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Spotlight on Our Thinkin' – Chapter 5

8/31/2016

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Welcome to the 5th post in our Spotlight Series, sharing some of the thinking in the lead-up to our latest exhibit, Beyond Words, opening Labour Day Weekend. Last December when we wrote this piece, we were frustrated by the delay of winter. It felt like nature never got the memo. And it got us thinking about change (or lack thereof) and so we set about to shed a little light on the topic. Enjoy the read...
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[ Originally shared Dec 2015 ]
On Change

We're thinking a lot about change these days – not just because nature is withholding seasonal transformation from us, but because we've just experienced a pretty big change in our personal and professional lives. Last month, one of us moved to a new house in a new neighbourhood and we've both had to adapt to a new schedule and distant proximity. We've discovered that moving – aka change – upends our sense of complacency. We get so comfortable in the spaces we inhabit – our homes, our classrooms, even our relationships and beliefs – that we stop noticing even the need for change. But change brings growth whether it happens quickly or moves like molasses. It's important to recognize that there's not always going to be an 'aha' moment. Not every learning experience will be monumental or tweetable. One day, you might look back and realize, WOW, things have really/finally changed! 

When we look back at the images from our earliest programs, we see an abundance of materials. Scaling up allowed us to demonstrate the incredible power and possibilities of loose parts. Just two years later, at
Material World exhibit, we created one installation with a single ball of yarn and another simply with rocks. In these instances, scaling down provided a completely different level of learning than scaling up. Turns out that on the continuum of our learning journey there is room for zooming in and zooming out. There's room for change whether it happens swiftly or incrementally. So if, like nature, you are stuck and change eludes you, take comfort in knowing change may be happening in small, imperceptible ways, even when it feels like you didn't the memo.

Wishing you positive changes this year,
Simone and Aviva
> Chapter 1
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Spotlight on Our Thinkin' – Chapter 4

8/30/2016

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Welcome to the 4th post in our Spotlight Series. When we wrote this piece in our newsletter last August as a lead-up to Material World exhibit, we had no idea just how much the learning would impact our lives. In many ways, Material World was a turning point that refined our beliefs about the power and wisdom of materials. It expanded our thinking and simplified our lives in surprising ways. It is so fascinating to look one year into the past – to see how thinking has evolved from "there" to "here". Please join us at Beyond Words Exhibit Sep 2-4, 2016, as we scan the world for new meaning, and go even further.
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[ Originally shared Aug 2015 ]
The Language of Materials

So, here's something we've noticed about the world – first, we start talking to each other about patterns emerging around us. Then we discover that others are having the same conversations in their own circles, clear across the world. Little pockets of interest begin to expand and join up until there is a cross-cultural, cross-disciplinary groundswell of thought and action that enters the collective consciousness – and then we all start heading in the same direction! Bucket Challenge, anyone? It happens in fashion, music, education, you name it. Usually the attention surges from one extreme to the other, and then finds its way to a balance somewhere in the middle.

At thinkined, we respond to these patterns by pulling the pieces together, examining other viewpoints, and re-mixing everything until we feel we have something valuable to say about it. Then we pop-up in the community, bringing people together to explore, discuss, un-structure, and evolve the collective thought-bubble. Lately, our brains have been exploding with a combo of big ideas: Nature. Materials. Generations. Narrative. Risk. And that's exactly how Material World, um... materialized! 

Maybe you've noticed families making donations in lieu of gifts; major retailers moving away from gender-specific signage; the trend towards gifting communities like tool libraries; parents shifting consumption habits; friends redirecting their energy towards purposeful ownership and connection. And maybe your school has begun to recognize loose parts as an integral part of inquiry learning. These are all conscious choices connected to how we interact with "stuff".  So now that we're all talking the same language, it's time to look more closely at our material world for a better understanding of the depth of learning it offers –WHY materials are so versatile, how we can use them to honour children's thinking, and how we can move from "playing" to "learning" in the minds of parents and educators.

At ThinkinEd, we work almost exclusively with reusable materials as part of a virtuous circle of learning. We recognize that we have a choice in how we live and learn in our material world. This is not about just playing with stuff but about breaking down the components of materials to examine the intelligence within; to opening our minds to their cross-curricular potential; and to discovering the unending capacity of materials to encourage relationship, emotion, acceptance, and more. 

See you at the exhibit!
Simone and Aviva
< CHAPTER 1
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Spotlight on Our Thinkin' – Chapter 3

8/29/2016

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Welcome to the 3rd post in our Spotlight Series. A relevant piece, in light of the outdoor experience we have planned for our upcoming exhibit – which will be led by our dynamic group of friends-in-residence. We hope you will join us to discover for yourself at Beyond Words Sep 2-4, 2016.
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[ Originally shared May 2015 ]
On Revisiting

Whenever we sit down to write or revisit photos between our busy programming, we realize we’ve learned something new that we need to add! Our ideas are constantly evolving. The story is never over. We could put our initial thoughts into words and send them out into the ether the very next day, but then we would only be skimming the surface. This weekend we had the good fortune of attending an inspiring keynote address by Ann Pelo, author of the exceptional book, “The Goodness of Rain”. Ann spoke about walking in place – about developing an ecological identity – a sense of self in place. She described how revisiting a place over and over again lets us dive deeper under the surface. Sparked by the intimacy of attention, the world narrows and becomes nuanced – which in turn opens up the world. 
 
This is exactly what happens when we revisit the photos and stories from our programs. Every time we return to look closely at an image or slow down and reflect, the learning goes deeper and we see something we didn’t see before. The nuances lead to broader learning – sparked by the intimacy of attention that Ann so beautifully describes. And the same can be said for documentation and inquiry learning. To honour both of these worthy tasks in authentic ways takes time, attention, and revisiting. That's why it's so important to invite children to revisit their ideas in a variety of ways, with multiple tools and diverse mediums over time. Recently, our dear friend and fellow educator, Laurel Fynes, tweeted about Wabi Sabi, a Japanese concept based on transience. According to Wabi-Sabi, everything is imperfect, impermanent and incomplete. And that’s exactly how we feel about our thinkin’. We will continue to ignore the immediacy of social media in favour of diving deeper, and trust that revisiting our learning over and over again will enrich our pedagogy of place – and possibly yours.

Simone and Aviva
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A Spotlight on Our Thinkin' – Chapter 2

8/28/2016

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Welcome to the second post in our Spotlight Series. Each day we’re featuring nuggets of language from past Playbill Newsletters, in chronological order, so you can see how our thinking has evolved. We've discovered that we've been blogging all along – we've just been doing it in a different dimension (aka not on our blog) and since our mailing list has grown over the years, many of you have missed the earliest posts. By re-visiting them here, we open up 'Our Thinkin' for conversation. We invite you to consider the power of words, then join us to move Beyond Words at our new exhibit, popping up Sep 2-4, 2016.
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[ Originally shared Feb 2015 ]
The Art of Imagination
How the The Art of Play exhibit came to life.

We have this ongoing discussion about the relevancy of higher education and it goes something like this:

Universities used to be the hub for knowledge-seekers. A place where you could delve deeply into a subject and emerge with degree in hand – evidence of acquired knowledge and employability. But now we find ourselves in the digital age, with the world at our fingertips and information in our pockets. Children are inventors. Parents are entrepreneurs. Teachers are learners. Remix culture is here to stay and we need to be ready for all the valuable and divergent voices. University is no longer the only place that can give us answers or lead us to careers (and never was). Learning happens everywhere, and we can tap into these powerful knowledge-building moments whenever we like.

That’s the inspiration behind our new initiative, DareU, part labschool, part interactive museum, part captivating playground. No walls, no limits. Just seriously creative learning opportunities to expand your mind and accelerate your practice. We dare you to think critically and creatively – about where we’re headed and how we’ll get there. We dare you to play with bold and imaginative ideas and materials. We dare you to dream. Remember daydreams? Do we give our children the courtesy of time and space to tune out today? Let’s remember that any little daydream could be the spark for incredible change. That's why we build these exhibits – to (re)connect us with thought-provoking ideas, unstructured play, and imaginative possibilities.
 
See you on the road!
Simone and Aviva
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> CHAPTER 3
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A Spotlight on Our Thinkin' – Chapter 1

8/27/2016

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Welcome to the first post in our Spotlight Series. Each day we’ll feature the language from past Playbill Newsletters, in chronological order, so you can see how our thinking has evolved. We've discovered that we've been blogging all along – we've just been doing it in a different dimension (aka not on our blog) and since our mailing list has been grown over the years, many of you may have missed the earliest posts. By re-sharing them here, we open up 'Our Thinkin' for conversation. We invite you to consider the power of words, then join us to move Beyond Words at our new exhibit, popping up Sep 2-4, 2016.

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[ Originally shared Jan 2015 ]

It's Our Birthday
One year into our totally unique, rule-defying, mobile teaching project, here's what we've noticed: 
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•    People are ready for change. We can’t believe how many teachers and students we met this year who are SO READY to breath new life into education. We’ve found these change-ready peeps in the community, at schools, on twitter, they’re everywhere – sharing their ideas with whole-hearted enthusiasm, gobbling up our challenges, and inspiring us to keep pushing the boundaries!

•    People are NOT ready for change. Just sayin. Get your feet and heads out of the mud, people (unless it’s the outdoor-learning-kind-of-mud) and face the future! Free yourselves from fear and anxiety about the unknown. The living-loving-learning future has powerful research behind it. Bring the good things with you – nature, common sense, calculated risk. Leave the crap behind! There’s no place for hyper-academic expectations, parental hovering, and misplaced ownership in the future. We’ve spent an entire year honing our radar for change-resistors, and we’re comin’ for you with a rallying cry: EMBRACE CHANGE, PEOPLE! You’re welcome.

•    Education is not a war. Early on, we were explaining our services to a teacher who commented: “Don’t you think you should spend 10 years in a classroom first?” Ouch. We’ve met many teachers who share this point of view. We don’t. And here’s why: Education needs to catch up to the speed of now. We need all types of players, voices, and perspectives in education – both formal and informal. We need all kinds of thinkers and doers working together. Formal education is NOT the only source or barometer for knowledge, skills, and ability. Experience comes in multiple forms! We’re pretty sure ten years in the trenches won’t change our contribution to education in a positive way. But the ten years we haven’t spent in the trenches has made it possible for us to boldly test and refine our theories about healthy learning environments. This is where we choose to be – on the cutting edge of universal truths.

•    We are all creators. There’s never been a better time to create your own job. Industry cross-over, world-wide access, knowledge-sharing – it’s all right at your fingertips (somewhere between hashtag and smiley face). When we popped-up 'out of nowhere' with ThinkinEd, we called ourselves freelance educators. But we’re more than that. We’re Imagination Gurus! Play-Makers! Architects of Ideas! So that’s what we became – Idea Architects. You wouldn’t believe how many times we’ve been asked if we’re hiring, or where to get a degree in Idea Architecture. We don’t hand out degrees, but we do teach children to see themselves as creators, not just consumers. The future is filled with job positions that have yet to be imagined. Go out and create a job for yourself. And maybe someday we won’t be the only Idea Architects for hire!

If this past year is any indication, 2015 promises to be a year filled with creativity and surprises. People often ask us: “If you don’t know where you’re going, how can you get there?” Here’s the thing – it’s not that we don’t know WHERE we’re headed, we’re just comfortable not knowing HOW we’ll get there. Where we’re going is a shape-shifting target anyway – one that gets re-imagined on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis. By remaining open to change, we’re living-breathing the very inquiry process we teach! We’re kinda hoping it’s contagious.
 
See you on the road!
Simone and Aviva

> CHAPTER 2
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    Simone does most of the writing – with major input from Aviva. We don't write very often. So when we do, it's kind of a big deal ❤︎


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