Provocation....What is "Hands On Learning?"

This was a sign displayed prominantly at the check out counter at a local grocery store. The "work samples" shown include ditto matching sheets and standardized spelling tests. It made me wonder exactly what educators consider "hands on" learning.

How about this activity? The learning objective was to count the pumpkin seeds as he glued them on the pumpkin...

What about writing our reading words for the week on the whiteboard? Does your opinion change if you know this activity was child initiated?

Do Montessori cylinder blocks and other dydactic learning materials count as "hands on" learning?

Are we getting closer to "hands on" now?

What about "full body on" learning? Does that count?

Questions to Consider:

What is it that makes learning hands on?

Does the definition of hands on change as children grow and develop?

What ages do better with hands on learning?

How does hands on learning work in your classroom?
What challenges do you face in presenting 'hands on' activities?

Chime in by leaving a comment or drop me an e-mail at hapythoughtslearningcenter@yahoo.com

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Utah Early Childhood Conference

Random note....

Mountainland CCR&R 801-863-8220

Utah Child Care Conference registration is *not* available until next week. So don't register early, because I really REALLY want to get into the good classes this year. But if you do register early you can do so on the following site:

www.utahearlychildhoodconference.com

Discovery Gateway

Photos from our field trip...

http://smilebox.com/playBlog/4d5455314d5441314e7a4d3d0d0a&blogview=true

Hands-on art experiences, as usual....this is a combination of shaving cream and about three different colors of paint in mass...

The older class has been studying Leonardo da Vinci's inventions, our classes combined to work together with a box of "just about everything"...B really got into this activity and has been working for several days on a "robot".


Tracks in the snow kept E. engaged outside as he followed them trying to find out where they led and figure out what type of animal made them!

This is a unique use for tape that I've never seen before....a limbo rope! This has actually been a great activity for cooperation, because it requires at least two children to hold the tape and several more to play the "game", which is tricky....because it's sticky!

The kids love making popsicles, we do this at least once a week! They don't seem to care about the fact that it is below freezing outside...though N. consistently points out that in cold weather we should have hot chocolate instead. So we make that as well on a regular basis!

Another check in...

Don't know if any parents are reading this, but just to throw some pictures out there...

Miss Phelps had a birthday this week, and L. wanted to get into the action by decorating her car. I wasn't sure how Miss Phelps would feel about that, so I let her decorate my car instead. Have to say I was thankful when I was wandering around lost in the parking lot at 10:00 at night--can't miss a car covered in tape!

P. is working on learning how to ride a two-wheeler. Despite the snow, the kids still love riding bikes on the driveway. I, on the other hand, can not WAIT to go inside. They may be able to tolerate 12 degree weather....but I'm still not a fan!

The blog has apparently decided it can't handle any more photos for now...I'm going to try a new program a friend suggested, we'll see how it works!

Check In...

Working together in small groups exploring wire as a medium...


We made personal mini-pizzas, each child got to make their own...

L. returned to an activity that has been a favorite, it was initially intented to be "musical shakers", but now has morphed into simply filling a plastic cup with various collage materials, and covering the top with plastic wrap held on by an elastic band. Not sure what, exactly, it is intended to be, but it doesn't particularly matter....it's the process that is important, not the product.

Weekly Check in...

This is a general outline of our upcoming week...

Monday: C & P worked with wire in the art studio. We'll be introducing this medium throughout the week & then exploring the combination of wire and clay as we move into three dimensional representation.


P wrapped the wire around a marker to make it into a coil, then straightened it out. C observed her work & tried making a similar design.

C: I did it across the ocean, it's a bridge. And the water's underneath it.

C: I tied it, but I didn't do it in a knot.

P used wire to tie two chairs together (good movement into utilizing three dimensional objects with the wire!).

This week I will be working on basic addition skills with P, K, and B and general counting skills with L & D. P & K will begin work with the short "e" word families, beginning with the /en/ and /et/ families. B & L will continue working on sequencing the letters in their names.