Exploring CHILDREN’s Learning and creativity
Fostering Kids’ Success
Dr. Joanne Foster’s Blog
Welcome to Dr. Joanne Foster’s blog, a dedicated space for relevant information, insights, and strategies to help kids thrive. The author blends decades of acquired knowledge with up-to-date reflections and resources. Dive into a collection of material on creativity; learning and development; motivation and development; and children’s well-being. This blog will serve to enlighten parents, educators, and anyone who is passionate about empowering the next generation of thinkers, doers, and creators.
Please contact Dr. Foster if you are interested in a guest blog or article for your publication or organization.
CATEGORIES
Creativity
Families, Creativity, and Celebratory Times: Adding a Fresh Spin!
The calendar year offers many occasions to be creative, learn, and have fun! Here are several ideas to help “create memorable moments, fortify traditions, share pleasurable family experiences, and bond over celebratory possibilities.”
Best Times Ever!
Discover ten different ways to facilitate fun—and then encourage your family to extend the ideas throughout the entire year. Find out how to maximize play, creativity, exploration, and joy now, and later.
Let’s Go for Ice Cream!
Check out these “ice cream-y” ideas! Discover delicious treats, create family fun, and enjoy memorable experiences! (BTW – my favorite ice cream flavor is moose tracks. What’s yours?)
Let’s Play!
Dr. Joanne Foster’s guide to enriching family time focuses on creative, engaging activities that blend play, learning, and exploration. Discover crafts, games, and outdoor adventures that nurture children’s development and strengthen family bonds.
24 Creativity Tips
Dr. Joanne Foster shares 24 tips for nurturing children’s creativity, emphasizing the importance of curiosity, support, and the joy of imaginative exploration.
Creative Inclinations
Creativity doesn’t demand grand gestures; it begins with small steps—one word, one note, one brush stroke. Dr. Joanne Foster demystifies the creative process, offering insights into how time management and simplicity can be assets, not obstacles. Dive in and let creativity ripple and swell in your life.
Reflect, Create, Enjoy!
Dr. Foster’s article ‘Reflect, Create, Enjoy!’ encourages self-care through reflection and creativity, offering parents suggestions to cultivate these qualities in family life, emphasizing positivity, resilience, and the joy of shared experiences.
Mess for Success
Dr. Joanne Foster discusses embracing ‘sloppy success,’ highlighting its value in fostering resilience and creativity. She contrasts structured approaches with the benefits of dealing with unexpected challenges, both in adult business contexts and children’s learning environments.
“Mother Nature” and “Father Time” – Who Is More Powerful?
Dr. Joanne Foster explores the powerful forces of ‘Mother Nature’ and ‘Father Time,’ highlighting their influence in our lives. She encourages children to understand and respect these forces, fostering awareness and appreciation of life’s inevitable changes and gifts.
Learning and Development
Science Fairs: Yes? No? Maybe?
This piece focuses on the topic of school science fairs. There are questions raised about the nature and viability of such fairs, and then the author shares material conveyed in an interview in the Journal for the Education of Gifted Young Scientists.
Kids and Nonfiction Books
“Nonfiction books provide information, strategies for doing and learning, and new perspectives.” Discover how to fortify kids’ reading selections across genres, and encourage their interest in nonfiction books. They’re gateways to pleasure and infinite possibilities!
Girls, Giftedness, and Smart Possibilities
Gifted/high-level development among girls is the focus of this piece. Dr. Joanne Foster discusses realities, and concerns—including “dumbing down.” She offers practical approaches to support students in maximizing their abilities, and provides several helpful resources.
Home-School-Community Partnerships
Dr. Joanne Foster emphasizes the importance of collaborative home-school-community partnerships for effective learning. She discusses the roles of students, parents, teachers, and administrators in creating a cohesive educational environment that nurtures students’ growth and development.
Summer Learning Lapses? Relax!
During the summer, parents are often concerned whether their kids will retain the knowledge they’ve acquired over the past school year, or whether they’ll experience a learning lapse. Here are some considerations and suggestions for parents.
Helping Kids Gain Voice and Vigor
Empower youth to shape a better world by nurturing their character, creativity, and leadership. Adults play a crucial role in guiding young minds towards impactful actions and positive global contributions.
Optimal Learning – Suggestions for Parents
Dr. Joanne Foster’s article focuses on preparing parents for evolving educational landscapes. It advocates for awareness and adaptability, suggesting active involvement in school communities and informed decision-making. It also encourages maintaining a positive outlook to support children’s optimal learning.
Orchids, Children, and Optimal Growth
Dr. Joanne Foster discusses nurturing children’s growth, comparing it to caring for an orchid. She emphasizes the importance of a strong foundation and support for optimal learning, addressing the fluid nature of development and the uniqueness of each child’s growth trajectory.
Top Tips for Parents: What’s the Ultimate Take-Away?
Highlighting the significance of encouragement in child development, this article offers insights into how it enhances learning, motivation, enthusiasm, and agency, with practical tips for parents.
Motivation and Productivity
Suggestions for Kids: How to Get Motivated!
The tips presented here are FOR KIDS—(please share with them)—so they can realize how to become motivated and stay motivated, and experience the joy and fulfilment that ensue.
Kids’ Laziness: Is It Okay or Unhealthy?
Why are kids sometimes lazy? Is it problematic or restorative? Find out! Here are questions about laziness kids can ask themselves—and answer. Plus, discover next steps and useful tips to help them manage laziness, and engage in happy productivity.
Yes, I Can! 8 Ways Kids Can Confront Challenges
This blog is for kids! Discover empowering strategies, and tackle challenges confidently. This guide encourages accountability, preparation, optimism, and taking breaks to enhance creativity and success in various settings—from school to community programs.
Motivating Activities for Children
Explore a treasure trove of creative and engaging activities designed to spark children’s imaginations and foster family connections. From inventive play to artistic expression, these ideas promise enriching experiences for weekends, rainy days, and beyond.
Is Your Child’s Motivation Low?
Dr. Joanne Foster discusses children’s fluctuating motivation levels, influenced by various factors like health and resilience. She acknowledges the challenges in today’s world but emphasizes steps parents can take to support their children in becoming more engaged.
Conveying Confidence in Children’s Abilities
Dr. Foster’s article on ‘Conveying Confidence in Children’s Abilities’ outlines seven key strategies for parents to boost their children’s confidence, including encouraging step-by-step progress, showing appreciation for effort, and paying attention to the key aspects of life balance.
Tips for Learners in a Digital World
Dr. Foster’s blog on digital learning emphasizes strategies for maximizing online productivity and focus, offering practical tips for both learners and parents to navigate and excel in the digital world.
Desire and Determination: Complementary Forces
Dr. Joanne Foster explores the synergy between desire and determination in achieving success. She offers practical strategies for overcoming life’s challenges and emphasizes the importance of effort, commitment, and self-confidence in reaching personal and professional goals
Helping Children Overcome Difficulty
Dr. Joanne Foster’s article on helping children overcome difficulty emphasizes the importance of understanding and responding to children’s emotions. She provides fifteen personalized strategies for parents to support their children during challenging times, focusing on reassurance, creative outlets, and coping strategies.
Children’s Well-Being
Being Consciously Upbeat!
We live in a world wherein life can be challenging and unpredictable, and change is inevitable. The focus of this article is on the importance of striving to be consciously upbeat – even when facing difficulties.
An Attitude of Gratitude
Gratitude can be invigorating! Adults can help young people become more aware of why being grateful matters, Discover insights and prompts for understanding gratitude, and useful tips to encourage kids to convey it in meaningful ways.
Navigating Fresh Starts and Transitions
As families navigate new seasons and ventures, they encounter hopes, challenges, and the need for balance. Dr. Joanne Foster discusses the importance of optimism and embracing change, helping kids transition with confidence and self-assurance.
Helping Kids Develop Confidence
How does confidence develop? What are some misconceptions, and what fundamentals are required for confidence to build over time? Discover five useful strategies to help kids become more confident, plus other ways to support them.
Powering Through Change: Tips For Kids
Change is inevitable. However, it can be challenging! This blog provides self-motivating strategies children and teens can think about, act upon, and share with others. And, parents can encourage all these suggestions!
Summer Qualms? Supporting Kids In Times Of Change
Changes in routines and social situations are inevitable—for example, when the school year ends, or at holidays. Such transition times can be difficult for lots of children. Here are 7 tips for parents to help facilitate smooth change processes.
A Little Negotiation Can Go A Long Way
Maxine creatively negotiated her grade by combining her original rhymed book report with a conventional one, demonstrating the power of respectful dialogue and compromise in resolving academic disagreements.
Heartfelt Thoughts
Explore the profound connections between the heart’s physical and emotional roles, highlighting the importance of kindness, family bonds, and emotional well-being in children’s lives.
Fortifying Strengths
In ‘Fortifying Strengths,’ Dr. Foster provides ten practical pointers for parents to enhance resilience and coping skills in children during challenging times, emphasizing leadership, connection, mindfulness, and embracing individuality.
What to Do When Kids Are Upset?
This article provides strategies for parents to support children’s well-being when they’re upset, including giving them time to decompress, engaging in effective communication, and changing focus to nurture positivity and resilience.