Beyond Catalogues « Images of Learning Project

Real Stuff: Part 4

By Kim, on March 21st, 2012%

Personal disclaimer: When my son turned 5 my husband and I gave him an axe. He chopped some firewood, chopped some twigs and branches, and later chopped down a few small trees. He is now a grown man and has all his fingers and toes…..well…. he does have a small scar on one . . . → Read More: Real Stuff: Part 4

Real Stuff: Part 3

By Kim, on March 16th, 2012%

True Story:

An educator was frustrated with what children were doing in the house area. Seems the children were throwing the dishes, tossing them here and there and everywhere. The educator had tried various approaches to change the behaviour with no success. She was lamenting to a colleague, asking for insights on how to stop . . . → Read More: Real Stuff: Part 3

Real Stuff: Part 2

By Kim, on March 9th, 2012%

The attraction of real stuff is that it really works. Pretend hammers make a lot of noise when you bang them, but they don’t work on nails. Pretend cameras make a nice clicking sound, but you can’t get a photo from them. And pretend knives don’t really cut. Kids know . . . → Read More: Real Stuff: Part 2

Real Stuff

By Kim, on March 2nd, 2012%

….by letting children experience the world in a hands-on way, we lay the foundations of creativity and innovative thinking. Gever Tulley

Kids completely get it about real stuff.

In my preschool we wanted to offer children real stuff, so they could really tinker. And we wanted to create an environment . . . → Read More: Real Stuff

Let’s Start a Revolt!

By Kim, on January 6th, 2012%

Where I live playgrounds are all the same. At our preschool we tried to design a different kind of playground but through the twists and turns of regulations we were foiled and ended up with the cookie cutter version. You know the kind, yellow and green with a plastic slide and a non . . . → Read More: Let’s Start a Revolt!