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Asking Children, "what are you thinking?" Sparking Creativity and Insight

When you ask a child what they are thinking you can get a wide array of answers. Some children will respond "not much", others might list a few items that come to mind while still others may list a massive amount of thoughts that are going through their heads. Above is a photo that was drawn by a nine-year-old girl in response to, "what are you thinking?" She was given 20 minutes to draw a picture of what thoughts came to her mind.
When I look at this picture I can't help but smile as it is full of creativity and imagination simultaneously sprinkled with loads of color and energy. That is the mind of a child that has been given the freedom to explore their thoughts, reflect on their thoughts and let the mind go on an amazing journey.  We are all on a learning journey and when learning is approached as a never-ending journey with infinite possibilities it becomes deeper and more meaningful.  With purposeful learning knowledge sticks and creativity flourishes. This is the approach to learning that is that lays the groundwork for my educational practices when developing learning plans for children and adults.
Looking at the minds of our learners through drawing and other art forms, we can un-tap a never-ending fountain of information that can aide in developing learning goals and spark self-directed learning.

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