The Disposition to Document: Portraits of Practice

Another great article from "Canadian Children" on documentation...will return to ramble about my thoughts on the article later...

http://www.cayc.ca/backissues/disposdoc.pdf

Larvae, Ladies, and Learning: The Project Approach

For those of you seeking more information on the "project approach" as outlined by Lilian Katz, here is an article outlining one first grade class's project on butterflies: 

http://www.cayc.ca/lll2003.pdf

Some quotes from the article....

"Educators who have studied and written about teaching Science to young children identify a number of features of effective science programs.  These features include an emphasis on deeper understanding, opportunities for children to manipulate their environments, the use of children's current ideas and understandings as a starting point for teaching, an effort to answer children's genuine questions about the world, and a focus on developing important process skills such as observing, hypothesizing, planning, interpreting, and communicating.  (Harlen, 1996;  Johnson, 1996)"  

I think back to the end of our school year last year, when we finished off raising caterpillars  into butterflies and then releasing them at the end of the year as a representation of the children blooming from their own "cocoon" into the greater world of kindergarten and on.  What a wonderful moment it was when the children gathered around observing the miracle of nature as the caterpillars who spun themselves into cocoons weeks earlier suddenly fight to emerge as butterflies.   The learning throughout this process was amazing, from the representational drawings of the caterpillars, cocoons, and the  butterflies to the reference books dug through for pictures, to the  beautiful paintings that emerged as the children studied symmetry  on butterfly's wings in the art studio.   No one could have observed these children at work and declared them "just playing".   If such in depth studies work for learning science, why should other areas of "academics" be taught in isolation?

Quote of the Day

“Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.” Chinese Proverb

This quote brings to mind the many years I spent sitting in a grade-school classroom reading a book under my desk while the teacher prattled on about some topic or another I had no interest in and no emotional connection to. I don't remember any of those lectures, though I do remember getting in trouble for reading--go figure, especially when I was *gasp* reading ahead in a book we were reading as a class, which apparently is a horrible thing indeed (after all, then we might actually meet the learning goals ahead of time & what would the teacher do with us then???).

What I remember....

Preschool, playing Lincoln Logs with my friend named Lincoln, sipping yogurt through a straw, climbing too high on the jungle gym and screaming until the teacher got me down, and balancing on the cement around the playground (which was against the rules). What I don't remember, aside from the fact that I saw it on a recent home video clip, is the song about the thirteen original colonies of the United States.

Kindergarten, playing in the blocks center & the dramatic play center, climbing too high on the jungle gym and screaming (this seems to be an ongoing trend), hatching chickens from eggs--something I'm trying to figure out how I could manage with my current class group.

During the school age years I don't remember much of the "core" curriculum, but I do remember a pajama party in my second grade class (is it coincidence my kids have repeatedly asked for a second PJ party this year???), doing project-based learning in third grade (with teachers far ahead of their times) and "classroom stores" selling otter pops on the playground. Third grade is perhaps my most memorable year (and not only because I got contacts that year, extremely traumatizing--the class once got extended recess because I was in the room trying to get them in and I didn't get any recess at all). I remember the fourth grade play, which I hated because I was sick the day of auditions & made my parents take me to school with strep throat, but I could hardly talk so I still got a non-speaking part with an individual who hated me & almost didn't show the day of the play. Fifth grade was pure misery as by that point we'd done away with hands-on learning for the most part in favor of drill & kill approaches, I remember very little aside from hating math. Sixth grade I spent most of the time hiding in the library during recess, and occasionally when I cut class--for some reason my teacher, though he knew about this, didn't argue often. Probably because he inherently knew I was learning a heck of a lot more digging into books than I would sitting in the classroom. I'll never forget the amazing school librarian who took me under her wing, pushed me to expand my horizons into reading non-fiction, and gave me "jobs" that made me feel competent and useful during a time I felt very much like I didn't "fit in" socially.

My kids probably aren't going to remember the reading lessons, the math workshops, and the songs I teach them in an attempt to "educate" them on basic concepts such as colors or shapes--doesn't mean I won't do them, but I'm not going to depend on them! I hope they remember digging in the garden for worms, walking through the "forest" looking for wolves, making chocolate milk (on the carpet), and taking bubble baths in the sensory bin. I wonder what they'll be blogging about in twenty years?

Community Learning Center

Dear parents, teachers, and caregivers:

I am writing in hopes of finding a way to provide quality education to children in the Utah County area, one that views the child as a competent learner, parents as partners, and learning as an engaging hands-on experience. Over the last year and a half I have tried to implement such a program single handedly, and found it impossible to do so. It simply is too much for one person to do, and the cost of implementing a program is prohibitive for an individual such as myself who is a recent college graduate with no other source of income. I'm not looking to make a lot, but it's nice to be able to actually afford food every once and awhile!

My ultimate view is a community learning center where parents, children, teachers, and other community members can join together and cooperatively engage in learning and progressing. I picture a program where intergenerational support acts as a base for partnering in education, where the lines are blurred between teacher and student, where children and adults of all abilities are integrated in a supportive environment, and where individuals arrive each day refreshed and eager to learn and to teach. While I, personally, am drawn to programs which are completely child-directed and naturalistic, I don't want to narrow the focus of the program to one curriculum approach--rather I want to gather the best aspects of each approach and bring them together in an eclectic means which enables each child to learn in the way that best meets their individual learning style.

There are so many individuals in the area who recognize the weakness of our current educational system. We've seen an increase in charter schools, but the availability of these programs is extremely limited & private schools are cost prohibitive. I long for a program where it is possible for anyone who is willing to commit to education to join the community, regardless of social or economical status. I know there are individuals out there who share the drive to create a quality a educational program for their own children and those in the community, I'm desperately searching for the means to bring these individuals together.

If you would be interested in joining me on this journey, please contact me. I am seeking any individual with a drive to learn, and to teach. I am also seeking individuals who may be able to help with more "practical" matters such as locating and preparing a facility, organizing a board of directors, assisting with bookkeeping, and finding and utilizing available resources in the community.

Sincerely,
Heather Rindlisbacher
Nurturing a love of learning...

Phone (801) 636-5627
E-mail happythoughtslearningcenter@yahoo.com
Blog: http://happythoughtslc.blogspot.com/

The wonders of children's thinking

In the last few weeks of job interviews I've often used the line "My work with children is highly influenced by the work of early childhood educators in Reggio Emilia, Italy", but it usually leads to blanks stares or the response "Reggio what???".  It is easy to print out Wikepedia articles about the approach, and if you'd like to reference the article it is actually fairly accurate

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggio_Emilia_approach

However, for me "Reggio Inspiration" is a lot more than an "educational philosophy".  It is an idea that has greatly challenged my thinking of who children are, not just how they learn.  "Reggio" educators view the child as a competent learner,  not "mini adults" (as I sometimes feel Montessori did) and not individuals who can be given complete control of their education (as Sudbury Valley does), but it kind of acts as a middle ground.   In my view of the "Reggio approach" teacher acts as a co-learner, not a director, constantly engaging in a dance of sorts.  You meet the children at their level, seek to understand their thought processes, challenge your way of thinking, plan and review (not quite High/Scope, though I do draw some of that in), challenge your thinking, challenge your thinking some more, meet with the children and challenge their thinking,  link the children with resources and see where they go, then challenge your thinking some more.  

In other words, you challenge your thinking a lot.  

This is an aspect of education I see lacking in many philosophies.   Too often I see teachers going into a "learning moment" with a well thought out (or not so well thought out) plan of how things are going to go.  When the children don't respond there's something wrong with them.  After all, the idea sounds great to the teacher, highly engaging, and presumably teaches some vital skill--so why wouldn't the kids be interested?   The "problem" is kids have minds of their own.   And far too often we, as adults, fail to respect this--viewing this fact as a challenge to overcome, not a marvelous and amazing opportunity for personal growth and rich emotional connections.   Granted, this is often easier said than done.  

The other day I was climbing the stairs at the university, basically oblivious to anything below eye level like most adults, and nearly tripped over a boy, six or seven years of age.  I admit, like most adults I was initially annoyed--what on earth was a child doing sitting in the middle of a busy stairwell?  I stood back & watched as the child stood staring in amazement at a "rainbow", a patch of color on a random stairwell that nobody but this little one had paid any attention.   When I came back a couple hours later the boy was gone, and so was the rainbow, but the sense of wonder remained.  I never did figure out how that rainbow made it into the stairway, for there was no obvious reflective agent  I could identify.  Maybe a child's mind is right on--rainbows may not simply be an effect of light, but a little piece of magic.

We all need a little more magic in our lives.