Tag: Dot Day

texture addiction ball game
Art, Augmented Reality, Books, Creative Thinking, Student Products

The Rich Potential of International Dot Day

Terri Eichholz

UPDATE 9/2/2022: See my September Wakelet for updated Dot Day Resources!

As some of you may know, I updated my Dot Day resources in August. Depending on your cup half empty/half full point of view, you could see that post as a little late (since I was updating a post from 2014) or a little early (since Dot Day is every year on September 15-ish). I will be adding this e-book link to that post. The Rich Potential of International Dot Day is a free e-book available from Apple Books. Created for this year through a collaboration by Apple Distinguished Educators, the book begins with a quote from The Dot author Peter H. Reynolds, “When the going gets tough, the creative get going! Cheering on educators and parents — everyone who will help kids make the most of this school year!” There are 5 sections of activities in the book: Drawing, Sound & Music, Photo, Film, and AR (Augmented Reality). The creative suggestions are designed to be used with iPads, though there are ways many of them can be adapted using different devices. For example, there is a “Your thoughts in dot” time lapse activity suggested by ADE Miriam Walsh using the Pages app that could also be done with Google Slides and Screen-Cast-o-Matic, and “The Ripple of Your Actions” from ADE Simon Pile merely requires milk and food coloring. Altogether, there are over 30 innovative suggestions in the book for ways to celebrate International Dot Day this year. Whether you are at home or at school, take advantage of one of these opportunities to make your mark on the world.

woman covered with polka dot lights
Photo by Aleksandar Pasaric on Pexels.com
Art, Creative Thinking, K-12

Dot Day 2021

Terri Eichholz

UPDATE 9/2/2022: See my September Wakelet for updated Dot Day Resources!

Sometimes I look at my blog stats and notice that a particular post has suddenly become popular and I have no idea why. Then I re-visit the post (usually one that is years old) and realize that half of the links don’t work anymore. So, I try to update it just in case more people end up reading it for whatever obscure reason. However, since the post I noticed today is from 2014, and Dot Day is actually an annual event, I thought it might be about time to write a new Dot Day post.

International Dot Day began in 2009, and was inspired by The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. Similar to the Global Cardboard Challenge, Dot Day is a celebration of creativity and innovation. You can learn more about its origins and download free resources here. As the website states, Dot Day is generally celebrated “September 15-ish.”

Most of my links from 2014 and other past posts do not work any longer, but here are some that still exist:

And here are some new ones I found with a bit of digging today:

I should note for new readers that it’s unusual for me to be nearly a month ahead when it comes to blogging about special events, so it’s best not to expect this to become a habit!

pink and red polka dot pattern artwork
Photo by Scott Webb on Pexels.com
Art, Creative Thinking, Education, Games, K-12, Language Arts, Problem Solving

Dot Day 2017

Terri Eichholz

UPDATE 8/16/2021: For a more recent post on Dot Day with better links and resources, visit this page!

It’s almost September 15th-ish, which means that Dot Day is quickly approaching!  For those of you who have not encountered Dot Day before, it is an international event inspired by the Peter Reynolds book, The Dot. It’s all about celebrating creativity and “making your mark”!  In last year’s post about Dot Day, I shared a few “new to me” Dot Day ideas for the celebration.  This year, Breakout Edu has announced a brand new breakout adventure for elementary and middle school students based on The Dot. Students must solve the clues to set creativity and inspiration free. I recommend doing the breakout activity and then giving your students the opportunity to unleash their own inner artists as a follow-up!

7987136963_ecd6be68d7_b.jpg
image from Denise Krebs on Flickr

Art, Creative Thinking, Education, Geography, K-12, Social Studies, Teaching Tools, Websites

Scratch + Dot Day = Global Learning

Terri Eichholz

International Dot Day is just a week away (9/15/14!) and I wanted to share with you this great project I saw posted by Louise Morgan last year.  It is a collection of Dot Day projects from all over the world presented in Scratch.  (If you are unfamiliar with Scratch, the free programming site from M.I.T., click here for more info.  Also, Scratch Jr. is now available for free as an iPad app.)  I love the way this project integrates programming with showcasing the creativity from students in many different states and countries!

Screen Shot of a Scratch Dot Day project. Click here to read more and play the game!
Screen Shot of a Scratch Dot Day project. Click here to read more and play the game!

Here is this year’s post that I wrote about the upcoming International Dot Day.  There are lots of ways to get involved!  Join us for this celebration of creativity and uniqueness of children around the globe!

Art, Augmented Reality, Creative Thinking, Education, K-12, Student Products, Teaching Tools, Websites

International Dot Day 2014

Terri Eichholz

UPDATE 8/16/2021: For a more recent post on Dot Day with better links and resources, visit this page!

Yesterday’s post was about making mistakes.  A lot of our students are afraid to try anything because they think they will do it “wrong.” But there are lots of activities that don’t have a right or wrong way to do them.  Sometimes creativity and having fun are important parts of learning, too.

If you are looking for an easy, engaging way to get this message across to your students, try participating in International Dot Day on September 15th, 2014.  Read the fabulous book, The Dot, by Peter Reynolds.  Try one of the fun suggested classroom activities in the Educator’s Handbook.  Connect with someone using Skype in the Classroom. Or try the augmented reality app, ColAR, with the free Dot Day sheet.  Check out this Pinterest board or this one.  And don’t forget to check out the Celebri-dots here!

image from: http://www.coloruswell.com/?p=217
image from: http://www.coloruswell.com/?p=217

Art, Creative Thinking, Education, K-12

Don’t Forget Dot Day!

Terri Eichholz

International Dot Day is on September 15th.  You can see my original post about it here.  Recently, I found some more resources on Lori’s Latest Links:  International Dot Day and More Dot Day Ideas.  There are some videos with examples of how different schools have celebrated Dot Day, and some links to different lesson plan ideas.  Here is a Pinterest site of Dot Day ideas.  And here are some wonderful ways to integrate art.  Mark International Dot Day on your calendars now, and make it a day of creativity in your classroom!