Life’s simple pleasures…

The comforts of simple pleasures – leaf collecting, raking leaves, enjoying a homemade family meal – sustain you in difficult times and help you create your own well being.  I’m reminded of countless days as a kid, sitting in my grandma’s kitchen, filled with the steamy aroma of the vegetable soup that was simmering on the stove (made with all the great vegetables my grandpa grew). The smell of fresh biscuits and homemade noodles lingering in the air; visiting her was such a treat!

I’d get up and look out the window to see the yellow carpet of Norway and Susan maple leaves blowing about the yard, anxious to go leaf-collecting. I would charge out the door to collect leaves – Susan maples were the best! Reds, oranges, yellows – oh, the brilliant colors! My grandpa would rake huge piles for me to jump in, and I’d come back inside exhausted and happy, with my collection of autumn treasures to show grandma. She helped me pick the best leaves and we would iron them between sheets of waxed paper, cut them out and tape them to the windows, creating our own beautiful stained glass windows.

The time adults spend with children is vital both to the child and the adult. “Making things” has always been important to me; it gives me a focus, comfort, delight and a sense of accomplishment. I look to share that delight with others, old or young. When people say to me, “Oh, you’re so creative! How did you get that way?” I reflect on how I grew up – I kept that creative channel open always. Important adults in my life spent time with me “making things,” whether it was my parents and grandparents, teachers, scout leaders, 4H leaders or friends. The simple act of doing something creative gave me a life-long gift to create and share my delight with others.

So create and share your delight with the children in your life! Make a shaped book and fill it with Fall Facts, Fall Poems, Fall Recipes or Fall Memories. Take a field trip to an apple farm, a pumpkin patch, a cider mill. Take field notes, collect artifacts, leaf rubbings,nuts, etc…the possibilities are endless!

Get a jumpstart creating by visiting our website! 

Shapes Etc. Website: How-To Idea Sheets!

Visit our Idea Sheets page to see lots of creative ideas for crafts, activities and much more!

Here’s a quick list of some great Idea Sheets for Fall:

• 12 Terrific Fall Ideas (pdf)
• Turkey Ideas (pdf)
• Apple Pie Activity (pdf)
• Create a Shaped Book! (pdf)

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have fun creating this Fall!
Susan

And the Winner is…

…Miller’s School Supplies in Orlando, FL.

Congratulations to Erin Norris, Magan Branch, and Jackie Matheson who created the winning display, “Where in the World?”

Thank you for sharing your creative display idea with us!

 

Click on the picture below to start the slideshow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back-to-School Display Contest

Hi Everyone,

It’s time to Shape up for back-to-school with Shapes Etc!

At Shapes our goal is to help you sell through our products and inspire your customers to make learning fun! Creative displays make your store a destination for teachers and parents. We want to help you!

BACK TO SCHOOL DISPLAY RULES & PRIZES!

1. Simply use your creativity to make the display as fun and exciting as you can! Take lots of pictures and send them in! FREE idea sheets are available on our website to spark some ideas.
2. The judges will base the winner on creativity and knowledge of the Shapes products used. We will reimburse up to $20.00 of merchandise used from your inventory for display purposes. You can create a wall, end cap or spinner rack.
3. The contest runs from June 15^th to July 31^st.
   All photos must be received by email at info@shapesetc.com or mail to:

   Shapes Etc.-Display Contest
   PO Box 400
   Dansville, NY 14437

4. Please include the following information with your photo:
   • Store name and location
   • Name(s) of people responsible for display

ALL WINNERS RECEIVE THE FOLLOWING:

• $25.00 gift cards to a store of your choice for 3 of your staff members (ex. Starbucks, Bath & Body Works, etc.)
• Shapes tote bags full of Shapes Etc. goodies!
• Exposure on our website celebrating your creativity
• Most Creative winner will be displayed at the NSSEA tradeshow in Orlando, Florida in 2008.

If you have any questions call 1-800-888-6580 or email: sara@shapesetc.com

Thanks!
Katie, Ryan & Sara

Welcome to Shapes Etc!

Keep the “Fun” in Teaching the Fundamentals!

 

By: Susan DeMuth

In the age of “teaching to the test,” we have to remind ourselves it’s student “learning” we want to achieve. Tests are simply a measurement tool. Brain research is telling us that active learning allows children to use both sides of their brain. So, sing, dance, create some shaped books, write stories, write a script, make puppets, produce a play, or make shaped flash cards and create learning games…(Whew! I know that was a run-on sentence, but I want to give YOU lots of ideas!) Tie these activities to the content you want students to “LEARN.” There is an old Chinese proverb that says it best:

“Tell me, I hear. Show me, I see. Involve me, I understand.”

I am the artist and also the owner of Shapes Etc. I learned to read with “Dick, Jane and Sally.” Well, that was the plan. I was in 3rd grade before I truly learned to read (spelling still eludes me). I was the dyslexic A.D.D. kid, daydreaming in your class. “Earth to Susan…She is smart, but she isn’t applying herself!” A.D.D. was often called “lazy” back then, and as long as a child was not disruptive, they often just drifted. Luckily, today we recognize different learning styles. In the 1960s, it was straight rows, SRAs and anxiety ridden days for those of us who didn’t fit the mold. I cringe when I hear very creative teachers say “I can’t do the fun stuff anymore. I have to teach to the test.” Now more than ever, you HAVE to do the “fun stuff.” Hands-on projects will engage kids with different learning styles…It’s a great way to reach the “daydreamers!”

Creative projects encourage creative
and divergent thinking.

Write Tall Tales in a TALL book. Write short stories in a short book. Be silly sometimes. Laugh. Invent things. Celebrate success by showcasing student work and invite friends and families. Creative projects promote creative problem solving. Twenty First Century survival skills require kids to be active, lifelong, creative thinkers. This is the generation who will retire from jobs that haven’t even been invented yet. Ironically, we are at an age where Public Education is slashing the arts out of our budgets with one hand, and the other hand is pointing at us saying, “students need to be divergent, creative thinkers!” Teachers are caught in the crossfire! Remember, tests just measure learning. Involved active learners will retain more information, and better yet, they will want to know more. Problem solving and digging out new knowledge REQUIRE higher level thinking skills.

You CAN teach creatively and still tie it in to the content you are testing. Let Shapes Etc. help you. We want to be the catalyst for YOUR creativity! We have been making time-saving pre-cut “shapes” since 1984.

Here are quick and easy ideas:

 

Shaped flash cards
Math game parts
Shaped books
Learning games
Diorama starters

Tie in fun projects that reinforce the concepts from the content area you’re teaching. For example, when studying frogs, give the students a sheet of a frog notepad and create a diorama of a pond biome. Make shaped books of frog facts. Hop into poetry and write “Ooey Gooey Pond Poems.” Write vocabulary words for a “word bank” on frogs. Laminate frog-shaped flash cards for spelling words, vocabulary words or task cards. Sing your favorite frog songs. Make frog craft projects. Decorate frog bookmarks or a frog pencil holder. Write “It Isn’t Easy Being Green” essays on frog computer paper. Track success with frog-shaped personal incentive charts. Reinforce good behavior with frog incentive stickers. Read about the adventures of “Frog and Toad,” then make frog and toad puppets with craft sticks and wiggle eyes. Use a brown marker to color spots on the toad. Compare and contrast frogs and toads…Oh yeah, you have the idea! Now do it with apples, alligators, whales, zebras, etc.

As the designer of Shapes Etc. products,
I rely on feedback from the field.

“What do teachers want?”; “What new ways can we think of to use our products?” I spend most of my days in front of my computer designing things, writing “how-to” idea sheets, planning mailings and working on day-to-day operational issues. Nothing brightens my day more than getting feedback and new creative ideas from people like you!

We are in an age where the economy is in a state of flux, the “Standards” seem to dominate and even intimidate perfectly good educators. Dollars are being reallocated away from education, No Child Left Behind “stuff” is causing us to reassess how we teach. What’s that old saying? “The more things change the more they stay the same.” So we are going back to the basal readers and back to the basics with certified viable curriculum. Together, we can put the FUN back in teaching “fundamentals,” and also offer some creative alternative activities for kids. Activities that will help prepare their creative minds for 21st Century challenges.

The only constant is change!