Introducing "In Context"

When I began blogging in 2008, everything that I found interesting, I would share on my blog.  Much of my sharing had to do with what was happening in my classroom, rather than what was happening in other places.  The internet has become a much more social place since then.

Now, almost five years later, I have a myriad of ways to share:  facebook and pinterest currently get more of my attention than this space.  I have become a bit disenchanted with the shift to more surface-level sharing that has happened since I began using this space, and I hope that In Context will help to change that.

In Context strives to take inspiring information and propose ways that it might be used in your context.  Perhaps you are an early childhood educator or administrator; a homeschooling or unschooling parent; or maybe a nanny.  No matter what your work with young children involves, brainstorming is priceless.  I miss the days of sitting in Wednesday afternoon meetings with colleagues, bouncing ideas off of each other.  An image of a child or a work of art or a sound clip can start the creative juices flowing, and In Context is designed to get your wheels turning.

When I share information about something happening in another classroom, an article about child development, or a photo, I will make a short list of ways to use the information in context, and you will be able to better extend the information I've shared.  I encourage you to use the comments to extend the conversation even further, sharing additional ideas and resources.

Come back tomorrow for the first post featuring In Context!

Some beautiful things

Printing with apples at atelier pour enfants

Diagraming an earache at Atelierista

Image from Woodcut (found via Brainpickings)

Written Down at the NAEYC Annual Conference

"Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire"      -   W.B. Yeats

Documentation is an act of love.

What does it mean to enter into a relationship with a child?

How can we promote collaboration between adults and all children - not just parents and their own child - in early childhood settings?

Unit blocks are broken down into logical, mathematical segments, not unlike musical notation.

When you don't say "no" as much, "no" carries more meaning. (stay positive)

"The culture of babies"

Simplify, Slow Down, and Be Present.

Nature unfolds a world of imagination.

We need to remember that literacy expectations are culturally based.

The act of learning to read and write is only part of the literacy puzzle.

Story acting is practicing empathy in a way that is rarely available in planned classroom activities - it allows for practice of something that is typically spontaneous.

The mind's eye is a SUPERPOWER!

Have you written something down lately that is sparking some ideas, plans, or prompts?

Visual Thinking

Images from Boulder Journey School

I have been looking at some beautiful images from the Boulder Journey School in Boulder, Colorado, as I've been thinking about the changes in our classroom environment, and I thought I might share a few here.

Our new space is very large, and balancing that is a bit tricky.  We need to create different "parts" of the room, and I'd like to do that without necessarily having labeled areas that restrict how the children want to work and play.

I mentioned the alcove in my earlier post today, and this image makes me think about how different elements of light could work together, perhaps with the addition of a sensory element, like shallow trays on a table

Hanging items from the ceiling!  Need I say more?

It is easy to look at photos and imagine different things in our new classroom environment, but it is important to remember the needs of the environment you are in.  I have to remember to envision the children in the space.

A year of inspiration and ideas

Have you been over to the bakers and astronauts tumblr?  You should take a look - it is where I have been posting quick ideas and inspirations for a whole year!

I hope you'll look through some of the things that I have been saving!  From music to art media to articles about education and websites for children, tumblr is a bit of a museum collection for me, and I like to think of myself as the curator.

Do you share your inspirations and ideas somewhere?  tumblr?  pinterest?  Right on your blog?  In a big binder?

Pop-Up Adventure Playgrounds

I think I just spent the past 5 minutes staring at the computer screen with my mouth open, amazed that I was looking at something that I think I have had inside of my head for a year.  Pop-up play.  Totally brilliant.

The term "Pop-Up Adventure Playground" is a term that is free for anyone to use, as long as they are working within the principles and beliefs of the meaning.  the idea is to remove barriers to child-led free play, inspired by the principles of playwork in the UK.

I read about this via let the children play - always a great source for information.  Her post will give more information about similar initiatives in the UK and Australia.

I'm buzzing with ideas about how this can work where I am.  Have you ever seen anything like this?

 

visual news

Art Basics For Children Visit : Part One

 One of my favorite things, as an educator, is visiting educational spaces.  It's not about copying ideas, it's not about trying to force something in my own space that may only work somewhere else - its about seeing the passion that people have for making fantastic spaces for young children.  And at Art Basics for Children, the aesthetic inspires adults and children alike to participate.

 For example, the first room we visited on Saturday had a large platform.  The materials were presented in an organized way, and the room had not only smiling, engaged children; it also had smiling, engaged adults.  Not an iPhone checking adult in sight.

 

The room also contains a stage that must be used for something, and behind the stage there were prompts to promote thinking about performance and viewing.

 

 

Flip books, shadow play, different ways of being a performer and an audience member.  A prompt I had never seen before.

The way that the books are displayed at ABC is interesting to me.  I feel like the typical classroom often has a "book area" whereas libraries categorize and organize books by their genre or their subject matter or the intended audience.  At ABC there are books all over - they are a major source of visual information for the visitors.  And in many of the chairs sat adults, browsing the extensive book collection that is chosen and organized to promote the materials surrounding it.  

 

 

 

 

 The kitchen had a display of books about food and cooking for a variety of ages.  There were also individually laminated A3 illustrations from rare books all over the space, some individually and some in collections, that related to the ideas in different areas.  The bulletin board in the kitchen was a collection of photos and recipes.

Another interesting area was upstairs, on the same floor as the kitchen, and it was focused on letters and fonts.  As a preschool teacher, I understand the importance of literacy development and its hard to find a medium between casual exposure and meaningful learning.  Here the children explore hundreds of books on letters and shapes, some pop-up; they can explore different fonts; and the displays of Bembo's Zoo are definitely one way that letters, fonts, and visual expression merge.

ABC has public funding that makes all of this work.  When I walk through a space like the one they have, I do think if it is possible to create a space like this without funding like that.  

Inspiring spaces do not have to be schools, but simply places designed with the capabilities and interests of young children in mind. More photos soon!

Art Basics For Children Visit : The Trailer

I really love ABC here in Brussels.  I was glad my husband came along on this visit - I think now he understands a bit more about what I've rambled about and tried to describe over the years.  It really is a beautiful place that not only children, but adults too feel they want to be in.  I probably overuse the word inspiring, but this, for me, is the whole package.

I'll share more soon - I took a lot of photos, so this is just the beginning!

ABC House Brussels

I'm going back to Art Basics for Children tomorrow for an open house.  Its been about 2 years since I went!  Moving is a time to start fresh, and I'm gathering all of the inspiration I can before we leave this city.

Many, many, many photos to follow, I'm sure.

5x5x5

I'll be spending some time learning about 5x5x5 this evening for sure.  Have you heard of it?

"5x5x5=creativity is an independent, arts-based action research organisation. It involves groups of artists, educators and cultural centres working in partnership to support young children in their exploration and expression of ideas - and in doing so helps them develop valuable creative skills for life.

5x5x5 is inspired by the celebrated Reggio Emilia educational approach in Northern Italy that respects children as strong, capable protagonists in their own learning. It recognises children's innate inquisitiveness, and affords them the space, time and individual adult attention to explore and learn from the world around them."

Take a look!

via urban preschool

I was in my classroom this week with the intention of figuring out a layout for the room.  I spent most of the time standing in the middle of the space, drinking tea and staring.  Anyone who saw me doing that probably thought I wasn't being productive.  But I most certainly was.  Details on that will come later.

But I found some treasures while I was dragging furniture and emptying boxes, and I'm sharing them here.  Evidence of what we do in the classroom together, and what the children create.  I can't wait to get back.

I'll be taking a real, true, honest break until I return to the classroom so I can get off the grid and enjoy my last week of vacation.  I'll be back in a few weeks.

Chris Raschka + his glasses + illustrations

I found this video in my bookmarks and realized I hadn't shared it yet.  It's wonderful to see the inspiration and work process of such a fantastic author and illustrator.  Like Likes Like is a personal favorite of mine.

Getting Ready

I think that there is a post from last year with the very same title.

I'm thrilled to be standing in my classroom right now, even though I do not have to be here for another two weeks.  At the beginning of a summer holiday, I feel like I could be on holiday forever - but as the weeks go by, I start itching to get back to the classroom.

So as I stand here with access to last year's photos, looking over a classroom that is once again a blank slate, ready for a group of children and a classroom community.  Five of my students from last year continue on with me this year as they turn four, and we welcome new three- and four-year-olds. 

I'll be taking one last little vacation, to Sweden, before returning to the classroom on August 16th for a week of professional development (on guided inquiry) before welcoming the children.  I can't wait.

"There are three possible directions of choice.  Educators may act so as to perpetuate the present confusion and possibly increase it.  That will be the result of drift, and under present conditions to drift is in the end to make a choice.  Or they may select the newer scientific, technological, and cultural forces that are producing change in the old order; may estimate the direction in which they are moving an their outcome if they are given freer play, and see what can be done to make the schools their ally.  Or, educators may become intelligently conservative and strive to make the schools a force in maintaining the old order intact against the impact of new forces."

John Dewey, Education and Social Change

Democracy and Education (1916) in full, from Columbia University.

Smart Girls at the Party

On this beautiful sumer day in Paris, I have accidentally sat at the kitchen table on the internet for the last two hours instead of going outside.  But I found a fantastic website.project to share: Smart Girls at the Party.

It is a project created by Amy Poehler, Meredith Walker, and Amy Miles.  They have created an online space for girls to learn about what other girls are doing, what their interests are, and have fun.  It is social networking, but it is all based around a show that the creators put together, interviewing smart girls who have all different strengths and passions.  As they say, "extrodinary girls who are changing the world by being themselves." And its super funny.

I know I'm not an eleven-year-old, but I think its great.




I'll go outside now.

Doodling

Mo Willems, who understands four-year-old humor like no one else on the planet, throws a fantastic dinner party.  He and his family have chalkboard walls in their dining room, and they cover the table with butcher paper during meals.  This way, the room is constantly transforming and reflecting the people in the space.

Enjoy words and images from Mo Willems on his blog, and see more dining room transformations here.

Urban Orchard

 

I love this transformed space in London, created as part of the London Festival of Architecture.  It kind of breaks my heart to know that it is temporary.  It is an interactive, educational place for all ages.  I imagine this working beautifully as part of an urban school campus.

from Dezeen via Playscapes

Neighborhood Stories

I love this idea.  I wish I were in Toronto so that i could see this exhibit.  Just like The Hundred Languages of Children exhibit, bringing young children's visions and words into a public space is a way for entire communities to see the value of documentation and child-centered education.  Go see it and tell me about it!

Neighbourhood Diaries, via Nostalgia for the Future