Category Archives: Character Development

We rescued a fledgling baby bird a couple of weeks ago, and are new parents again at 69 years old!  Here’s a photo of when we first saw her, sitting stunned, on a walkway.  We put some water in front … Continue reading →

As the Keynote speaker to a large group of students recently at a college and career event, various educational organizations offered their options for study in many fields, including Business and Industry, Medical, Veterinary schools, the Navy, and the Arts.  I asked them this question: What … Continue reading →

Ruth Elliott’s ART presentation assemblies promote positive attitudes, better behavior & academic achievement as well as spatial awareness, shown to raise math scores. The Arts can increase math scores by up to 15%! Ruth wrote the first art textbook to reference … Continue reading →

LIFE TAKES UP MOST OF YOUR TIME, doesn’t it? And when we turn around, it’s the steady plodding forward, that gets us anywhere.  You can’t change the waves, but you can adjust your sails. When we look at successful people, … Continue reading →

THANK YOU for caring about KIDS!  Art is one of the BEST ways to motivate and inspire us at ANY age. While I was working in Animation, I found drawing to be calming and therapeutic. While my hands were busy, my … Continue reading →

Do you ever find yourself running out of ‘love juice’? When my kids were little, even if I started with a full pitcher of love in the morning, sometimes by the end of the day the pitcher would be dry.   There was a … Continue reading →

Now that the digital world seems to be everywhere, the concern is, how much screen time is safe for kids? We are all affected by it, and especially young children and infants.  The American Academy of Pediatrics urges parents, “…to … Continue reading →

Babies LOVE seeing pictures and reading books  – especially of themselves!  You can thrill your little one and encourage them with how they are growing by making an “I CAN DO” book! When you make an “I CAN DO” Book, it can … Continue reading →

Do you already shop online at Amazon? When you ‘smile’ first, they will donate to our Non Profit if you do – and it won’t cost you a penny more! Just go to smile.amazon.com, and choose Edu Designs as the Non Profit you wish to support. Amazon … Continue reading →

WORDS ARE POWERFUL Words and images are powerful things. A picture once seen, can’t be ‘unseen’. A word cannot be ‘unheard’. It becomes part of your ‘thoughtlife’.  There were times people said bad words around my kids, and just like the story … Continue reading →

When I was a kid, the story of Cinderella gave me hope. I identified with her. My two older sisters were sometimes mean. They bossed me around and made me work harder than they did. I felt trodden upon. But when I’d … Continue reading →

Stories are a powerful way to get a message across. All the great teachers, Lao Tse, Plato, Jesus, Mohammed and countless others through the centuries used stories and parables to impart wisdom to people. Everyone loves a good story!  In one of Aesop’s Fables, the Wind and … Continue reading →

When it’s getting cold outside and you struggle to answer the question, “What are we going to do today?”, keep reading and say goodbye to boredom with these activities! We offer a few ideas on ways you can utilize technology to tank tedium and … Continue reading →

Why Cycling Is One of the Best Exercises for Children The ultimate wish a parent has for their child is for them to live a long, happy, and healthy life. Teaching children cycling is an invaluable and empowering skill that … Continue reading →

Are you smiling? I am. Thanks to you, WE DID IT!   All the votes from supporters, earned EDU DESIGNS the Top Rated Award from Great NonProfits for 2017! Here’s another way to help: Do you shop online at Amazon? Every time you do, … Continue reading →

  I was 6 years old when my family got our first TV. Mom would only let us watch The Mickey Mouse Club. I remember the excitement at 5 o’clock when the show would begin – and then the feeling of letdown when it was … Continue reading →

Though her CD was titled, ‘Awkward Annie’, this talented artist, singer, copywriter, and volunteer for non profit causes, proves you always get more by giving. Annie Elliott was recognized as a powerhouse by the organization She Runs It, who flew her … Continue reading →