are your passions?

rgoodchild — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 19:03:27 +0000

I read an awesome quote this morning:

“If you’re not passionate about something, go find it. Because we do not need more unengaged boring people to inhabit this planet”. -Ben Heppner

If there is one place this is COMPLETELY true, it is in teaching. If a teacher loses their love and passion for the job, it becomes one that is full of endless tasks, that you can only achieve by going through the motions. Discontentment starts, and enjoyment vanishes.

In Early Childhood Education, where we know the learning should be child led and directed, it can he hard to know how to incorporate your own passions into teaching without preventing a child’s own interests to flourish.

However introducing the things you love to the children you teach is how we best teach. What are three things you love in your life away from teaching? Find a way to bring elements of these into your teaching and not only will your enjoyment increase, but you will be giving children the opportunity to take your ideas and develop them for themselves, increasing their learning.

We make many assumptions about a child and their learning. One of the worse is that they will instinctively follow their own interests. While they certainly do, they can not fill an empty basket if they do not at first know what they are shopping for. By sharing our passions we give them the chance to explore new ideas, and see if they are something they enjoy.

Share your passions at work. Read to your children, garden alongside them, bring in your paintings and show your techniques, set up a cafe for mid morning fluffies….. the ideas are endless.

Eating for focus

rgoodchild — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 21:04:15 +0000

I recently went back to my gluten free lifestyle and since the beginning of the year, for some reason, I’m off dairy. Even my beloved yoghurt has taken a back seat to soy.

I’m just not enjoying it anymore. I am not too sure why or what’s happened, but the desires for slabs of cheese, milk, and even icrecream…have gone. In fact I find I can’t eat them anymore (Except curiously the movie icecreams. Maybe it’s all in my head!)

I have found though that my thinking is generally a lot clearer and I’m getting more done.

Well except for today!

I haven’t kicked the caffeine, but I’m off the alcohol normally….and not eating a lot of processed food (Though chocolate is sneaking back in)

If it helps with work loads it’s got to be a good thing- right?

What makes it a story?

rgoodchild — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 13:23:58 +0000

I’ve been thinking about what makes a story interesting. In the end, it’s really the juxtaposition of two opposing points that in isolation are often very normal on their own

For example, I have three children. Put us in a rural area (which is where we were started) and that size fmaily seems normal. Move us to a big city, and it’s a regular comment to us at cafes that I have a large family

Easiest way to find a new story? Find the point of difference.

Find the magic makers

rgoodchild — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 00:50:45 +0000

On Friday night I was out at a friends. It’s a a regular thing- we sit around the table eating and drinking with a pile of other adults while the children run around outside. Around seven we throw them some pizza, and then keep on chatting, drinking and eating. The kids love it, the parents love it. It’s win win.

I was tired, and I knew I had to work alot of this weekend. I was planning to leave early- but the music started and before you knew it a few of us were up and dancing together, with our children. I laughed as it was pure Disney- these happy family snapshots of sharing the parenting,adults dancing with each other’s children.

I was still planning to leave,when a group of people arrived. It was my friend’s next door neighbour with a bundle of other adults. Our fun was infectious, and in moments they too were dancing with our children, swapping stories and we were all laughing and enjoying this moment together.

Eleven O’clock I dragged my children home (to give you an idea of how rare that sort of treat is for them my five year old asked if it was Christmas since it was so late!) and thought about the night.

It all happened because my friend is a magic maker. Things just happen around her. Slightly crazy things, but they are beautiful, fun, enjoyable and memorable. And they provide so much to write about too.

Want to find a story? Find the magic makers and befriend them. Magic makes stories. It’s easy then

Weathering the storm

rgoodchild — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 16:34:29 +0000

I had planned to take my girls to the Museum today. I was looking forward to it- I feel the last few weeks have been so busy and stressful, and I felt a little reminding of us as a family was completely warranted.

Then I found out the storm of the decade was going to hit. We decided to stay at home instead (after doing a food and torch shop, and collecting a few craft packs and a novel for me…)

It ended up being an awesome day. We spring cleaned, played, talked, and enjoyed our day. Best yet I had a break through on a book idea I have had swimming aorund in my head for months. I’ve been weathering the storm of fogginess on it for a while, and tonight worked out a plan, and a plot line. All exciting stuff.

It’s good to stay indoors every now and again! The storm didn’t seem to affect our day at all- compared to the thousands without electricity and with tree brances in their garden… I felt we had over reacted until we watched the news and saw the impact for so many other people.

It helped me take a step back from any real life storms and unwind a little. Nothing like a bit of rain and wind to make things new again.

The storm hits the North Island

Riding the creative wave

rgoodchild — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:58:33 +0000

I was talking about managing your creativity with several different people today. It is funny sometimes how the same topics can come up over a short period of time highlighting their importance.

For me,learning to manage my creativity is essential to my success. I know people far more creative than me, far more talented than me. My point of difference is simple- I know how to ride the wave of creativity.

When I am in a state of creative flux (I am in one now actually) I don’t create. I plan. I plan plan plan plan plan anything and everything.

Once the plan is made, I sell my ideas.

Often the buy into my ideas comes in the dry spells. If I have done it well, I can complete the creative ideas in the dry spells.

The plus side is I get to make a living being creative. The negative side is I don’t get down times languishing by the pool side. Ahh well. It’s winter anyway!

Sometimes the very best way to write is not to

rgoodchild — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 08:13:49 +0000

I am about to sit down and complete a couple of articles due in on Monday. After that I need to work on some revisions of my book, and of course Monday I begin another week of work in my writing related job.

When I have alot of deadlines my body naturally shuts itself from anything work related for a day or so leading up to deadline. It makes me refresh myself and my mind reignites the passion I hold for writing. The best thing you can do to improve your writing sometimes is to NOT write.

Sometimes it is a case of saying to yourself: STEP AWAY FROM THE COMPUTER. YOU CAN DO IT!

And see what eventuates when you do.
I can not believe how refreshed I feel from NOT writing. And how hungry I am to set some words down on a page now.

Music invokes the creative spirit

rgoodchild — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 22:49:05 +0000

I sometimes feel creative pursuits are inextricably connected. If you want to seek one form you need to also focus on another. I sometimes wake with a song in my mind, then that develops into storylines, images spill out in words, and I am ready to write.

I woke with the song ANGEL in my head this morning. Thank God for the gift of YouTube as my cd of it is jammed in my car and won’t come out. In searching for it I found this song, which so relates to my novel…and stirred my spirit up to write.:

Fallen by Sarah McLachlan

Heaven bent to take my hand
And lead me through the fire
Be the long awaited answer
To a long and painful fight

Truth be told I’ve tried my best
But somewhere along the way
I got caught up in all there was to offer
And the cost was so much more than I could bear

Though I’ve tried, I’ve fallen…
I have sunk so low
I have messed up
Better I should know
So don’t come round here
And tell me I told you so…

We all begin with good intent
Love was raw and young
We believed that we could change ourselves
The past could be undone
But we carry on our backs the burden
Time always reveals
The lonely light of morning
The wound that would not heal
It’s the bitter taste of losing everything
That I have held so dear.

I’ve fallen…
I have sunk so low
I have messed up
Better I should know
So don’t come round here
And tell me I told you so…

Heaven bent to take my hand
Nowhere left to turn
I’m lost to those I thought were friends
To everyone I know
Oh they turned their heads embarrassed
Pretend that they don’t see
But it’s one missed step
You’ll slip before you know it
And there doesn’t seem a way to be redeemed

Though I’ve tried, I’ve fallen…
I have sunk so low
I have messed up
Better I should know
So don’t come round here
And tell me I told you so…