Oh my dear girl this moment. I was busy clearing dishes, your brother outside in the snow. I left you to play on your own. That is when the magic happens. I saw you on the floor. And I snuck over to see what wonder you saw. A little bug, a little creature, a new…
What is Reggio inspired learning?
What is Reggio inspired learning? When I started this journey to understand the style of education that originated in the small city of Reggio Emilia, Italy after World War II, I could not grasp what it meant. But now I have become inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach to learning and what it looks like for early childhood learners. I…
storytelling through painting
A couple of days ago, my husband was flipping through channels, trying desperately to find a football game {we don’t have cable}, and we came upon the PBS station. Just a man with his easel and paint and brushes. He was painting a boat in a lightning storm. And we all just stopped and watched…
our shelves: invitations to play and learn
I thought I’d share some of our play shelves every now and again. I set out simple invitations to play and learn to help encourage our days to run peacefully. It is important to rotate toys and learning items to pique children’s interests and to prevent boredom. We threw away more than half our toys a couple…
child-directed learning {meeting his needs}
What are my goals for what I want to teach my son and who do I want him to become? I want him to be honoring to others, but also be true to himself. I want him to live content, and able to be an independent thinker and doer. My son is four years old. I…
harvest outdoor learning
his sword and weapons project
John has been slaying dragons {and Captain Hook}. This is his passion. To wielding a sword wherever he is. It doesn’t matter the time or the place, he has a sword at the ready. A sweet story about the defender and protector of our home…. Daddy was in the bathroom getting ready for work he heard…
preschool leaf math
We love being outside in the fall. Leaves are constantly making their way into our house. And I’m not complaining! I love having natural items on our nature table, and even on our floor. I love finding natural ways to encourage mathematics learning. I thought of six very simple ways to encourage early counting and…
reggio-inspired math table
The Reggio-inspired math table encourages children to create one to one correspondence with numerals and small natural manipulatives. Our little table, a second hand find, is in our kitchen, and I regularly change out the materials we use to entice the kids to count and match numbers. They absolutely love it and are often working…
small parts play on the diy light box
Light play can provide children with the opportunity to explore dimensions, light rays, shadows, and the use of all their senses. I have admired light play and learning for quite some time. I love this engagement, but I was incredibly intimidated by the price tag on some light tables! I found a do-it-yourself version that is…
rethinking arts and crafts: a reggio inspired approach
I have had many revelations about getting to know my children. Their intensities and personalities. Who they are and what they desire from life and me and themselves. One of the subjects I am attempting to figure out is the world of arts and crafts. I wrote about this previously in What is art :…
reggio inspired play dough and math play
Play dough on the floor with small parts has become a norm here in our household. John asks to use the play dough quite a bit. Ever since we brought it onto the floor, with a mirror, on a board, John has gravitated towards scuplting and creating and thinking with it. You’ll notice that our…
