Leave it for later
– Max has a variety of centers throughout the house. He has a store front opposite a miniature grill. He can “cook” up a multiple course meal, ring
you up on the register and serve you at a table for two. A pressed plastic castle form serves as a
central focal point for ongoing pirates versus knights conflict. He has a dress up area, multiple libraries
and his current favorite, a table for his Legos.
To maintain order, our expectation for Max was to reorganize
one center before moving on to the next.
“Clean up Clean up, everybody
everywhere….” I suspect you know this
song. Like most young ones, Max is prone
to fight the clean-up process. This is especially true when it comes to his Lego
creations. We learned a tough lesson
through these battles to let Max pick a specific creation to keep for
later. Upon reflection, it makes total
sense that he would struggle with dismantling the creation he finds value
in. This simple acquiescence has reduced
our battles and created a balance between cleaning up and devaluing his creativity. How can you allow for ongoing processes that provide continuity of creativity for your learners?
Let them lead – Max
has become very proficient in riding his bike with training wheels. The wheels
will be coming off in the fall. As his
proficiency grew we began lagging behind so that he could pick his own path. I was amazed at how simply allowing for him
to choose which sidewalk he would venture down increased his motivation to
ride. How do you provide autonomy for
your learners so they will pedal faster than before?
Lessons within service – I understand that it is important that we all see ourselves as
something bigger than ourselves. In an effort to support this idea, Max and I
set a New Year’s resolution to pick up one piece of trash every time we are
outside. On an outing last spring, we focused on cleaning up a ditch near our
home. Beyond the lesson in service, Max
stumbled upon some really interesting things.
A dead cedar wax wing allowed us to look at the anatomy of a bird up
close. A shy crayfish and his recent
molt gave us an opportunity to talk about exoskeletons. How are you leveraging teachable moments for
your learners?
Junk collecting – Every
parent knows the frustration of their child finding more joy in playing with
the box a gift came in than the gift itself. This should not be a surprise when
we consider the creative minds of our little ones. We have begun collecting odds and ends for
Max to use outside. He engages with
these random objects as much as or more than his outside toys. Bungee cords, sticks, and a variety of
containers are his current favorites. Could
you create a maker space for your learners?
Moving beyond the trivial – Max has a great memory for past events and the names of
things. On a recent trip to the Sonoran
Desert, he had the opportunity to see novel flora and fauna. He knows the difference between a saguaro and
organ pipe cactus. He can recognize javelina,
coyotes and quail. I am proud of his ability
to remember the names of things, but I work hard to question him into deeper
understanding. We were fortunate to
observe some animal behaviors that are perfect for exploring the “why”. We watched a pair of javelinas stroll into a
dry creek bed. One began rooting with
its snout in the creek bottom until a muddy pool of water appeared. Through questioning, Max was able to
articulate why this animal was doing this. At first he postulated the javelina was going
to drink the water, but when the javelina rolled in the water, Max figured out
that he was after a cool bath. How do
you question your learners so that they will think deeply and own their
learning?
Butterfly lessons
– In the spring we collected 5 monarch butterfly caterpillars. On a daily, sometimes hourly basis, we
watched as the caterpillars devoured the milk weed and grew larger. Four of the five attached and formed a
chrysalis. Only three of the insects fully pupated and spread their wings as
butterflies. In our world that seems to
promote only immediate gratification, it was refreshing to see Max stay
interested and ultimately be rewarded by seeing an adult emerge. I believe this is the most important lesson
of all. Life and learning are imperfect
and require patience, but wonder lies at the end!
