Good Afternoon!
What is the purpose of learning?
It is the title of the blog I posted below. Teacher Tom talks about what the purpose of learning is, stating, “From where I sit, when children are free to engage their world through their own curiosity, which is to say to learn what they choose, how they choose, and according to a schedule of their own device, they do it for one reason and one reason only: because doing so brings them joy.”
That’s one of our biggest sticking points here: attaching joy to learning. At this age, it shouldn’t involve a worksheet that has no specific meaning to a child but more so, an activity that is started by a child because of their interests in that specific topic.
We have nature materials in the backyard along with various pieces of wood. A group of children used the wood boards to make their own ramps this morning. Once their ramp was done, they used various sized trucks to drive down the ramp. They used their problem solving skills when an aspect of the ramp wasn’t working as well as they wanted. They cooperatively worked together to end at a common goal. Their science interests were peaked when they realized that the bigger truck went down the ramp faster than a smaller truck.
An activity like this that is completely child driven is more meaningful to their learning than an activity that is more or less forced on them where they aren’t invested in the experience.
“If learning is to have purpose, it must be constructed or discovered or invented, joyfully, by those who are doing the learning.”
http://teachertomsblog.blogspot.com/2022/05/what-is-purpose-of-learning.html
Breakfast– Kix and fresh cantaloupe.
Lunch– Brown rice with shredded turkey, fresh cantaloupe, and fresh cucumber/pepper.
PM snack– Whole wheat crackers with peanuts.
Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/pepper.
Have a great night!
-Mindy
Link to pictures: WF 5/26