Steve here. I wanted to share an update for those who’ve been following what I’ve been up to for the last few years. It’s an insight into what I’m trying to do and why I think it is important.

When spending time with children it is instantly clear that all of them have a natural affinity to creativity. They are adapting and incorporating real world objects and information into their imagined worlds in a way that blurs the boundaries between the two. Through exploration, play and creativity they are developing a crucial range of skills they will use throughout their lives.

Unfortunately, schools are lacking the time and resources to properly develop elements that are not seen as core knowledge. Education in school is divided by subjects, but looking beyond the subject's specific facts, what they are really teaching our children are skills. A maths lesson is as much about problem solving as it is mathematical facts, but often the emphasis is placed on learning the fact rather than developing the skill. I think there's a strong case to argue that it's just as important to teach young people fundamental skills like creativity, problem solving, leadership and cooperation, storytelling and physical craft. 

One of our daughters had recently become very worried about a creative writing assignment given to her at school. Talking to her, I realised that although she had been taught spelling, grammar and handwriting she hadn’t been taught storytelling, the main skill that she needed to complete the task. Storytelling is how we define ourselves and others, it’s how we understand our lives and place in the world. It’s in every aspect of life and every job makes use of it in some form. Over the last year I’ve been developing a project that incorporates many of these skills in a way that I hope brings families together through play and learning. 

Know someone with children ages 5-10 who would make a great Evil Wizard? Share this blog by clicking the social buttons below and let the fun begin

A Dragon’s Favourite Food is an activity pack for families in which a parent guides their children through an adventure and series of activities. Parents get to play characters like the Evil Wizard, the Giant and the Dragon while the children cross rivers, explore caves and steal socks. Going forward I’m hoping that we can use this format to teach children creative problem solving, storytelling and basic craft skills with their parents guiding and teaching them. A Dragon’s Favourite Food is our first adventure, we made this for our families, and I hope that you will enjoy it as much as our kids do.

Still curious about what A Dragon's Favourite Food is? Click the link below: