Skip to main content

Brainstorming Checklist

Activities
  • Free writing- for this activity, set a timer for 2-5 minutes and write down everything that comes to mind in a notebook, entirely unfiltered
  • Journal/ Diary
  • Observations and pictures- Another thing you can do to help you get some ideas is to browse pictures on the internet. One site that is good for this is Pinterest. Try to think of stories behind the pictures you like most. Write down any ideas you get.
  • Colored notes (Characters, Settings, Conflicts)- Here is one brainstorming activity. Get out three colors of note cards or pieces of paper. One color will include settings, another characters, and the last one conflicts. Use these pieces of paper and time yourself for five minutes. During this time you will sit in a quiet environment and write down ideas for each category. When the time is up, pick a card from each category at random. Try to think of a story that can use all three elements. When you are done doing this activity, write down your ideas on a separate piece of paper.
Ask yourself...
  • Where or what event do you want to live? If you could travel to any point in time, when would that be?
  • If you could have your favorite author write any book, what would that book be about?
  • What life lessons or issues do you want people to be aware of?
  • What do you want to learn more about?
  • What stories, lore, or legends interest you?
  • What interesting things have happened in your personal life or in the world recently that has interested you or challenged you?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Pre-k Stranger Danger Circle and Activity

Your preschoolers may know how many legs an ant has, how to use a pipette, and how to count to ten, but do they know how to stay safe around strangers? It is such an important lesson, yet not all children are exposed to it. It is also a difficult subject for us adults to talk about, but there are ways to introduce "stranger danger" skills without scaring young children. To get you started, below are a couple ideas for a stranger danger unit. Intro to Stranger Danger Circle Transition in- For our transition in, we started with a finger play to get children settled. Before our story, I introduced the question "What is a Stranger?". As I had anticipated, children guessed that a stranger was a bad guy; they described strangers as being burglars, people who take kids, and bad guys. Body- For the bulk of this circle, I chose to read a book from my childhood, which is "The Berenstain Bears Learn About Strangers". This story is about young sister bear lea

How to Collage with Inkscape

Greetings! Today I wanted to share a method I use for creating artwork...one that is quick, easy, and somewhat addicting. Creating collage using a digital program may seem daunting, but it's actually a really easy way to make art, especially if you're not as gifted in the whole technical aspect. For today I am using Inkscape, which at this time is a free program that can be downloaded (you can get it from their official website: https://inkscape.org/en/download/). Keep in mind the techniques I'm using today are somewhat advanced and although I will try to walk through it as simply as possible, you may also consider experimenting and becoming more familiar with Inkscape if you are a first time user before attempting this tutorial. The first step for any type of collage-making is to collect materials for collage. Doing this digitally is easy, since there are so many great images on the internet. Google images is great for getting images if you know what specifically you&

Thoughts on Week of the Young Child 2017

Next week starting April 24th is Week of the Young Child 2017 (WOTYC), which celebrates young children, parents, and educators. In preparation for this time, I have been thinking about how I want to share this event with you. The most obvious idea seemed to be sharing activity ideas based on the curriculum themes for each day. As I sat down to write up activity plans, I kept thinking there was something bigger I wanted to say. Taking things back a step, I focused on the event itself. Why do we have Week of the Young Child, when the suggested themes and ideas should be celebrated all year long? The most important reason is awareness...children are important! With a special time of year for everything, from puppies to ice cream sundaes, it can be difficult to take these celebrations seriously. But some are more important than others. No matter how little experience you have with kids, we all have important reasons to care, to educate ourselves, and to be better. During our first