Some of my favorite childhood memories involve our vacations to the countryside, where my cousins lived. My grandfather purchased 40-something acres of land in Northern California back when it was considered worthless. A creek runs through the property, and the walls of the creek are made of clay! There is also a lot of obsidian there, which the indigenous people used to make arrows and other things. We would go down to the creek, usually without supervision unless little ones were going, and we would stay all day. We could swim in the deep parts, trek through the shallow parts, or make things with the clay. My sister had an early interest in anthropology, and would spend hours digging for arrowheads (she later got her master's degree in anthropology). I love this about nature, that you don't have to add anything because there are already so many options.
My children went to a parent co-op preschool, where all kinds of interesting things were set out for kids to explore, or not, and there was plenty of outdoor time, too. When we went to look at "progressive" schools for elementary, we couldn't find anything close! One self-directed school existed so we went to visit. They had everything put away except books and computers, stating that it was for safety reasons. They offered that my son could "just ask" and they would get things out for him, and that they often formed little classes if kids wanted to learn something. I thought it was so limiting to not have things around for kids to try out. After all, they are still learning about the world, so they won't always know what to ask for.
Things are better now, with some small nature programs and many, many homeschool classes available. I strongly believe that play is the human way of learning. Adults can stay out of the way for the most part, but we should be mindful to expose children to all kinds of things. Thanks for sharing your favorite activities!
Wow, Beth! Thanks for sharing those beautiful memories. What fun! I agree about having resources in sight and on offer for children, it helps spark their imagination and creativity!
Beautiful writing as always Elizabeth. I've had 'Make a fresh batch of Playdough' on my to do list for a while now. I'm taking your letter as a sign to get to it! 💛
Some of the memorable open-ended scenarios we've had at our group are a motorway services, airport with sophisticated air traffic control, zombies with a subscription model, Lego cars jumping off a ramp competition... None of which would have arisen if the parents had organised them. We just provide Lego, pens and paper and there's random tackle laying about.
Another thing I've noticed is that they will get their phones out to create sound effects etc then put them away again, their game is much more exciting for them and the tech is just a tool.
Some of my favorite childhood memories involve our vacations to the countryside, where my cousins lived. My grandfather purchased 40-something acres of land in Northern California back when it was considered worthless. A creek runs through the property, and the walls of the creek are made of clay! There is also a lot of obsidian there, which the indigenous people used to make arrows and other things. We would go down to the creek, usually without supervision unless little ones were going, and we would stay all day. We could swim in the deep parts, trek through the shallow parts, or make things with the clay. My sister had an early interest in anthropology, and would spend hours digging for arrowheads (she later got her master's degree in anthropology). I love this about nature, that you don't have to add anything because there are already so many options.
My children went to a parent co-op preschool, where all kinds of interesting things were set out for kids to explore, or not, and there was plenty of outdoor time, too. When we went to look at "progressive" schools for elementary, we couldn't find anything close! One self-directed school existed so we went to visit. They had everything put away except books and computers, stating that it was for safety reasons. They offered that my son could "just ask" and they would get things out for him, and that they often formed little classes if kids wanted to learn something. I thought it was so limiting to not have things around for kids to try out. After all, they are still learning about the world, so they won't always know what to ask for.
Things are better now, with some small nature programs and many, many homeschool classes available. I strongly believe that play is the human way of learning. Adults can stay out of the way for the most part, but we should be mindful to expose children to all kinds of things. Thanks for sharing your favorite activities!
Wow, Beth! Thanks for sharing those beautiful memories. What fun! I agree about having resources in sight and on offer for children, it helps spark their imagination and creativity!
I’ve always wanted to make homemade playdough but never have. Definitely gonna try it ASAP. Thank you!
Excellent! Give it a go. The good thing is my kids don't seem to care how it turns out, they have fun exploring it even if its too wet or too dry!
Beautiful writing as always Elizabeth. I've had 'Make a fresh batch of Playdough' on my to do list for a while now. I'm taking your letter as a sign to get to it! 💛
Warm playdough is the best! Enjoy. Thanks for your kind words xx
I love this :)
Some of the memorable open-ended scenarios we've had at our group are a motorway services, airport with sophisticated air traffic control, zombies with a subscription model, Lego cars jumping off a ramp competition... None of which would have arisen if the parents had organised them. We just provide Lego, pens and paper and there's random tackle laying about.
Another thing I've noticed is that they will get their phones out to create sound effects etc then put them away again, their game is much more exciting for them and the tech is just a tool.
Mary-Ann I love all of this! Amazing. You're right, when parents are involved its a completely different type of play!