I attended a couple of wonderful workshops at the Cincinnati Association for the Education of Young Children this weekend. The one that was the most interesting to me was about the schools that emerged in war torn Reggio Emilia (a town in Italy) in the wake of WW II. There is a book titled The Hundred Languages of Children that I plan to read.Last night, we sat down to watch PBS at 8pm when Nature is on...it's the only time I really watch anything on the television on a weekly basis, but all 4 of us can enjoy it together. The subject was crows...I was surprised to learn how smart these birds are... They are resourceful, using hangers in Japan to make nests...just made me smile. Only intelligent creatures play. They said that "play allows for unexpected learning," which really hit a point for me. Play is so valuable, allows for mistakes, but is not forced nor needs a specific outcome, the process of doing something because you enjoy it is priceless. It reinforces my decision to homeschool!
P.S. We do not celebrate Halloween.
I am so glad that so many people respect our decision as we respect others in their religious beliefs, but do not participate. This blog is one of my favorites...and she wrote very well my sentiments on the subject.
Nice. Yes, respect is a good start. What troubles me (not about halloween) in particular but our North American culture) is that the word 'respect' can also be used for anything that is different than each other as if all is equally true...
ReplyDeletewhat troubles me about halloween, which I did not see when I was a girl but then I was only a child in a loving Christian (protestant) home, is that now (maybe then too?) there is so much horrid uglyness attached to halloween; it is really disturbing to see the stores with what they sell now days as decorations for this...
not easy days to protect and bring up Christian children... but God will help us!