Learn

My brain may be different than most- or, at least different than a prize pupil. Learning in a classroom was typically a chore until I was sitting in the Spanish classroom, right outside the Moorish style courtyard fountain in Granada. I was there, living it. And even though my Spanish is very poor today, I did learn so very much, and loved learning it.

The funny thing is, my mother was an excellent teacher- I just never knew I was learning. Most of my ideas stem from her influential parenting.

Even now, my love for learning has exploded. Therefore, I am biased, bent on teaching with as much enjoyment and immersion as possible.

For example, the Overland Park Arboretum:

"Let's take a picture under the willow tree!"

Breaking for art

Super fancy poses

Counting stepping stones

A quest to find blue flowers

Daddy giving Max a hard time

He made my day

 

"This was the second best day of my life!"
"What was the first?"
"Uh, I don't know...."

And what did we learn? It's 2am. That will be my next post :)

Monsters 'n Things

So, the subject of monsters came up today. Not in a scared way but because someone had remembered a picture of a monster eating ice cream. (By Sheri So, our favorite artist!)

Instantly, an art project idea was conceived. It sounds simple, I know... but as simple as it is, how many times do we do it?

Here were the rules:

1) Draw your own made-up monster, any way you want it.
2) First use printer paper with colored pencils to doodle and experiment.
3) When you know what you want, you can draw it on card stock in mom's markers (you know it's really special when you get to draw with mom's stuff!)
4) This one is for mom- no opinions. Unless, of course, your opinion is that your child's work is ingenious and you wouldn't change a thing.

I started by showing a few examples of what a monster could be, just to get them thinking. I could be a blob or a dragon- like monster. It could have funky hair or it could have scales or be fuzzy....

 

As they were drawing, I listened to them talk about their pictures. I realized that there was much more going on in their minds than what we see on paper. So I decided that I would have them explain the pictures and I would write it on the back of the paper.

This is a daddy dinosaur. He's picking up sand and putting it all over his head. Then he gets stuck in the mud.

A little dragon's dad is flying around one sunny day and finds a fire ruby (reference from My Little Pony) that has already been toasted. He gives it to the daughter. She eats it up and says, "thank you".

The man is handing diamonds to the monster because monsters love diamonds. It was roasted already because the man knows that monsters love diamonds that are hot. After he eats his snack he flies away. The monster is licking his lips because he know it's hot.

The baby monster is in a boat and blowing fire to bake cookies being held by a robot arm. There is a ball in the water. The one on the diving board was supposed to put soap in the river for a bath, but he fell asleep. The mom is blowing fire on the birds. She is holding a bowl. The bird will fall into the bowl and then they could eat it.

This one is hungry and he sees food.

 

I just like this one. No caption, though.

 

This was Max's. He was so excited to draw... I'm guessing because of the excitement from his sisters. He scribbled something for two minutes (or less) and proudly brought it over to me and laughed his head off.

 

 

Oh yeah. Moms and Dads, you've got to do one too! Don't worry- your kids will think it is fantastic no matter how artistic you are. This monster has a pouch with a zipper on it. He was taking a walk and found a gigantic ice cream cone on the sidewalk. The baby's hand is sticking out of his pouch and reaching for the ice cream.

While I was uploading the pictures, I searched articles about sparking creativity in children. I found this one and this one. 

 

What I gathered from these articles is that there should be times that parents give limited instructions about things like toys and crafts so that the children have room for their own ideas. In addition, children are encouraged to share the wonder of science and nature with parents that express interest in such things. For the most part, I appreciate the information in these articles.

 

I am wary of one suggestion to not give instructions or to make up new instructions on board games. I think that there are plenty of opportunities to foster creativity, but there is a time to follow instructions as well, so I guess it depends on the situation. I am finding that De Bono's book, Teach your Child How to Think, is helpful in learning different kinds of thinking. His example of six different hats, one being creative thinking and another being factual thinking, is easy for the children to understand.

 

In my experience, these are a few things that have fostered a creative spirit in my children:

 

Encouraging free time without electronics

 

Willingness to try something without knowing for sure how it will end up- recipes, crafts, science experiments, for example.

 

Allowing messes, within reason, if they are for building good thinking skills.

 

Enjoying differences in my children's thinking, and taking the perspective that no one is the smartest, but each has their own strengths and their own way of working things out.

 

Knowing their abilities and give them the freedom of some responsibility without constantly checking on them.

 

Kids create an environment where the parent can be silly and creative and terrific all at once. I love to take advantage of the opportunity to let my gaurd down and just have fun with it.

 

 

 

 

Later, in the absolutely fabulous weather that we had this evening, I heard them in the back yard. They had put a plastic football on the end of the shovel handle and jumped on the shovel, catapulting the ball into the air. Then, they would laugh hysterically and someone else would take their turn. Oh my goodness... it was a riot. 

Drawing monsters or catapulting footballs. I have the best job in the world.

Alphabet Outdoors

A fun photo project with the kids....

Find the letters in their names- or your last name.

Or just as many as you can find.

And enjoy the day while your at it.

Butterfly Hunting

I have been reading more about learning through play.... I love the concept. Most of the blogs I read have to do with pre-school, but I think there is room for it in grade school as well- in addition to the core subjects.

Children's play is an art that no adult can replicate perfectly. The whimsical imperfection of stuffed animals, child clubs, pretending, and investigation somehow fill in the gaps we never knew were there.

The other day, Savannah got out her butterfly net and started catching, observing, and identifying these beauties.

So we've been hunting and identifying butterflies as of late.

And today we found a few more interesting things.

I barely had a zoom on this one. I don't think I've ever been this close to a deer....

We are attempting a butterfly garden. So far the ants are the ones that really like it.

When Bear, Max, and I sat down to talk today, he immediately told Bear about how he saw a deer. Next, he pointed to the other end of the room, gasped, and said, "Wook! Deer!"

I assumed that Bear would want to make friends and talk to Deer, so that was my natural response. I was wrong.

Max decisively grabbed Bear, leaped off his bed, ran to where Deer was, and put Bear's mouth to the ground, smacking his lips.

Bear had eaten Deer.
Max looked up, flashed a smile, and said, "doiagain".

And Bear ate deer for the second time.

Apparently, Bear likes to eat.

And obviously, his boy play is different than the girl play I am accustomed to.

Even mamas can learn through play.