Creativity in Children, Part 1.

Jj is for Jottings 159.  Creativity in Children, Part 1.

Walk into any preschool/kindergarten and you see that they provide many opportunities for creativity in children.  Why is that?  Because arts and crafts are one of the most important ways to help children develop and grow between ages 3-8.  Here is a chart of communication milestones as a point of reference.  Creativity isn’t just about art and crafts, but they are major avenues for growth and development at these ages. Continue reading

The Effects of Watching Violence.

Jj is for Jottings 152.  The Effects of Watching Violence.

Did you know that the effects of watching violence are different from the effects of simply reading about violence?  Researchers consistently find that, the more often you watch disturbing scenes, the more anxious you become.  This can result in forming long-term traumatic memories.  Your brain is unable to distinguish between reality and fiction when viewing violence on screen.  Continue reading

Reading Books=Longer Life.

Jj is for Jottings 150.  Reading Books=Longer Life.

Research – some but not all – is now telling us that reading novels leads to a longer life.  On the other hand, it is well known that long periods of sitting increases health risks and reduces life span.  Researchers from Yale University set out to investigate three things:

  • Whether there is really a life-extending benefit from reading.
  • What is the mechanism behind it?
  • Do different types of reading material have different effects on longevity? There have been no studies done on this aspect."Photo
  • Reading Books=Longer Life. These two are starting early.

Continue reading

Critical Thinking.

Jj is for Jottings 142.  Critical Thinking.

I was thinking the other day about how the world would be much better if more people applied critical thinking skills in their daily lives.  Also about how we can introduce critical thinking to children.  Funnily enough, the very next morning I read an article in the newspaper citing the results of a study into conspiracy theorists and critical thinking skills.  More of that later.  I took that as a sign to write this article. Continue reading