We have been working at getting our packages ready for the Little People Care Package Swap this week. We actually have two partners, so I feel pretty safe that I am not giving too much away. I could have plenty of fun creating the packages all by myself, but I am trying to involve my son in the process as much as possible. I really like the idea of choosing themes, so I had him pick which ones we would use. I also took him shopping with me to the craft store and second- hand book store, but he didn't enjoy that part too much, and of course wanted one of everything we bought for himself too. He did have fun doing a test run of one of the projects that we are going to send one of our partners the materials to create. We have one partner in Northern California and another in Washington, D.C. This has been a really good opportunity to learn a little bit more about maps. Two book we have found that do a good job teaching children about maps are Mapping Penny's World and Me On the Map. When I was teaching, my third grade students had a really difficult time understanding the concept of maps. They had difficulty understanding the difference between a state and a city and how a continent could be made up of many countries. I feel like part of the problem was just a lack of exposure to maps and how to use them.
Then last night I was doing some reading on play and its role in early childhood education and found a great article on the Waldorf Research Institute's website. The author, Joan Almon, says that children who have had ample time to play and develop their imaginations have an advantage in subjects like history, reading, geography and even mathematics, because all those areas ask children to conceptualize or to think abstractly. That statement was very eye-opening to me. I already knew play was an important part of childhood and that children could learn many things naturally through play, but I had never understood the implications it could have on future academics. In fact I recently attended a seminar on play and they didn't mention this point at all! I think I would like to do more reading on this subject and devote an entire post to play.
I hope the packages that we create for our partners can spark some imaginations and create some new opportunities for playing!
2 comments:
Hey Melissa! It has been a hectic week with the kiddos home from Spring Break. You have been busy posting!!!
Personally, when I am faced with #1 - maps, and #2 - word problems, I freeze. I cannot wrap my mind around these things. I REALLY believe that I have a mental block. I do well with written directions, but not using a map. You made a good point about the kids not being exposed.
Jennifer
Good point about exposure. I was exposed to maps at a young age and I feel as though it has benefited me a bunch. Not only with reading maps, but also with other types of spacial intelligences - like understanding where you are located physically without looking; on small and large scales.
BTW - Your link to the article goes to Amazon.
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