Many people have expressed interest in learning more about the "how" of our homeschooling adventure. Learning (and living) as a family is always a work in progress. Going forward, I will try to share pieces of our journey as frequently as I can.
Undertaking the challenge of learning with my children, has started me on a new path as a mother. I have always been interested in how people truly learn, and fascinated by many different educational philosophies. Suddenly now, I have the opportunity to put my favorite ideas into practice in my home. Most of what we are doing falls under the umbrella of "unschooling". I will write more about what this means in future posts. That said, my favorite aspects of several educational theories guide me as I create an enriched environment in which my children live and learn.
The Reggio Amelia theory of early childhood education (3 - 6) emphasizes many beautiful ideas: emergent curriculum, the teacher as a partner in learning and discovery, and the documentation of the children's work, thoughts and ideas. I am particularly inspired by the emphasis placed on art within this philosophy. Each Reggio school has it's own staff art specialist, and even very young children work with 'real' art materials. Rather than a handful of tempera colors (available at most traditional preschools), children attending Reggio schools have access to an extensive collection of art supplies including a full and varied palette of colors. I am trying to emulate this aspect of the curriculum by steadily expanding the range of art supplies I have available to the children.
On Friday the kids asked to work with watercolors. Here are some shots of what they created.
4 comments:
Great post! I love you!
Staci, please DO keep up these kinds of posts. I really am interested in this subject and how you juggle the living/learning aspect of all being at home. Also, it makes me happy when I read that you think something is really good like painting with watercolor and that I can implement more of that stuff into life with Josie. We just painted a few days ago with some acrylic paint and we've got her masterpiece hanging up on the wall. It really is so fun! I am liking my children the older they get. Does that sound bad? I always like them. I just enjoy them more as they get older! The first year of their lives is really hard for me.
Ditto what Sarah said. I am totally curious about homeschooling, so please keep these kind of posts coming so I can feed my curiosity and learn more. It's an idea that still interests me.
I also wanted to add something else...I totally agree with the philosophy on art. I have put in an inconspicuous place in the house (so I don't stress over the mess) an art corner. The kids have construction paper, paints, glue, scissors, markers, pom poms, pipe cleaners, etc., etc. in this space to use at their disposal whenever they want, however they want and they don't have to clean up when they are done. IT is the best thing in our house. It has replaced hours of TV watching and the creations they come up with have been awesome. With it always out and ready, they are constantly creating and they don't have to ask permission and they don't even have to wait for a rainy day. If they feel inspired. it is there for them. I love it!
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