it's all in the approach

It's been almost two full school years since I left my dear preschool classroom, and in that time, I've really come to miss particular aspects of my old life-- group story time (by far, my favorite large group activity), lunch time with 3 and 4 year olds (no one talks straight like kids, and the chats that would take place while leisurely eating together were priceless), and the joy that is a Project.

I'm talking about my school's (yes, it will be my school in my head forever-- 9 years in one place day after day will do that) curriculum-- The Project Approach. In a nutshell, our class would collectively choose a topic for investigation (we introduced the concept of voting to our young citizens!), and over the course of 4-6 weeks, as a group we would research, observe, question, consult experts, observe some more and find answers about that topic. Field experiences are an integral part of this learning experience-- I've been to car dealerships, ponds, police stations, post offices, grocery stores, pizzerias, nature centers, farms, pet stores, baseball fields... I could go on and on. I've learned countless things about these topics, as each and every project, or study, was a learning experience for all of us involved. Our job as teachers was to set the stage for learning. We'd help the children to examine what they already knew about the topic at the onset of the project, and then to provide the with experiences and materials to build upon that learning. All the while, we'd be documenting the experiences by photographing, taking notes of the children's observations, and assisting them in recording their observations, ideas and questions. Oh, it may sound kinda trivial written out on here, but boy oh boy, what fun it all was. I cannot imagine a better fit for a teaching job than the one I had at my school- a university based laboratory school.

That brings us to the here and now. Since I stopped teaching, we have adjusted our lifestyle to that of a one-income family. For a while now, I've been weighing our options when it comes to preschool for Red and Pudge. JAM was fortunate enough to have his three years at my school, and Red is now eligible for this coming fall. BUT. Pudge isn't, and I'm not particularly enthusiastic about returning to teaching preschool with two little ones in our family at the same time. Going back to work would involve finding separate child care for Pudge, before/after care for JAM, and at the end of the day, the measly net income just doesn't seem worth it, added to all the other family responsibilities and stresses that working outside the home would bring. With Pudge's fall birthday, he won't be eligible for my school until the fall of 2011, which is the year that Red will be entering kindergarten. Who knows if I'll reconsider then, but it's staying home for now...

So, I'm opting to make Red and Pudge's experience in these preschool years as close to what they would have had if they were at my school, but in our home environment. I've been pulling together lots of materials for play at home, and in our kitchen they now have an easel (for drawing, painting and doing song/poem charts), math manipulatives (for exploration, sorting, counting, shapes, patterning), art supplies, a pretend kitchen set (with dishes, food, utensils, cloth, baskets) along with their unit blocks, trains/tracks, a million and one cars, dress up clothes/hats, pretend box, baby dolls, and other regular old toys that are beautifully stored away in our IKEA-filled home. Now that the weather is finally warming up, we'll also get back into the swing of things with playgroups and playground fun as well.

The next big step, though, is to introduce projects to them. While I know that Pudge is not quite old enough to grasp the idea just yet, Red has embraced the concept with very enthusiastic open arms. We've begun a (relaxed, beginner's style) study of birds recently, based upon the recent warm weather and the plenitude of a wide variety of birds all around us whenever we play outside. So far, we've collected a basketful of nonfiction books about birds from the library (and I'm going to scour our home library for all the fiction stories that involve bird characters next), done some observations of birds in our yard (mostly auditory for now- but she's already recognizing at least one bird's call!), and today we had the greatest opportunity for an unplanned study moment.

We were walking to Pudge's doctor's appointment, and we were pointing out all the birds that we'd see during our walk, which was actually quite a mutual activity, not just me doing all the work. When I heard the call of my favorite bird-- the red-winged blackbird-- I pointed it out to Red, and she watched as the bird flew over our heads. We were approaching a small body of water (I called it a pond to her, but it's really more of a city water catchment, according to lovely hubby), and I noticed that there were a TON of RWBs all flying around and singing their little birdy hearts out. So, we stopped. We had plenty of time and were just across the street from the doctor's office, so I felt no pressure to rush. We squatted down on the grass (no sitting in duck and geese poop, please!) and watched the birds- the RWBs, a couple of ducks and some other small city birds (sparrows?). To Red and Pudge's credit, they both got quiet-- Red whispered with me as we talked about what we were seeing and Pudge just kept saying "Duck!" or "Bird!" in his own quiet way. Red and I got some pretty good looks at the birds as they flew around, seeing that bright red patch in all its glory, and reveled in their beautiful calls.

Red has really been surprising me with how much knowledge she apparently already has on this topic-- telling me about bird eggs and nests, while I can only be amazed with how big she is getting. She even asked me the greatest question today-- "The mommy bird puts the egg in the nest so the baby bird can crack out, but how does she put the baby in the egg?" Oh, yes, the beginning of the birds and bees talks, literally.

To end this rambling post that really only means something to me (and lovely hubby!), I'd like to recommend this fantastic resource for other SAHP's (yes, I substituted parents for moms-- it's 2009, you know!) who may be interested in this sort of approach to learning with their own children. Teaching Your Child to Love Learning: A Guide to Doing Projects at Home is a great book that introduces this concept to parents who may otherwise not be familiar with the curricular approach. One of the authors, Judy Harris Helm, is simply wonderful-- I had the great pleasure of attending a workshop of hers that really helped to shape my teaching philosophy. So, while Red and Pudge may never be official preschool graduates, we're going to make do the best we can right here at home.


Spreading the love for learning,