Edu Designs

Ruth Elliott-Hilsdon and Dani Bowman are exceptional animators and storytellers! Well done!

EDU Designs & Ruth Elliott have been a great resource in helping me raise my 5 children. Each are very different than the other. I can't thank Ruth enough for creating these designs to help our children as well as ourselves grow in positive ways!!

Edu Designs Makes a big difference with schoolkids, helping them gain self confidence, as well as helping them academically, through Director Ruth Elliott-Hilsdon's inspired lessons. I love to see children blooming under her skilled guidance.

Ruth really loves children and cares so much about their future. I’m honored to know her and love what she brings to the world, so freely. She radiates a understanding that so few many do. And thr school presentations she brings to schools are equally incredible ! My daughter loves them and is fully engaged!

Edu Designs is a terrific nonprofit with a wonderful mission and an amazing leader in Ruth.

You are doing a wonderful job! It is great to see groups that are helping others in the sad state of our nation at this time.

All the best Ruth. ❤️ Blessings to all. All the best in your future endeavours!

What EDU does for children and the community overall, far exceeds what is asked of them. There is a level of caring and compassion that matches concern for the arts. Ruthie and her crew go above and beyond the call. I love what EDU is doing. No question.

Edu Designs will help bring natural creativity out. Ruth is very caring, kind and real (this is very hard to find in this day and age). Art is exciting and fun! Edu Designs will help bring out the confidence in a child to find what art form is hiding inside them.

EDU designs is a great nonprofit that helps children make the connection between math and art. This expands the critical thinking skills of kids in which is a real-world skill that is valued by industry.
The lessons are engaging and fun and would be a great asset to classrooms in all 50 states. In KY we are experiencing the same problems of students having low math scores. EDU Designs can help children develop into the talented youth they are meant to be

Edu Designs is amazing! Our students were given a wonderful opportunity to experience the art program. They were captivated and engaged throughout the entire experience. Our students not only learned about art, but were able to participate in hands on activities that required them to use their creativity and art skills. Thank you, again!

EDU Designs provided an invaluable opportunity for our students. Through an engaging art presentation our students learned the importance of creativity, perseverance, and how interpret and use visual information. In addition, they gained self confidence and a sense of accomplishment as they learned a new skill. Overall, a wonderful experience!

I think Edu Designs work is important. Art gives students a chance to be creative. It can be a great outlet for anyone but certainly for kids. Their brains are not fully developed until years later.

While they are learning, formulating opinions and figuring out life, art would be a great way to express themselves. It is a great way to relax and can even help them to focus on a project.

Yes, Edu Designs work is really important. Besides there are not enough art classes in elementary schools. One obvious reason is funding. But Edu Designs does not provide services to make money. The company cares about kids.

Thank you Edu Designs for teaching and working with kids!

EDU Designs is such a gift for young communities. Children aren’t getting enough creative outlets a lot of the time with cutbacks and busy schedules. Ruth Elliot gives children the much needed opportunity to express themselves creatively , thus building a stronger sense of identity and self confidence.

Edu Designs offers schools and parents a multiple resources and activities to engage students and support them in meeting their greatest potential. I had the pleasure to meet the person behind the company, Ruth Elliot-Hilsdon, who graciously spoke at the college and career day event at my school. We will definitely invite Ms. Hilsdon to host art assemblies for students and share positive behavior support strategies with the parent community. Art develops the mind as well as the soul and the journey young students begins with people like Ruth sharing her talents with the world.- Kathy Crowe, Principal, Almond Elementary School

I know of no more selfless and dedicated individual than Ruth Elliott-Hilsdon. Her Edu-Designs non-profit is committed to children, their parents and the fostering of positive communication. What could be more important, especially these days?

Kudos to Ruth. Edu Designs deserves everyone's direct and enthusiastic support.

Ruth has an amazing ability to educate and engage people of all in ages in what she is passionate about. Two of those passions are children and art. I have seen her work with the most challenging students and bring a smile to their faces. Her educational experiences teach not just the students but the teachers in attendance as well. I admire her skills, wisdom and love for what she does. Whatever she undertakes she does well and with enthusiasm and integrity.

As an illustrator and parent I say the more art the better!! Whether children are enjoying art or doing it, it expands their mind, imagination, and ability to focus for extended periods of time which translates to success in all areas of curriculum. Clever and well-done content that promotes empathy and goodwill is what we just can't have enough of. Go Edu Designs!

Ruth is an absolute joy and a pleasure to work with! Art is essential, not only to the learning process, but to civilization as a whole. Art helps students use their creative imaginations when processing complex or abstract ideas. Art adds an element to learning that I believe is critical when grasping concepts that students may be struggling to understand. Art also adds esthetic beauty to a child's learning environment. Art also allows students to create and produce a product of all their hard work. Children respond to artwork on an emotional level that allows them to make a connection, and in turn bringing their creative imaginations to fruition. Art allows us to share our ideas in ways that transcend cultures and timelines. In essence, art is critical to our human development and human history. I can't imagine a learning environment without art. The work Ruth and her non-profit organization do is commendable and inspiring. Thank you for sharing your skills and talent with the children.

Why is Art important in grade school? Look at the faces of the students. Concentration. Focus. Enjoyment. Feelings of accomplishment. Nothing else teaches like the Creative Experience. Edu Designs understands this AND. IS. PASSIONATE.

Although I’ve never dealt with her for this part I’m sure she does a great job. She’s super friendly and helpful no doubt. I’m so happy to be her friend. Whenever I’m around her she makes me happy.

Ruth Elliott was amazing! Her character art lesson turned Saturday School into an engaging and encouraging experience for my sixth grade students. I was especially impressed with her patience and genuine interest in teaching my students how to sketch. Highly recommended!

The human person needs beauty and is naturally attracted to it. This makes beauty a privileged means of drawing the human heart to contemplate deeper truths. In a culture which emphasizes comfort, pleasure, and fun, we need to intentionally form our young people (and ourselves) to recognize and appreciate beauty. The mission of EDU Designs: "EDU DESIGNS is dedicated to produce and distribute multimedia materials for the education, motivation and character development of children" is meeting this need through art and stories - providing presentations and resources for even the poorest schools. Thank you for your good work!

Fantastic content! Edu Designs is led by not just first hand expertise, but sheer brilliance.

I have known Ruth, founder of Edu designs to help everyone she meets. I have witnessed her interacting with young mothers and fathers, and truly encouraging them and in the nicest way, reaching out and modeling good parenting to them. I would highly recommend Edu designs to any parents who are in need of great parenting skills. Ruth has made a special place for art education with this non-profit and kids LOVE it! The non-profit pairs visual aids with skills and resources, creating an easy way for parents and children to understand and communicate, that goes beyond language. I highly recommend this non-profit.

EDU Designs have such great works that inspire children to be good citizens, empathetic to others and lift self esteem. They do such wonderful teachings that our children would never ever think of bulling others but stepping out to be friends of the friendless. Thank you for your role in changing lives.

Excellent experience! Excellent people. They really know what they are doing.

Edu Designs offers guidance and resources which are very practical, easy to use and effective. I work in India and find that these ideas can be used very well in children with special needs in our part of the world.

I know Ruth Elliot personally to be an individual who is highly creative in the use of materials and different forms of media to teach children good, decent principles, and she is highly enthusiastic and dedicated to reach children with positive messages about themselves and others. Ruth imparts wisdom in what she writes for children and and what she writes to assist parents in their important role of raising their children to become their very best.

Four years in a row, Ruth volunteered her time, teaching drawing and animation techniques to my students in Hartford, Connecticut. She is the best!

Ruth Elliot Hilsdon, founder of EDU DESIGNS is a unique and genuinely heart-centered person. I have known her for years and watched her raise her 7 children into socially aware and contributing adults.
As Director of EDU DESIGNS she continues to 'walk her talk' by selflessly sharing her knowledge, experience and expertise within the education system, giving children a creative foundation that enriches and balances their lives, today and in the future, and by extension, ours as well.

We are a homeschooling family and I met Ms. Ellison in a store one day. She was incredibly kind and engaged the children providing them with some fun moments while running errands. She gave me her card and told me all about the resources the non-profit had available. It was especially helpful since my children are very interested in art. We were able to use a resource that would have been otherwise unavailable to us. Thank you!

I found the YouTube video instructions to make a golden rectangle and golden spiral to be one of the most concise illustrations. Thank you.

These unselfish and dedicated volunteers are making the world a better place. Thank you.!

Ruth went way beyond my expectations when I ordered her printable art teaching book online and then emailed to find out how to access it when I couldn't find the link. She emailed me personally and asked what kind of work I did (I work with adults with developmental disabilities) and what types of resources I was looking for. She then sent me (totally free and unasked for) a number of resources she thought might be useful. Ruth is definitely not in this to make money and passionately believes in her work. I wish I was in a better position to support her organization financially.

I love the books and videos from Edu Designs because it is such a positive way of showing my grandchildren how to be thoughtful and kind to other people and also themselves as well. With all the negativity in the world it is so very uplifting to have these resources available. Thank you! Susan Prince

Good people. Good work. Good results. I like them very much!

Excellent work with our kiddos! The world needs more people and organizations like this!

It is good to know that there are still good people (and places) in this world. You guys are doing an awesome job! Keep on inspiring our children!

Art - and the arts can have such powerful benefits to all children. Many children go through school with limited access to art lessons, classes, and enrichment. Edu Designs provides these opportunities and I am so grateful that they do so.

The arts are important to my child's schooling because he has special needs and art helps him and gives him an outlet to express himself.

Ruth has done a great job in helping/inspiring kids - to become better people in society.
This has been through various arts and other cute videos or cartoons for many years.
She deserves a huge commendation for doing, what is many times, a thankless and hard task.

EduDesigns has provided free art lessons to schools across the US. And they constantly provide character building tools and stories. What a great non-profit, so lucky they do what they do.

I recently saw a cartoon called “Somebody Needs You” from the talented folks over at Edu Designs, with the characters voiced by the legendary June Foray. It’s an inspiring short film about lending a hand to help out someone in need. I feel this is an important message that often gets lost, more so than ever these days. People forget about doing or looking for good deeds, as all of us tend to our own affairs and situations as we grow up. So it just feels good to be reminded about the kindness of strangers. That one good deed can make all the difference in a person’s day. And how anyone can make a difference. I love the cartoon for those heartwarming lessons. It represents what Edu Designs stands for in its noble goal of teaching children about the wonders of life through the art and power of animation.

The arts have never been not important. It is that plane where our spiritual, physical and mental selves converge.

EDU Designs has taken great leaps in creating "Somebody Needs Me". Capturing the innocence and true nature of a child helping others.

Edu Design is a great non profit producing artwork that is easily accessible to children (of all ages). A valuable use of creative talent and sage advice, it has a series of resources available that you will come back to over and over.

This charming short video is perfect for young children who want to help others but don't feel empowered. The young character walks past several problems without realizing that she could help. Not until she picked up a fallen fruit from an elderly man's grocery bag and returned it does she realize she can help. Small acts of kindness are so easy to do, and the gratitude given encourages young children to help more often.
The video is just right for a young child- it has no distractions from the theme and the colors and music used are pleasant.
This is, in my opinion, perfect for preschool and younger primary school children.

What a wonderful idea and concept. I love the beautiful simple message behind this project. Regardless of you age or ability there is always something you can do to help. This is something I try to instill in my children and I can share this video with them to show them how opportunities can present themselves by just opening their minds and hearts

I read what you posted this morning and feel that it would be perfect to use during one of my 4th grade Leadership Team meetings at my school. Though I am "officially" a kindergarten teacher, I started the team 3 years ago because I felt the need for the diverse student population in my school to be taught leadership skills at a younger age. Thanks for your email!

I turn to Ruth often in my work with behaviorally challenged children and their families. I love the positive approach and simple charts. Thank you.

Ruth Elliot is amazing, She is the giving Tree. Super mom. To be in her presents is so nice, she makes you feel at ease and pleasant.

As a member of the board, I can personally say I've never met anyone as dedicated to a cause as Ruth Elliot. She has given so much of her own time and money to this project, one that she believes in wholeheartedly. EDU Designs is a personal project spawned from her desire to help the children of the world. While highly ambitious, she has never faltered, and I have nothing but respect for her and her organization.

As a master life coach and parenting mentor I love to refer my Super Moms Coaching tribe to EDU DESIGNS! It's so important for parents to spell out clearly what they expect from their children and REWARD them for their obedience. EDU DESIGNS have engaging chore charts ready made with built-in incentives. Excellent resource for parents!

EDU DESIGNS aims at introducing and fomenting art aimed at children, a task made essential given the drastic cuts to the arts curriculum in so many school systems. Ruth Elliot, the spark plug powering EDU DESIGNS is truly dedicated to not only bring art to children but also helping parents to participate; in the process building a bond between parents and children

Thank-you so much for all the great ideas. When I feel at a loss as to how to handle a situation with my grandchildren your website is invaluable. I have more confidence with the information you provide to help them feel loved by my awareness of their needs and to give them that support.

I am a Cognitive Therapist and work with children and teens having ODD, CD, AD/HD coupled with emotional problems. The behavior charts Ruth offers work marvelously in maintaining the objectives and reaching the goals of children.
Thank you Ruth for all your work.

As a Special Education Teacher (SDC-high school), I was deeply impressed with how Ruth was able to actively engage my students with art projects and music. The lessons were valuable, fun, and rewarding for the students. I strongly strongly recommend Ruth for art lessons, art books, or anything related to this. If she can actively engage approximately 20 students with severe developmental delays, low attention spans, and difficulties with holding pencils for over 90 minutes, I cannot help but wonder how much other populations would love this!!! Highest recommendation!!!!!

This past Sunday (9/12/2014) the New York Times ran "The Way to Beat Poverty" by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. As I read, I was reminded of Ruth Elliott-Hilsdon's work with young parents and their children through EduDesigns, and her emphasis on encouragement, communication, and especially physical affection.

Kristof and WuDunn write: "A series of studies have found similar patterns in humans. Scientists can measure cortisol in an infant’s saliva, and babies turn out to be easily stressed. Anything from loud noises to hunger to a soiled diaper floods the child’s brain with cortisol. But when Mom or Dad hugs the child, the stress and cortisol almost disappear...Dr. Jack P. Shonkoff, founder of the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University...argues that the constant bath of cortisol in a high-stress infancy prepares the child for a high-risk environment. The cortisol affects brain structures so that those individuals are on a fight-or-flight hair trigger throughout life, an adaptation that might have been useful in prehistory. But in today’s world, the result is schoolchildren who are so alert to danger that they cannot concentrate. They are also so suspicious of others that they are prone to pre-emptive aggression." SOURCE:

In an economic environment in which support programs for at-risk mothers are being cut back rather than expanded, Ruth Elliott-Hilsdon steps in with simple, nurturing and profoundly empowering help.

These young people and their babies are our future. Thanks to EduDesigns, that future is a little brighter for all of us.

Dear Ruth Elliott-Hilsdon, Thank you for giving us the opportunity to copies some of your books for the past one year. We want you to know that we have appreciated your humanitarian works. Your cooperation has helped us run smoothly and has led to establish new NGO Reward Foundation Ghana. We look forward to many more years of mutually beneficial association and wish your organization the success that it deserves. Thanks
Eric Ansah
Ghana West Africa.

Today's kids are going up in a media driven world designed specifically to command their full attention and stimulate their senses with out providing any fundamental skill sets or tools a child needs. EDU Designs want to help parents, caregivers and teachers how to creatively incorporate character building through simple delivery methods. The behavior charts made me realize how much I acknowledged the "negative" behaviors and had all but forgotten to reward the positive. I am grateful. The rewards have made a huge difference in my kids behavior and now we are spending a lot more "quality" time together !!

My mother would always tell me how important it was to take advantage of your chance to learn when you are young- that when you are older you will be so busy working you may not get the chance you have now. This is one of the things that I love about EDU DESIGNS. They are investing in kids WHILE THERE'S STILL HOPE!

You gave me copies of the behavior charts for my grandchildren when I was your husbands nurse at St Bernardines. I love the charts for the positive reinforcements! I pray you and your hubby are well. Thanks for the great info! With love..Diana Van Leuven Johnson

My grandchildren live with me in an area where the children aren't very friendly. We are Christians and they have a hard time dealing with our sort of people. When my grandchildren were getting bullied I found EDU DESIGNS... The posters were great!!! We started using what was stated and also looked for other ideas on getting ready for School, and after school. We have shared this web-site with our neigbors, friends and school. It has made a tremendous difference in our area, school and neighborhood. I recommend to ALL!!!

Hello there. I started using your behavioural charts about two years ago to motivate and reward my son. He was very excited about being able to assign stars and stickers for every day he did something well.They have worked so well that almost all of those tasks have now become part of his routine.

Hi I am wanting a copy of your book so I can try to implement some techniques for a child with autism that I care for in a classroom setting.

I just found out about this. I am a single mom homeschooling my two boys who seem to have alittle attention problem, I love how it integrates their thinking with their character.

In classroom teaching AND in the home, developing depth of character is imperative. A child who knows him/herself and what positive things s/he is capable of insures success in all realms.

I have two adopted children one of whom is in a trans racial placement with us. Both children were subjected to prenatal abuse with drugas and alcohol and the ynouger child is currently being monitored at school for additional needs. I have been using some of the resources namely behaviour charts from GO Mommy Go web site which I have found very helprul. Thank you so much

I really love your mission to help children to learn and thrive. Art is am important tool and aspect of development. Currently i am an undergrad of psychology and also a person with ADD or did as a child. I know the difficulties or affects that go with the label of ADD. Your observation and theory about a child trying to make emotional contact and the effects it has upon the child's feelings of security and focus upon academics is perfect. I truly believe that relieves anxiety and creates and atmosphere of love and willingness to learn and focus. I aspire to get my Masters in Art Therapy and this book and your other creations will help children feel safe, love, and fulfilled as their needs are met spiritually, mentally, and creatively.

I am happy to be part of this organization they are very cultural competent

Being a mom to a child with ADHD is tough. However, through this website, I have learned how important is in to engage your child through 1 on 1 parent interaction no matter how hectic life gets!

I am the worst artist, so I always avoid drawing when I teach. However, after your presentation, I learned that art can be simple and the results are amazing. I never knew that stick figures can be drawn to show actions and emotions. I just love your presentation. Thanks for opening up my view and understanding in art.

I was just browsing through for kids material to encourage good bevaviour and this site gave me more than I expected. My kids and the Sunday school kids I teach were delighted to see the pictures I used as an illustration.

Using Edu Designs and Go Mommy Go I was able to create a chart that got my kids interested in getting things done! It also gave me some pretty darn creative "punishment" ideas from their discipline page, ideas that didnt involve spanking (which we only use if they do something dangerous, like dart out in a parking lot!) This is a common stop on the web for me and will get used more often now that the school year is over and both kids are home together, because 2 is always more trouble than 1 LOL

Children need to be valued, nurtured and guided and EduDesigns helps do all of these things. I have made great use of the behavior charts with my 5 children (ages 2 through 9). They have helped me organize our house and teach responsibility in a loving way. Our children's creativity also needs to be fostered by providing a good arts education. This does it! Thank you!

The original donation came with behavior cards for children. These were very clever and everyone i have given them to love them. Then there is the art book and teaching children how to draw. I wanted this for myself! With all the cuts in education, this organization is a wonderful add on to schools. It would be so nice if all the schools and children's organizations had these materials. Good luck to EDU Designs!!

I have read only a few pages and I can already tell you. I love your book. The story, the tips and the lessons. It is a great book. Well done.
You have got a wonderful talent and you are not wasting it.

This is a okay organization. It has help me a bit.

I customized and printed out the good behavior chart in hopes my fiance and I will help our 7 year old daughter learn consistency, and responsibility. It has been 3 months so far now, and she has been achieving 85% of her points VS when we started she was only reaching about 50% of her points. This system works very well especially when you give choices in the rewards they get when they reach certain points, and become consistent.

I love your chore charts! They really helped us. I am looking forward to turning of the tv more and getting creative with your new book!

I was fortunate enough to meet Ruth online and quickly we both became fans of each other's work and endeavors. I immediately watched the videos of the presentations given through Edu Designs and tried them with my kids. They LOVED the approach to learning to draw and I can only hope that Edu Designs can soon come to their school. The printouts from Go Mommy Go have been excellent motivation tools for my kids. We have used the charts and stickers as a reward system in our home, and not only do my kids love it, it allows me as a parent to redirect my attention into rewarding positive behaviors instead of finding a way to reprimand them for bad ones. A BIG thank you to Edu Designs and Go Mommy Go for helping parents and children in way that will enrich their lives and futures.

My 8 year old son, Brenden, has ADHD, Oppositional Defiance Disorder, Sensory Integration, and Major Depression. Last year we had to place him in a long term care psychiatric facility in Bismarck, Pride Manchester House, for behavior modification. The average stay at this specialized facility for children is 6 months. Brenden was able to achieve all his goals within 4-1/2 months and return home to us. Upon his return, I was faced with creating behavior charts to utilize in the transition home. I decided to do a google search and see what was out there before I reinvented the wheel so to speak. That's when I found your GoMommyGo website. I used your behavior chart as the basis for mine with a few modifications and I used many of your illustrations for other charts and tools that we utilized to keep Brenden on track. I was so very thankful to find a website that had these tools and not having to create them on my own even though I do a lot of this type of work in my position at work... saved me lots of time and made me realize that there are people and places out there who are understanding of the needs of children such as Brenden. Thank you so much for making these tools available to parents like myself! Sincerely, Kelley Shawn

I was having a bad time with my 4 years old daughter, then I found this amazing help for me, like a chart awards. I used it and the result was fantastic since the first day I explained to her how it chart working. she tries every day to reach more points. thanks for all your help to desperated moms like me.

Since using the charts we have less melt downs and the kids love the fact that they can see what theyneed to be doing and they get stars for work completed of for following the rules and having good behavior

Ruth Elliott is a dynamic passionate giver of herself and she does this through inspiring little and big people to tap into their creativity. In times when education is confined to testing scenarios, bringing art into the classroom is what many students (and teachers) crave. Our students were captivated by her enthusiasm and willingness to share her experience with drawing. All age groups will benefit. Contact her to come share at your school. You can't beat a FREE assembly.