IDSA merit award

The members of Project Littlefoot belong to an organization, IDSA (Industrial Designer's Society of America). One member, Patrick Guy has been selected as the University of Kansas merit scholar for IDSA. He will be speaking at the IDSA midwest conference in Minneapolis. Congrats!

Principles of PLF

Design Thinking

A creative process where groups build concepts by allowing a free flow of shared ideas. Project Littlefoot promotes design thinking for education by offering a creative team experience at an early age. Program directors are instructed to facilitate group interactions between the children while deferring judgement and encouraging wild ideas, in an effort to increase the creative output of the children.

Creativity
An expressive intelligence which inspires confidence. Creativity enhances problem solving skills leading to meaningful and personalized learning opportunities. Along with a supportive environment, children are given all the tools they need to express their ideas. A creative toolkit is given to each child, which they are allowed to personalize however they want. Inside the box are high quality materials and accessories that they can use to express their ideas.

Narrative

A universal way of expressing thoughts and building an understanding of the world around us. Narrative skills allow humans to share experiences. Children learn to represent ideas through stories, a valuable life skill. Through the use of felt boards, storyscapes (a storyboard landscape), and acting, just to name a few, children learn the structure of stories as they construct their own narration.

Collaboration

Group participants work together to reach a common goal. Children learn the importance of being a part of something larger than themselves. Communication skills improve and shared interest creates a community. The program sets out to create one story, thus all the activities are done as a team. Individual ideas are encouraged, but compromises and team mentalities are created through the program.

Dave Eggers

During the development of Project Littlefoot we drew inspiration from Dave Eggers and his outlook on education. Please check out his TED talk below, as well the Once upon a school website (ours is story #168)

Summer Plans

We are currently looking for places to host Littlefoot workshops for this summer. We would love to offer it as a class at libraries, art centers, or museums. Ideally, the program would last 2-4 weeks but can be adjusted to fit the schedule of the venue. If you are interested in hosting a Littlefoot workshop please let us know.

Project Littlefoot allows children a chance to participate in the development of something larger than themselves. The most important thing that a child takes away from the program is learning to use narrative to express their ideas, a universal life-skill.
When a child can express their thoughts and ideas within a peer group they begin to understand the importance of communication. Learning to play, create, and work together is a valuable social experience that they will carry with them throughout their lives.
Project Littlefoot goes beyond nurturing the development of narrative skills and expression to providing positive feedback and affirmation. Creative developments are not only encouraged, they are shared with the world and placed on a virtual pedestal.

Common activities in the program include drawing, painting, modeling, storyboarding, puppet making, and acting. Sessions with the kids are adaptive and flexible each is catered to the specific group of kids.

What is Project Littlefoot?

Project Littlefoot is a creative learning program for children. The workshop encourages the value of teamwork, emphasizes narrative skills, and provides the opportunity to apply creative expression while developing a single story. After a story is developed by a group of kids, Littlefoot designers translate the kids' ideas and material into a short animated film that is shared on a kid-friendly website.