Learning through creative play:

One of the things I've been reading up on lately is the concern by experts that children don't get enough time for creative play http://www.edutopia.org/creative-play-learning-part-one is just one of the articles I've come across. At any rate I've been reflecting on how grateful I am to be able to provide an atmosphere that nurtures this need in our children. How in their hands sticks become all manner of things, a pile of leaves is not just for jumping in but has become an imaginary campfire with chairs pulled up around it for planning and strategics. It has also become their place to discuss and solve interpersonal relationship problems. No one taught them to do this, no one even suggested it, they

don't care that there are names for it, they just did it! So with all of this in mind, here are a few of the other things going on.

The girls have decided to use fantasy names on-line, so AL the younger has become Miss Ellen and SA has become Miss Cameron. Our Bear wants to use his name from the RP chat group he is in, which is Revan. CH wants to be known as Iron-man and CO has chosen Fire-man.

Misses Ellen and Cameron have been inventing their own language as well, which amounts to changing the meanings of common English words to mean whatever they want. What a fun way to study English! And speaking of words, we had a great time the other day when the subject of swear words came up. I had commented that they were just words, and someone came up with a substitute suggestion. Then all of the kids got into the act and started making up new one's, and rolling with laughter. I think CO came up with my favorite, which was sugar-butt.

Backyard play has included their own forms of volleyball and soccer as well as their own versions of Jurrassic Park, King Kong, Iron Man, cops and drug lords. The games are often accompanied by music from the cd player pulled outside and put to use, at times this leads to spontaneous song and dance routines.

We made Trick or Treat bags from paper grocery bags, paper, crayons and markers. We also discussed bits and pieces of Halloween (or Samhain) tradition.

We are planning our own Halloween party for Oct. 30 which will include a cake, pigs-in-a-blanket, and drinks. The kids are planning on wearing their costumes and I'd like suggestions for activities. I'm thinking bobbing for apples, but need other ideas as well, email me if you have any......please. I'm also in need of a bucket to float the apples in.

The girls recently discovered that I have some knowledge in cake decorating and have both expressed an interest in learning it, guess it's time to dust off those rusty skills.

This is serious business, the business of childhood. Trying things out to see how they fit, deciding who they are and what they love.

Welcome....What's Happening

Biology! In the past couple of weeks we have discussed pollination by bees and how the worlds food supply would disappear without them. Another day CH threw water on a bee that got in the house and this led to a discussion about whether or not bees could swim.
Another day the children observed a garter snake slithering into a hole in the yard, I guess it scared some of the kids because the next thing I know they had the hose down the hole and were trying to drown the snake, okay I know that snakes can swim, but the kids just learned that tidbit.
We have watched the snakes and lizards in their natural habitat, not in glass cages.

The kids managed to break the swing set....observing that just because something is metal doesn't mean it's really strong, there are other variables at play here.

CH and I discussed wrestling and whether it is real or not, we talked about the amount of practice and rehearsal that goes into the stunts. Does anyone have any idea how much higher math and physics play a part in the stunts? Oh yeah, we've discussed the questionable safety of trying those things at home too.

Math....how many legos are needed to make a really awesome gun? How many for a robot? How many stars do you need to reach the top level in Mario?
In Age of Empires you need 1 house for every 4 men, and 50 food for each, what do I need to make 50 men? How much gold do I need to make it all the way to the Iron Age?

Reading...well you just can't escape the reading in video games (trust me, SA tried)
Spelling comes with reading and writing, however we do have a spelling game on the computer. CO mostly uses it, but sometimes the others do as well.

Technology...all the kids are learning the keyboard. Some were beginning to learn the internet, but I think my router is toast, so that will have to wait until I can come up with a suitable replacement.

I'd love to see the kids start contributing to the effort of this new website.