I'm curious to know if you think there has been a change in our educational system that is somehow limiting creative development and independent thinking. I teach in a college art program, and find that my incoming freshman are incredibly reluctant to think for themselves! They want me to tell them the "right" way to do everything so they can just copy - but it doesn't work that way! It is so hard to get them to take risks and to convince them that often we LEARN more from our failures than from our successes. My own children are still quite young and VERY willing to take risks, but I worry this is something they will lose through the course of their education.

We're talking with Ellen Galinsky about her brand new, already bestselling book "Mind in the Making" (it's #1 on Amazon's parenting list) about the seven most important "life skills" for children growing up today. Ellen wants our kids to learn for grades and learn for life. To communicate effectively, work well with diverse groups of people, think outside the box, and be ongoing learners. And to have all that, they need these seven skill: Focus and Self Control; Perspective Taking; Communicating; Making Connections; Critical Thinking; Taking On Challenges; Self-Directed, Engaged Learning. "It may well be the next iconic parenting manual, up there with Spock and Leach and Brazelton, one that parents turn to for reassurance that all is more or less okay, reminders of how to make it better and glimpses of what’s to come." - Lisa Belkin, The New York Times, April 29, 2010 Join the conversation!

I try to stop in every day and visit these blogs: http://ordinarylifemagic.blogspot.com/ http://theanimatorswife.blogspot.com/ http://belladia.typepad.com/crafty_crow/

We're all looking for great places and resources on the web - what blogs and websites do you love and return to often? Be sure to tell us about your own personal blog! And any favorite posts that you've read or written yourself!