The other night my two sons and their former youth pastor and his wife got together for their annual GingerBread build off and the results this year have surpassed all previous years. When you combine active imaginations and creativity with 5 Ginger Bread kits, a hot glue gun and lots of good conversation and laughter you get the following:
GingerBread Pirate Ship
GingerBread Pirate Ship Close-up
All the builders agreed that this year’s creation will be difficult to beat but they also agreed that they are up to the challenge for next year.
While the building of a GingerBread pirate ship may be viewed by some as an expression of creativity and artist voice, I see this as a benefit or result of a life filled with creativity and expression that comes with authentic learning opportunities. For my two boys, this is the norm; they spend most days, designing, creating, building, problem-solving, and working toward big dreams and goals. Both my boys are aspiring professional downhill mountain bike racers so they also significant portions of each day preparing for the race season.
In addition to being athletes, they are also entrepreneurs who are building their personal and business brands on the road to establishing themselves as leaders in their respective fields through their websites, Instagram and Facebook.
Caleb Instagram Story Pic
Whether it is my older son’s writing sponsorship proposals and creating a new promotional blog/vlog and podcast to promote his place in the biking industry or my younger son’s Instagram and Facebook promotions of his latest build as part of his new auto styling business, they have both learned to share their passions and their voice with their audience.
Levi Wish I Knew Series
That creativity, passion, and voice were nurtured through years of their taking ownership of their learning that comes from authentic learning opportunities. As my boys strive to improve their world they are improving the world around them and are having a very positive impact on their communities and spheres of influence.
If we consistently create a significant learning environment in which we give our learners choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning opportunities (CSLE+COVA) then we can honestly say that we have done our part to change and improve the world one learner at a time. Are you doing your part?
