Benefits of homeschooling...

School in bed! Mane organized her history binder while listening to her history book on audio...in bed!

Notice all the handy items scattered about: water bottle, lamp, speakers, notebooks, colored pencils, hole puncher, books, teddy bear...

Power of Play

I recently finished reading Free to Learn by Peter Gray. The book's subtitle says it all: "Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life." The book has a very unschool-y bent, as it features the democratic school of Sudbury Valley. I don't "buy in" to unschooling, as it has been presented to me, though I've had a couple of other people state that they view us as unschooling. I don't see it that way, since we use curriculum, and I have certain expectations for covering material each week. On the other hand, I work for Mane's "buy-in" with the curriculum. I try something else if the thing we're doing is making her hate the subject matter.

But I do "buy in" to the power of play. Mane has clearly had artistic potential from a very young age. I've signed her up for art classes from time to time, and she's enjoyed them. BUT, she hasn't taken time with her artwork. She hasn't focused on creating a finished product that is truly the best she can do. She simply hasn't been interested. She wants to have fun and didn't see a lot of point in doing a great deal of work to turn out a masterpiece. Until Recently. Recently, she and her friends have developed a fantasy play game that they play regularly when they get together, and they needed a "blueprint" for a bronze dragon. Mane spent the better part of a day drawing a dragon blueprint, using the book cover of one of the Percy Jackson books and several images off the internet. I was totally impressed by what she turned out. I honestly didn't know she had THAT kind of potential. Once it fell into the category of fun, she far exceeded what I even thought was possible. I've also been seeing her read...and read...and read because she wants fodder for the same play mentioned in the above paragraph. Play is fueling her "work."

Tour De Nature Centers - Silverwood

While we are awaiting our next trip to a nature center (next Tuesday), I thought I'd post about the one we visit the most! Silverwood Park!!

We love Silverwood for it's focus on art, it's huge fireplaces (both indoor and outdoor), the kid's play items in the coffee shop, the COFFEE SHOP, the outdoor amphitheater, classroom buildings, kiln, lake, bridge... We love the kid's art activities every Sunday afternoon, folks playing music on the porch in the summer, free concerts in the amphitheater, homeschool classes and programming, the offering of pottery and photography classes, and the wide open spaces to run and play.

 These photos make me totally miss summer!

Ship Sculpture on the Lake

Classroom Building

Kiln

Banquet Hall

Amphitheater

Amphitheater

Park Building

Outdoor Fireplace and Rocking Chairs

Coffee Shop Fireplace

Coffee Shop & Kid's Play Items

Tour De Nature Centers - Eastman

Today's nature center visit was to Eastman, within the Elm Creek Park Reserve in Dayton, MN.

We LOVED everything about this place, from the kids play area:

To the quiet observation room where Mane could paint:

The binoculars and books provided for bird-watching:

The library with bird, wildflower and butterfly books:

 

The pond surrounded by all kinds of chipmunks, squirrels, and birds:

The rocking chairs overlooking the pond and birdfeeders:

And ledges where we can all sit in a row for lunch! LOL!