Why Play?

I've been scanning youtube lately and have come across a few videos I think explain why I focus on a play-based curriculum, attempting to create what is known in the early childhood community as a "developmentally appropriate practice"...these films explain some of the basic concepts

Developmentally Appropriate Early Childhood Environments
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-h4IHIqkcc&feature=related

All They Do is Play...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75Kan48OftU&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ktz_28vP_Jo&feature=channel

Transcribe: Observations on Fixing the Road, 11-5-2009

On a walk to see the horses we observed a work crew working on road repairs. One of the men was using a torch to put fire on the road. One of the children in the class was enthralled by this process...here are his ideas! What does this conversation tell you about this child's thinking? How do the questions I asked add or detract from his thought processes? Where could I have gone from here? (as it turns out they were more interested in bikes than the road repairs when they got back to school so it didn't go anywhere...)

A visit to the horses...

More to come....maybe, just trying to get some photos up so I have something to blog about!

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