THE CYCLE OF CREATIVITY - How to create anything from nothing

THE CYCLE OF CREATIVITY

Whether we have the desire to create something ourselves...

Whether we are guiding young children and helping them understand that they can create anything...

Whether you are leading an organization and you want to empower those whom you guide to be more creative...

Enrique Feldman delivering a keynote address at the First Things First  Conference in Phoenix, AZ, August, 2015

We live in an increasingly visual environment. So, what does the creative process look like?

For children, it can be a moment in the kitchen with mom and/or dad and being part of the creation of a meal. Key to any moment would be the quality of the questions we ask while engaged. Open ended questions lead to a much more profound sense of creativity and begin to build a comfort level with the unknown with any age learner.

Mixing Paints and Pixels! Handmade Art mixed with Digital Art

Using different forms of Art can be a wonderful approach to opening up the creative process, as can collaboration. Assuming it is authentic collaboration, it can lead to synergy.  By authentic, I mean an environment where everyone feels safe enough to bring their ideas to the conversation.

Creativity can most easily be stirred in us when we connect to a passion we have.  When we begin to connect our sense of passion with others, creativity typically takes a leap forward in terms of the presence it has in our daily lives.

As children, we create everyday in most happy childhood situations. As adults, we quite often see creativity as a bonus, something we can sometimes engage... a luxury.

However, when we remember what it is to be a fully present human being, we are reminded of how much we have to learn from children. When we can find ways to create on a daily basis as adults, & live again like children, we find ourselves truly present in our daily lives and the cycle of creativity can become a way of life.

Early Childhood Educators experiencing iBG, Intellectual Brainwave Games, Original cognition and perspective games which remind us how it feels to learn something new!

Certainly, curiosity is connected to creativity...

There is a sequence of thought that, once engaged, will help you engage your inner sense of creativity and the feeling is like few others in life.  It is with great pleasure and authentic joy that I share this sequence with you. I call it the...

 Cycle of Creativity  

                                                              INSPIRATION 

What inspires you?

There are many ways to ask this question. For a young child it may start with "What do you like?" "What makes you excited?" I've decided to guide you through this cycle from both an adult and child perspective. Here we go!

ADULT PERSPECTIVE

Upon asking some adult friends of mine, many responded with one word... Chocolate! I wonder where the inspiration of chocolate will take us?

CHILD PERSPECTIVE

Upon asking some children what they loved and what excited them, some responded with... Ants! Hmmmm.... so many places this inspiration could take us, and actually took my daughter and me on a learning journey that has lasted for many years.

POV (Point of View)

What point of view do you choose and why do you choose this point of view? 

ADULT PERSPECTIVE

So in this example, chocolate was the inspiration. I asked one of my friends who said chocolate and they wanted to explore chocolate from the perspective of chicken wings... wow... I would not have thought of that. I asked this individual why, and they responded with, "I love chicken wings and I love chocolate and I wonder if the two could work together."

CHILD PERSPECTIVE

In asking the child who said "Ants!" I asked, from what point of view?  They didn't know what that meant, so we got down on the ground to see what things might look like from the eyes of an Ant and the young learner said, "Everything looks bigger!" The chosen point of view was how things look from an ant's eyes!

A tree from the point of view of an ant!

London from the perspective of an ant!

The above image of London is from a real website that looks at London from the perspective of an ant... I thought that was so inventive I just HAD to share it!

MESSAGE

What message do you choose to share from the perspective of your POV?

ADULT PERSPECTIVE

So far, from the adult response we have:

Inspiration: Chocolate

POV: Chicken Wings

So what message did my friend choose? Health benefits of chocolate is what they chose. Why I asked? They responded without hesitation, "I'd like to justify the eating of chocolate."  Brilliant...

CHILD PERSPECTIVE

So far, from the child response we have:

Inspiration: Ants

POV: How things look from the Ant's eyes

In continuing my conversation with the young learner, I asked, "what is something important you want to share with others about the ants?" Their response was priceless... 

"Pretend you're an ant and see everything"

I interpreted this as "Go on an adventure!" Perhaps it would become "explore the world!" 

Sam the Ant - a new children's book series

CONCEPT

What concept do you choose to focus on that best shares your message?

ADULT PERSPECTIVE

So far, from the adult response we have:

Inspiration: Chocolate

POV: Chicken Wings

Message: Health Benefits of Chocolate

The conversation with my friend was picking up as they were showing a great deal of curiosity as to where this could lead.  For their concept related to what they might create, they chose, "Healthy treat ideas!" They were all in, in part because they were creating the framework of creation.

CHILD PERSPECTIVE

So far, from the child response we have:

Inspiration: Ants

POV: How things look from the Ant's eye

Message: Explore the world!

In continuing the conversation with this child, the idea of what should the big idea be?  What is a concept we could create and this particular child said, "I want to make my own story... my own book!" I'm so glad I paid attention :)

CONTENT

What is the specific content which will best share your concept?

ADULT PERSPECTIVE

So far, from the adult response we have:

Inspiration: Chocolate

POV: Chicken Wings

Message: Health Benefits of Chocolate
Concept: Healthy Treat Ideas!

The conversation turned from concept to content, as in, ok... now that we have identified a lot of key details.... what do you want to create?!  The response was so cool.... "I want to create a chocolate based BBQ sauce that can be used with all sorts of cooking!"  I asked, "What about the healthy treat ideas?"  The response was so adorable.... "I'd like to change the concept to... healthier treat ideas."  Hahaaaaaahaa.... so, the cycle of creativity, like most cycles, is not always linear!

CHILD PERSPECTIVE

So far, from the child response we have:

Inspiration: Ants

POV: How things look from the Ant's eye

Message: Explore the world!
Concept: I want to make my own story... my own book!

Some of you know where this is headed and that it is based on the real life story of my daughter. When it came to the content, the actual stuff of the story, she wanted to create an Ant story where the Ant was always able to figure out what to do when there were challenges. Today, we describe this as "embracing adversity as opportunity." She is in fact the little girl who wanted to create her own book, and guess what.... yep, we did it and we're creating 27 of them.  The first one, Sam the Ant - The Flood came out in July of 2016 and the second one, Sam the Ant - Glow in the Dark, comes out this month! Barnes & Noble even picked it up for in-store purchase in 4 locations thus far.

A page from the new children's book series, Sam the Ant at www.SamTheAnt.com

PRODUCT

What is the product that speaks to content, concept, message, POV, and how is it inspiring?

ADULT PERSPECTIVE

So far, from the adult response we have:

Inspiration: Chocolate

POV: Chicken Wings

Message: Health Benefits of Chocolate
Concept: Healthier Treat Ideas!
Content: Chocolate Based BBQ Sauce
Product: Dark Chocolate BBQ Sauce

Ahhhhh.... the product.... so often, people begin with the product in mind, and sometimes you get lucky and it works. However, it is far more productive to begin with inspiration first. In this case, the product this person wanted to come up with was a Dark Chocolate BBQ sauce, so that the it wasn't overly sweet and could be matched with spices that pick up the earthiness of the chocolate!  Yum!!!!

CHILD PERSPECTIVE

So far, from the child response we have:

Inspiration: Ants

POV: How things look from the Ant's eye

Message: Explore the world!
Concept: I want to make my own story... my own book!
Content: An Ant who always knows what do do when there is a challenge (embracing adversity as opportunity)
Product: Sam the Ant Children's Book Series

Today, this series continues to unfold and evolve and the response has been tremendous and heart warming, in large part from the initial inspiration of Ants!

RESOURCES FOR CONTINUED THOUGHT

SAM THE ANT... 

Follow your curiosity with books, brain games and music

Free Sam the Ant Origin Videos

Kaleidoscope Children's Album on the Grammy Ballot!

Enrique's Public Speaking

Upcoming Free Events for Children and Families

My good friend Dr. Danny Brassell's Public Speaking who is the king of perspective in the educational world

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The Art of Synergy - how to create a sense of community

THE ART OF SYNERGY

Modeling how to create community for our next generation

Children!  

Our greatest global resource

Hi, it's Enrique from the Global Learning Foundation and the Sam the Ant team.  It's always exciting to share an idea and some strategies with you every month.  There are so many great ideas on this collaborative blog.  A simple one that I loved was Scott from Brick by Brick with his blog this past September titled Drawing on Mirrors.  I love how fundamental this particular strategy is because it allows the teacher/guide to create all sorts of learning opportunities.  It's open ended and that leads to questions, which can lead to inspiration, which leads to striving...

which leads to synergy!

What is synergy?

What does synergy look like?

Learning Guide and Learners co-discovering with young learners
being treated like co-creators, co-researchers and co-scientists.

John Coltrane and Miles Davis creating musical synergy in 1958

Synergy can be achieved in any moment and once
achieved it can be built upon, studied, practiced and elevated.

Synergy is not just any one moment, but a set of ongoing
moments which can culminate in the creation of something
physical, as is the case with this garden.

Synergy can built within families and friends.  The creation
of synergy in community is of critical importance to our
planet. This set of family and friends are in the UK.

The building of synergy can include modeling of ideas and it is important to also include opportunities for the learner to express their own desires and perspectives, as can be seen with the different levels of complexity of drawings, some by the adult, some by the young learner and some by both!

Synergy is like collaboration, but much more alive, open ended and has more energy associated with it because it involves multiple individuals or organizations not just working together, but openly exploring together.  For synergy to take place, it takes individuals and/or organizations which are truly open to creating ideas, which otherwise, would not have been possible.

Synergy can impact the effectiveness and productivity in any setting, and the setting itself can impact how comfortable we are to synergize, including the following.  We can take the time to set up any environment that fosters synergy and the settings which follow are excellent examples.

Early Childhood Classrooms

An early childhood classroom that uses both Reggio and Montessori inspired materials as provocations for the young learners who call this one of their homes.

You can learn more about the above classroom here.

Open up: Fuji Kindergarten by Tezuka Architects features an outdoor play area on its roof. | PHOTOGRAPHER: KATSUHISA KIDA/FOTOTECA; CREATIVE DIRECTOR KASHIWA SATO; LIGHTING DESIGNER: MASAHIDE KAKUDATE/MASAHIDE KAKUDATE LIGHTING ARCHITECT & ASSOCIATES,INC.

Fuji Kindergarten                                                                       (Yes, the top of this school is the roof, and yes, children are able to explore, run and interact with their surroundings)

The above kindergarten is a very effective example of a physical structure which not only invites synergy, but also ignites it! When first meeting Takaharu and Yui, the husband-and-wife team who created Fuji Kindergarten, you are immediately drawn to their playful spirit. “Our architecture is about family — everything we learn, everything we do about architecture starts with our family,” says Takaharu. The Tezukas have two young children. The architects’ motto is: “If you don’t know happiness, how can you provide it to others?” Located in Tachikawa, western Tokyo, the 750-student, three-year preschool built in 2007 is a one-story structure in the shape of a donut. The entire school feels like a playground, from the open-air central courtyard to the building’s wide circular roof. Even the interior classroom areas follow an open-school plan where partitions separate sections and all furniture is moveable. Takaharu says the goal is for “these children to be stronger and more flexible.” The idea of non-linear structures is not new, yet not used as often as they should be used.  There are plenty of linear moments in our lives as human beings.  Non-linear visual stimuli and experiences ignite a different part of our brain. The part which is connected to creativity and innovation.

K - 12 Classrooms

A Waldorf school in Seattle.  This is a physical example of synergy!

Una de las clases de la escuela infantil waldorf de Belloterra, Spain.  A classroom from an early childhood classroom in Belloterra, Spain.

For more information on this classroom, click here.

It took children’s book illustrator Maira Kalman an entire year to track down the flea-market treasures that she transformed into the alphabet at the John Randolph School, P.S. 47 in the Bronx. The stimulating space is divided into colorful reading, research, and study areas with floor graphics, mobile shelving, and easily positioned tables and chairs, including Pierre Paulin’s “Orange Slice” chair, peeking out in the background. Photo ©Peter Mauss/Esto.  

Artist rendering of open kitchen and co-located teaching kitchen for upper and
lower elementary schools, Dillwyn, Virginia

Click here for more information on this idea. 

Anne Frank Inspire Academy Middle School in San Antonio, Texas

A signature Wall composed of cross sections of local wood contains

a storage area with whiteboard doors for brainstorming sessions

Blended Rehab of a space! American International School of Utah is a great example of rehabilitated retail space. Early grades use a Montessori approach. Intermediate grades are student-centered similar to another school worth visiting — Acton Academy. The high school has big blended blocks that use a mixture of learning spaces that allow for student choice and encourage ownership. The music and drama program are exceptional (featured here).

Green School in Bali combines a rigorous K-12 core curriculum with hands-on experiential learning within a Green Studies curriculum and a Creative Arts curriculum.

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF BRUSSELS HIGH SCHOOL

Brussels, Belgium The International School of Brussels is an English-language international school that provides an international education to over 1500 students aged 2 ½ to 19 from 62 countries. The 40-acre secure campus lies in the Brussels commune of Watermael-Boitsfort.  As with the above examples, the physical structure is more open than most high schools, with more natural light and which impacts our minds in ways which can lead to more creative thought.  Creativity is the seeding ground for synergy.

Higher Education settings

Innovation is about to get easier, faster and more accessible at the University of Central Florida with the grand opening of four new labs known as Maker Spaces.  The above two images are examples of the creative use of space, color and light, which can all impact how quickly learners engage in synergistic activities.

Corporate settings

Google Office Spaces are designed for ignition of creativity. Synergy can become an expected part of daily activities!

BBC North Offices in England are designed with circular structures within a more traditional structure.  The color green has been shown by research as a color which invites 

both relaxation and creativity.

There are three areas, once experienced authentically over time, which lead to synergy. Inviting others to this process in an invitational way typically leads to a stronger sense of caring, community and increases the potential for synergy to arise.

THE ART OF THE QUESTION

• What kinds of questions do you tend to ask others?
• What kinds of questions do you tend to ask yourself?
• When someone asks you a questions, do you sometimes respond with a question that leads to even more conversation and thought?

As adults, we tend to ask questions for which we are hoping to hear a certain answer. This limits the response and when working with young children, we want to expand the possible responses. We all want our children to feel free and strong enough to answer authentically... and explore just as freely!

THE ART OF INSPIRATION

When we think of inspiration, we sometimes think of what inspires us. Other times we think about what inspires others. I'd like you to think about:

• What inspires others to be inspired?
• What inspires others to inspire others?

When we take the time to observe how children interact with other children, adults and even animals, we will see some wonderful examples of this. We'll also see attempts that are unsuccessful, yet in the attempt there is the "learning how to inspire and be inspired" which can most certainly take place, depending on how we, as the adult guide, position their attempt.

THE ART OF STRIVING

Paralympic Games in London

When many think of striving, we think of working hard and certainly work ethic is a key variable. I'd like you to ask yourself the following questions related to your work with children and your own circle of friends and colleagues:

• When you feel happy, what is it that prompts that feeling of happiness?
• When you achieve a goal, what is it that prompts that feeling of achievement?
• When you feel negative in some way, what is it that prompts that feeling?
• When you miss a goal, do you always feel a sense of disappointment?  Why or why not?
• What percentage of people in your life actively support your projects and your general approach to life?

From my own experience and the many years of experience in synergizing with children and colleagues, the Art of Striving is all about finding what feeds our energy tank.  When we connect to the things and people that give back positive energy, it creates a win-win scenario. This typically feels like I am going with the current of a river.... I feel like I'm going downstream, with the flow, living in the moment.... and THAT.... feels absolutely liberating. I encourage you to take some time to think about that and talk about this with your friends and colleagues.

And now a gift for all of you that will help you and your children explore The Art of the Question, The Art of Inspiration and The Art of Synergy all in the form of a children's book...for free!  Click on FREE Sam the Ant ebook and enjoy this story which embodies everything in this blog.

An example from a page of Sam the Ant - The Flood (Book 1)

Cheers!

Enrique

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Public Speaker

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Founder, Global Learning Foundation

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Co-Creator, Sam the Ant Children's Books

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Producer, Kaleidoscope, 

a new Children's Music Album

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HOW TO ENGAGE A CHILD'S BRAIN and More!

CREATIVE BRAIN DEVELOPMENT OF OUR CHILDREN
Introducing iBG
Intellectual Brainwave Games

Hello again!  I'm so grateful you chose to spend some of your time visiting my blog. Back in 2001, when I founded the F.A.M.E. Foundation, now known as the Global Learning Foundation, one of

the first sets of strategies I created were unique physical brain games that went along with the rhythm of very specific music. As I began to play these games with young children, I noticed they loved the physical activity and teachers noticed they were more focused after playing them. We did some research and we found improved performance in many areas. Enjoy the image below of some brain games and this short video from me to each and every one of you!

A Storytime Session, led by Enrique at Make Way for Books in Tucson, AZ, which quite often begins with iBG, Intellectual Brainwave Games to help everyone enter their optimal zone for learning... and get some exercise!

Here's a quick glimpse of the research we first documented which helped our Foundation create a name for itself. Today we continue to research the impact of these proven brainwave games.

People kept asking me to make videos and I thought, I don't want my face on a video playing these brain games.... and I thought about it for years while I kept creating these brain games.  

That's me! And I stuck to my guns... I am not the face of
these videos...whew!  Just not play-based enough.

Today there are 324 of them!  We've been crossing our mid-line in time with specific classical music with specific frequencies and there has been a lot of learning, laughter and the creating of a natural desire to learn!

Since 2001, over 85,000 children and families have experienced our many strategies, including iBG, but only with the live format.  Together with many of my colleagues and their children we used these brain games to:

• Create a more alert learner at any age
• Improve cognition with young children ages 3 - 6
• Improve patterning skills with young children ages 3 - 12
• Create short and enjoyable brain breaks for any learner
• Remind adult learners how to elevate their energy and create new messages for their brain
• Help all learners of all ages reduce their stress level.

The challenge for many of us who present around the country is there is only one of us, yet I knew these brainwave games needed to be accessed by any family, school or organization.  My 92-year old mentor who just recently passed away, was also insistent with his question "How do we get IT out there?" About a year ago while in a meeting with one of my creative teams, we were creating the first of a new series of children's books titled Sam the Ant. 

Daughter/Father Co-authors of Sam the Ant Series,
Sam Sierra-Feldman and Enrique Feldman

Illustrator Abe Mendoza and his wife.

I mentioned the brainwave games and an idea for the videos, so simple yet profound, came to me. I said, "Why don't we animate Sam the Ant and have the Ant be the face of these Brain Games. It felt playful, honoring and like the beginning of a new journey. And so we have done exactly that. Here's the first time I have ever shared this image with anyone! 

Sam the Ant comes to life in 3D real time with iBG.  The Sam the Ant team are big fans of perspective building and
as you can see, that grass looks more like a forest of grass!

How do you play these brain games?
Simply open the videos and follow Sam the Ant's lead as you:

• Cross your midline
• Do that in time with the classical music
• Start from easy brain games and move up the challenge levels
• Change the speed of the video to slow it down or speed it up

Sam the Ant in the middle of a brain game.  Each video is short and designed to help your child get off the technology and use their own body.

Today these games are known as iBG, Intellectual Brainwave Games, and guess what?!   It is an online platform that allows you to access brainwave videos that are designed to take the young learner or old learner OFF the technology.... as a friend of mine said, from Online to Offline.

The Co-Author of the Sam the Ant books, Sam Sierra-Feldman
 back when we started this journey in 1998!

I find some key elements of this journey truly amazing. When my daughter and I began creating the Sam the Ant stories, I didn't realize it would lead to these brainwave games. If we had not followed our curiosity, and if I had not paid attention to my daughter's interest in creating original stories, who knows what might not have happened. 

Sam the Ant demonstrates a simple brain game.

Children mimic a simple brain game, or is it so simple?  It's food for
your brain!

I'm so pleased that children love both the videos and playing the brain games off the video.  The images to the left are a great example of how the movements shown by Sam the Ant, become physicalized by the learner, in this case, young children.  Some of these look simple, but not all are...lol!

Which videos do I use for children and which for adults?

Numbers 1 - 4 are for young children, and number 5 is for adults.  When you experience number 5, you will experience what a young child feels like when they are playing games 1 - 4.

The first 5 games are the original 5 and more will be coming out.  Watch each short video (15 - 20 seconds), ideally with a young child, and copy what the Ant is doing.  As was pointed out earlier,you can even choose your speed.  Soon, there will be brainwave game videos for all ages and you'll be able to create your own iBG playlist.

iBG being used with adult leaners! Creating new messages for our brains wakes us up from our routine adult lives
and creates a different energy that improves how we do whatever it is we do.... such joy!

Today is the first day you can actually purchase these brain games for a school, a center and even for your own use, and it's extremely affordable for individual users. A big thank you to our first school user, Outer Limits Preschool!

"I'm so excited to be the face of iBG!"

But what if you're not a school?  The school license would not be affordable for an individual. For a limited time, we am offering the first set of brain games for $11.99 a year, which comes out to less than a $1 per month. You can begin engaging your young children in your home and begin to build their brain in a very playful and relevant way!

Sam the Ant is all about following your curiosity
and helping others.

With recess being lessened (and it needs to be put back in!), and the general level of attention span diminishing, these videos are based on the live playing of the brain games.  Actually, the point of these brainwave videos is to help you and your child learn how to play them and then play them whenever you want.  We'll keep adding brainwave videos and you can keep expanding the capacity of your child's brain... and your own!

All you have to do is click on our Sam the Ant website and you'll be on your way. Over time you'll continue to receive more brainwave games.

For schools who purchase the school license, my Foundation is offering heavily discounted professional development workshops, and in some cases, waive the cost completely! If you are wanting more information on this, please click on my public speaking website and fill out the contact info and I'll be in touch.

We also want to thank Barnes & Noble and Mildred and Dildred's Toy Store for there support of all things Sam the Ant!  For the many upcoming events, click here!

Thank so much and now it's time to feed your brain!
Enrique C. Feldman
Creator, iBG
Co-Author, Sam the Ant Children's Book Series
Founder, Global Learning Foundation
Performing Artist and Composer
Producer, Kaleidoscope
(Music for Children)


Free Bonus Resources
Sam the Ant videos for improved critical thinking and creative problem solving.  Just click here! There are currently 13 videos and 17 more to come.  Each one is 15 - 20 seconds long and offer you an authentic opportunity to engage young 
learners with great questions.

Illustrator Abe Mendoza creates the images of Sam the Ant for our videos and books!