Me: "The Last Emperor"
Brewer: "What's it about?"
Me: "It's about China's last emperor who became emperor of China when he was just 3 years old."
Brewer: "A kid? That's kinda like The Empty Pot."
Okay, so the story is nothing like The Empty Pot but I was a bit shocked at his link between the two since I have only read that story once about 8 months or so ago. This is just one example of how simply reading good books and discussing them is a valuable way of learning. When I am tempted to complicate things with worksheets/workbooks and lots of "hands on" activities and lesson plans that I would spend hours planning, I always have to remind myself that learning need not be complicated. For most young children it is as simple as snuggling up with someone who loves them to read a good book and talk about it. Then they are free to use the new ideas in the book as they like, not the way we think they should. No worksheets or tests to see if they learned the right ideas. They take away what they want or need at the time. I think it's sort of wonderful.
Yes, I agree about keeping the learning simple and as natural as possible. Really, when we try to add too many projects or worksheets, etc. (that aren't child-led) we can easily turn the child off from the natural interest they had at first.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's what it's all about really, keeping it natural. For me all the worksheets and even some crafts/projects feel artificial and forced. But I love to read and boy can I talk, so it works for us. (for now ;)
DeleteThat is certainly something that I've been thinking about. We don't homeschool but my son who is a very hands on learner, loves to ask tons of questions and learn through experience, complains about the shear volume of "busy work" that he is required to do in school. I do think kids learn best when its simply and "organic". And it seems to keep them so motivated to dig deeper into what they are naturally interested in. Thanks for the post!
ReplyDeleteI understands the complaints about busy work. I hated it in school too. I just wanted someone to have a real conversation with me about the interesting things we were learning. But with 20-30 students per class there's really not much time for student teacher conversation. I sometimes get overwhelmed trying to have daily "real" conversations with my children and there are only 4 But I'm trying. Thanks for stopping by.
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