Posts by Wendy
Teach to the Tools
Scissors – First we start with pop up scissors with children 4 years old (or younger). WHY? Because with pop up scissors, that really cut, this is the first time the very important THUMB does a task aside from eating. Paper – Cutting paper requires both hands too! Both hands on the paper when the…
Read MoreDraw to Know
What is it about the pencil, the eraser, the clean white paper and 64 beautiful colors that is “so,so, so much fun” Lincoln said, “When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad I feel bad”. Is that it? Is it becausedoing a drawing is a “do good” activity and feeling. Is it…
Read MorePower of Visual Literacy
Visual Literacy can be defined many ways. A few ways are understanding how people, plants, animals, and things are connected and constructed. Understanding the many systems around us and drawing them in detail helps us explore those systems and are other ways to further understand the connections between them. I discovered a new way to…
Read MoreAnother Question
If we expose children to the many different genres of literature, would that spark their interest in a specific genre and ignite a desire to read? I was very familiar with the Chicago Public Library and the New York Library because it was there I did most of my research for writing and illustrating…
Read MoreDrawing Builds Listening Skills
It will be a student’s challenge all through their educational journey to listen. I mean listencarefully. It takes concentration to listen. We as humans have to even get better at listening toourselves and our fleeting thoughts that disappear like the blink of an eye.Listening and processing drawing directions trains the brain so much more than…
Read More13 Years of Research Began
Finding a classroom to answer the question ”Would healthy, high functioning fingers and hands help in the development of a child’s brain?” was not easy. Coincidence took me to Jennifer and Sandy. I knew these teachers from Michigan Reading Conferences. I asked them; “Do you know any 2nd grade classroom teachers who would be open…
Read MoreWhere It All Began
One cold day in Upper Michigan I was drawing a picture for the children’s book “Nothing to Do.” It was 2004 and, as only Michigan can do it, was the quietest weather imaginable. It can snow and snow and snow and in the blink of an eye it’s a full blown weather event. The moving…
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