Research Says Fun is Good for Everyone

Fun is good for you, but I bet you all ready knew that.

In third grade, I dressed as a pilgrim for Halloween.

That was pretty unusual even in 1964.

My grandparents were missionaries in Japan and my mother was born and raised there. Mom didn’t know much about Halloween and couldn’t see the fun in it very much. (Huh?) Consequently, Halloween wasn’t very important to her.

Her idea of a costume was to put together whatever we had.

Sounds logical, right?

Prior to my third grade year of school, my sister traveled with the Girl Scouts to England the summer and brought back a Pilgrim hat.

Mom took one look at me and I knew what it mean: Voila, my Halloween ostume.

While everyone else was purchasing their dime store costumes for Halloween, I was relegated to the pilgrim outfit. It was always that way for me, but that’s probably why I look at things uniquely.

Ugh.

Costume Design with Halloween Characters

Recently, I got to thinking about that experience and decided it might be really fun for students to learn about costume design by designing their own costume for Halloween. I mean, when have you ever done that?

Here is the product:

This is a one or two day lesson studying costume design through Halloween characters.

Costume Design with Halloween Characters

This two-day lesson on costume design is focused on Halloween characters and gives the students an opportunity to be costume designers. Suitable for students in grades 5 to 9, the product is broken in to two class periods, although it could be used for a one day exploration of the subject.

Students will learn about:
The History of Costume Design
The Rationale for Teaching Costume Design
Costumes Notes for Students
The History of Halloween and Halloween Costumes
Procedure
Materials List
Source & Video Link List
A Warm-Up—Engaging and Creative
Fairy Tale Character List
Two Assignments–one designing and one creative writing
Student Examples

Comprehensive? You bet.

Pumpkin Everything Season

What is the deal with fall? Everyone is so crazy about it!

I was looking around on the internet and found this information on inverse.com:

“According to neuroscientist Dr. John McGann, the hype is less about turning the volume up on reality than stirring a virtuous cycle of happy memories. Our love of fall smells is less about the smells themselves and more about association. And when it comes to making memories, the scent of spiced desserts and firewood is pretty likely to override the reek of rotting pumpkin.”

I love this time of year as does my younger daughter. I lovingly call this season, “Pumpkin Everything Time.” I was just teasing her about the Starbucks Pumpkin Latte being available now. We’re both quite excited!

I enjoy how people give in to fun while enjoying themselves from Halloween through New Years. They decorate their houses two and three times, go trick or treating with their kids, overeat at Thanksgiving trying to make every dinner invitation extended to them, wear funny sweaters at Christmas and promise ridiculous resolutions for the new year.

Know what I mean?

When I decided to blog on this product, I thought it might be interesting to see how fun helps us.

I found a great article, ” Why Adults Need Playtime, Too” on Verywellmind.com

“Hobbies and fun activities can bring added joy and happiness to life, and can be a great way to relieve stress as well. In fact, many hobbyists have told me that they’d originally started learning about their area of interest as a coping mechanism for stress, and that their hobbies continue to be a great source of relaxation and stress relief. Some people are even able to turn their hobbies into careers at some point, and end up with a lifestyle where their work is their play.

Another benefit of fun is the lift in mood that it can bring. Beyond merely bringing positive feelings to your life, doing things that get you into a better mood can actually make you more resilient toward stress. This is something that has been researched as part of psychology’s broaden-and-build theory; activities that raise our level of positive affect, or increase our good mood, can lead us to be more aware of resources in our lives that can help us to remain strong in the face of stress.

Finally, having fun with others can bring a sense of connection that strengthens relationships and builds social support. Bonding with others while having fun is good for you, and for those close to you. It’s more than a frivolous pursuit; it’s important for your overall wellbeing.”

We can all use more of that, huh?

I hope you’ll check out my product at: Costume Design with Halloween Characters

There are several others I have created, too. Here’s a new one: Costume Design with Nutcracker Ballet Characters