Contributed by JC BoushhA recent article in Newsweek magazine blamed the decline of children's creativity on two likely factors. The numbers of hour’s kids now spend watching TV and playing video games and the lack of creativity development in our schools. The most optimal outdoor learning environment not only incorporates developmentally appropriate playground equipment, natural landscape features for exploration, but also the novelty and c…

Indoor playgrounds are growing. It seems odd just when we're hearing more and more research about the importance of children playing outside.

A study by Oliver Pergams of the University of Illinois-Chicago and Patricia Zaradic of the Environmental Leadership Program finds that park visits and applications to hunt, camp and fish in US National parks have decreased between 18 and 25 percent in the last twenty years.

It only takes listening to a…

Do students really want to learn? Can schools and classrooms become joyful? Are there natural links between standard curriculum and what motivates students to learn? Explore these and other questions in ASCD's e-book "Engaging the Whole Child: Reflections on Best Practices in Learning, Teaching, and Leadership," which is available for free download through May 6.

Download "Engaging the Whole Child"

Some article topics withi…