The Backyard Play Revolution


Book Description

In this eye opening, easy-to-follow, action-oriented book, Jason Runkel Sperling explains how to use screen-free, unstructured outdoor play and toys to increase early-age child learning opportunities and improve happiness for the whole family.You'll learn:* How to encourage your child to enjoy active, outdoor, screen-free play * How to foster unstructured, child-led playtime * The secret to making risky play work for your child* Practical advice on how to pick the right toys and transform your backyard* How to set up your backyard playspace and not break the bank* And much, much more... Follow one father's entertaining and informative experiments to find play and toys that inspire his children to play outside, offline, and independently-like children of past generations. Author Jason Runkel Sperling shares his six-year journey discovering the history of play, playgrounds, toys, and the role of adults in their children's experiences, culminating in a revolutionary approach to backyard play. Full of humor, parenting insight, and in-depth research, Sperling's book will change how you think about raising children, and how you organize your home.If you're like the majority of parents today, you may have noticed the differences in modern childhood. Unlike every other generation, your children spend more time indoors, glued to screens, and are less active and free to roam than in any time in history. You likely have come across countless articles on the epidemic of child obesity and behavioral problems today, and perhaps you've heard that getting children to play outside is an easy and inexpensive remedy. You may already want to get your children to play outside, but nothing seems to motivate them. Or maybe you're frozen with fear that they might get hurt if they go out. Plus, your backyard is manicured for adult enjoyment. So instead of heading outside, your children stay indoors, damaging their health, and driving you up the walls.You may have tried lawn games, sports equipment, remote control toys, or backyard arts and crafts, but nothing seems to hold their attention. And when you do spend time in the backyard, you always have to play with them. Or, perhaps you can't stand the thought of your children not getting ahead-so the children's schedule is jam-packed with adult-led, goal-based activities outside the home. In other words, you've turned into the family chauffeur. Whatever happened to "go outside and play"? Raising children today is harder than ever before, but children haven't changed all that much.The best way to get children to develop their imagination and creativity, motor and sensory skills, emotional and social intelligence, and every other physical and mental ability, is to get them to "go outside and play" with open-ended, child-led play that can be enjoyed in the backyard. There are proven, evidence-based approaches for the role parents should take in facilitating this kind of play. And you can learn them quickly and apply them tomorrow. This doesn't mean getting rid of every after-school activity, throwing away every toy in the house, or putting the kibosh on screen time forever. But it does mean making sure that children have active playtime necessary to prevent physical and psychological maladies. It's vital, especially with early-age children, to give them the environment and support they need to develop. You don't have to play with children every second, you just need to know the right kind of play and toys to provide and how to gently guide them.The Backyard Play Revolution is for parents from every background, regardless of location or income level, and is appropriate for backyards of any size.This book isn't hundreds of pages long. You can read the whole thing the day you get it and take action the next day. Are you ready to profoundly impact your child's life? Scroll up to the top of the page and get your copy of The Backyard Revolution now.







Cognitive Processes in Individual and Collective Creativity: A Cross-Cultural Perspective


Book Description

Creativity, the highest level of human wisdom, has become an increasingly important concept in different fields of psychological enquiry, particularly because it is portrayed as contributing to many aspects of society, including personal development, economic prosperity and technological advancement. However, although considerable research attention from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds has focused on trying to understand creativity, the specific nature of creativity, its theoretical underpinnings and cognitive mechanisms, remain unclear, not least when it comes to the understanding of creativity at the individual level and creativity at the collective level. On the one hand, there are crucial distinctions between individual and collective creativity. On the other hand, the process of being creative involves not only independent or individual efforts but also interdependent or collective efforts. Understanding these differences and interrelationships is crucially important in studies of creativity. In this Research Topic, we bring together research from a wide variety of cognitive and psychological approaches and perspectives in order to provide a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of creativity at both the individual and collective levels. Furthermore, cognitive mechanisms in the creativity process are unavoidably affected by sociocultural factors and these mechanisms look different across cultures, particularly between Eastern cultures and Western cultures, two worlds that often imply dramatically dissimilar values and perspectives. Despite the fact that many studies have compared and contrasted these two cultures in various respects, little research has focused on the specific topic of cultural variation in creative cognition. In addition, very few studies have examined the differences in the cognitive mechanisms underpinning the cultural variations that can be observed at a surface level. This Research Topic aims to fill this gap in the literature and examine the cognitive processes and mechanisms in the creativity process at both individual and collective levels across different cultures by using theoretical and empirical evidence.




Creativity


Book Description

An integrative introduction to the theories and themes in research on creativity, the second edition of Creativity is both a reference work and text for courses in this burgeoning area of research. The book begins with a discussion of the theories of creativity (Person, Product, Process, Place), the general question of whether creativity is influenced by nature or nurture, what research has indicated of the personality and style of creative individuals from a personality analysis standpoint, and how social context affects creativity. This wide-ranging work then proceeds to coverage of issues such as gender differences, whether creativity can be enhanced, if creativity is related to poor mental or physical health, and much more. The book contains boxes covering special interest items, including one-page biographies of famous creative individuals, and activities for a group or individual to test or encourage creativity, as well as references to Internet sites relating to creativity. - Includes all major theories and perspectives on creativity - Consolidates recent research into a single source - Includes key terms defined and text boxes with interesting related material - Single authored for clarity and consistency of presentation







Twice-Exceptional Gifted Children


Book Description

Twice-Exceptional Gifted Children, Second Edition provides informed recommendations for improving screening, identification, and services for gifted students with disabilities. This essential resource equips educators with an overview of who these students are, how teachers can tap into their strengths and support their weaknesses, and educational strategies to help them succeed in school and beyond. Thoroughly revised and updated to reflect the latest research and advances in the field, the Second Edition includes new content outlining the positive and negative impacts of Response to Intervention (RtI) on twice-exceptional learners and recommends comprehensive assessments to identify their strengths and challenges, determine significant discrepancies in abilities, and evaluate any impacts on their learning and academic performance. This new edition also includes revised recommendations for screening and identifying twice-exceptional students, critical insights for understanding and supporting mental health issues, and updated analysis from the DSM-5 for Autism Spectrum Disorder, Specific Learning Disorder, and ADHD. Ideal for teachers, coaches, and administrators looking to better understand their most talented learners, the fresh strategies, updated definitions, and comprehensive assessments included in this book will ensure that twice-exceptional gifted students don’t just survive in the classroom, but thrive.







Encyclopedia of Creativity


Book Description

Creativity influences each of our lives and is essential for the advancement of society. The first edition of the successful Encyclopedia of Creativity helped establish the study of creativity as a field of research in itself. The second edition, published in 2011, was named a 2012 Outstanding Academic Title by the American Library Association's Choice publication. Featuring 232 chapters, across 2 volumes, the third edition of this important work provides updated information on the full range of creativity research. There has been an enormous increase in research on the topic throughout the world in many different disciplines. Some areas covered in this edition include the arts and humanities, business, education, mental and physical health, neuroscience, psychology, the creative process and technology. Fundamental subjects are discussed such as the definition of creativity, the development and expression of creativity across the lifespan, the environmental conditions that encourage or discourage creativity, the relationship of creativity to mental health, intelligence and learning styles, and the process of being creative. Creativity is discussed within specific disciplines including acting, architecture, art, dance, film, government, interior design, magic, mathematics, medicine, photography, science, sports, tourism and writing. A wide range of topics are covered. Here is a partial overview by topic: Business and organizational creativity: Advertising, Creative Economies, Creativity Consulting and Coaching, Corporate Creativity, Creativity Exercises, Entrepreneurship, Group Dynamics, Innovation, Leadership, Management of Creative People, Patents, Teams, and Training. The Cognitive Aspects of Creativity: Altered and Transitional States, Analogies, Attention, Breadth of Attention, Cognitive Style, Divergent Thinking, Flow and Optimal Experience, Knowledge, Logic and Reasoning, Metacognition, Mental Models, Memory, Metaphors, Mind Wandering, Mindfulness, Problem-Finding, Problem-Solving, and Remote Associates. The Creative Process: Attribution, Constraints, Discovery, Insight, Inspiration, Intentionality, Motivation, Risk-Taking, and Tolerance for Ambiguity. Education: Children’s Creativity, , Education, Intelligence, Knowledge, Metacognition, Play, Prodigies, Programs And Courses, Talent And Teaching Creativity. Neuroscience Research: Cellular Matter, Grey Matter, Cellular Density; EEG, Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (Fmri), Music and The Brain, Pupillometry, Systems, The Cerebellum and Transcranial Electrical Stimulation. Psychology: The Big 5 Personality Characteristics, Bipolar Mood Disorders, Childhood Trauma, Depression, Deviance, Dreams, Emotions, Expressive Arts, Grit, Introversion, Jungian Theory, Mad Genius Controversy, Openness, Schizotypy, Suicide, Therapy and Counseling Trauma and Transcendence and Transforming Illness and Visual Art. Social Aspects of Creativity: Awards, Birth Order, Criticism, Consensual Assessment, Diversity, Eminence, Families, Friendships and Social Networks, Geeks, Mentors, Millennials, Networking, Rewards, And Sociology. Society and Creativity: Awards, Climate For Creativity, Cross-Cultural Creativity, Destruction Of Creativity, Law And Society, Social Psychology, Social Transformation, Voting, War, and Zeitgeist. Technology: Chats, Computational Creativity, Computerized Text Analysis, Gaming, Memes, Networks and Maps, and Virtual Reality.