Julia Cameron and The Artist's Way

Julia Cameron,  of The Artist's Way fame, is about to publish a new book, The Artist's Way for Parents.

“Every child is creative,” says Cameron, “And every parent is creative. Your child requires joy, and exercising creativity, both independently and together, makes for a happy and fulfilling family life.”

Very exciting.

Olinguito

Let us all welcome the Olinguito, the first new carnivore identified in the western hemisphere for 35 years.....

The story behind it is that it seems to have been a case of mistaken identity, many people thinking it was an olingo and there were even failed attempts to breed it in a zoo, as a mate from a different species was offered and it wasn't having any of it.

Lovely Friday story, better than hearing about declining species....

LEGO

And while we are on the subject of LEGO...... the CEO of the LEGO Foundation, Randa Grob-Zakhary, spoke at the 2013 LEGO Idea Conference in April on creativity.

"On average, 98% of three year olds have genius levels of creative thinking. That means almost everybody here today was a creative genius as a child. Between 0-3 you developed in a way that meant your brain constantly took new and different approaches to the issues you faced in the play pen and the high chair. But ask yourself – do you think you’d score that well if you were tested today? Would you consider yourself a creative genius? You may well be, but the reality is that just 2% of people over the age of 25 retain that level of creativity."

The International School Of Billund & LEGO

This is a school I know my boys would love to go to, one initiated by The LEGO Foundation. The International School of Billund will provide creative, high quality academic programmes to students aged 3 to 16 years.

Their mission statement: "We guide and stimulate children to become ambitious lifelong learners who achieve personal fulfilment and who will make positive contribution to our ever-changing world. We believe this is consistent with the IB mission statement, which focuses on the idea of creating a better world through education."

Here's hoping they do wonderful things there (which I'm sure they will) and other schools around the world follow suit. 

Shot@Life

Shot@Life is a United Nations Foundation movement to protect children worldwide by providing life-saving vaccines where they are most needed.

"By encouraging Americans to learn about, advocate for, and donate to vaccines, Shot@Life aims to decrease vaccine-preventable childhood deaths and give every child a shot at a healthy life."

There are many ways to get involved, check out their website.

Kid University by Paredes Pedrosa

 Stunning kindergarten in Gandia, eastern Spain by Paredes Pedrosa.

Head over to dezeen for more photos.

A Breathing Earth

 

An animated gif of one year of seasonal transformations on Earth. By John Nelson.

Via Colossal.  

Stunning.