Category Archives: Character Development

In Fontana, these kids are “for the birds” – in a very positive sense. They are enjoying the combination of science and art enrichment thanks to Lisa Elliott who received a grant from the Community Foundation and the EEC, allowing students to learn about birds … Continue reading →

Childhood trauma can lead to adult addiction. It’s scary, but true. This article gives a great view of the facts in a nutshell. “As the twig is bent, so grows the tree” Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic events, such … Continue reading →

Embrace the challenge Children bring – and you will gain skills you need in every part of life!  KIDS TEACH YOU — 1- To Observe They teach you to PAY ATTENTION to another. And if you don’t watch them they’ll do something … Continue reading →

Can Comics teach character? Of course they can! It’s all about the STORY! At my art presentations to kids, whenever I ask the question, “Does anyone here like cartoons?” I get a howling “YES!” from everyone! The overwhelming popularity of … Continue reading →

All Volunteer Board of Directors: Our Board of Directors generously volunteers their time and energy to create an organization that inspires children to be constructive members of society. That means 100% of your contribution will go to programs that help … Continue reading →

THESE LITTLE FLIP BOOKS INSPIRE KIDS! When I saw my first flip book at 8 years old I became excited to do animation myself!  I went on to create my own flip books, not realizing that one day I would go … Continue reading →

Words are powerful things. My mom used to tell me, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” I thought sadly to myself, “Yeah. They only hurt your FEELINGS”. And somehow concluded that meant that … Continue reading →

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 assemblies promote positive attitudes, better behavior & academic achievement as well as spatial awareness, which has been shown to raise math scores. The Arts can increase math scores by up to 15%! Ruth wrote the first art textbook … 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! If you have kids, they will thank you (someday) for turning off the TV and letting them have ‘Imagination time’! Your family will enjoy more peace of mind as they learn to develop problem solving skills, too. … 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 →

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 →

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 →