I'm not going to lie, this concept still makes me nervous. The idea of child-led anything actually makes me nervous. What am I suppose to do? How will I know it is working? Are we just going to make a big mess?
I got started on this idea after meandering through this blog: http://www.aneverydaystory.com/australian-homeschooling-blog/
She seems lovely, and I would like to meet her. And then I read through "Project-Based Learning" as soon as I could get it from the library. What I enjoy about the book is it breaks down how to learn, and it is not really just for kids. It is meant to be a family affair. We talk about life-long learning enough to gag on it, but doing it is a whole different thing.
I also really like this mommy blogger, who is lovely in a completely different way:
There are so many good ways to homeschool, and they don't have to look alike, at all. And really, I don't think they should. How I teach one kid is completely different from how I teach another kid.
So, today, I pulled out the art supplies and let the boys have at it. Joe still enjoys the goggly eyes and watching things drip. We painted today because that is what Rae wanted to do.
"I'm making a whirlpool. Inside they will be sucked down and won't find their way out!"
After Rae wandered off, Joe wanted to paint, too.
Maybe you can tell that I gave Stomp Stomp beans for playing and he preferred throwing.
The green stuff on Joe's face is a combination of nose boogies and spinach-influenced puree. And Stomp likes to join him. Sometimes he eats the puree, too. Joe makes sure that I share with the baby.
After a quick bathroom break, I came back to find more self-directed learning... applesauce.
Yum!
So, is it working? I don't know, but the boys appreciate the time to do something creative.
Interesting. We talked a lot about child-directed learning and project-based learning in the preschool where I worked for three years. But our approach was more like this: observe what the kids are most interested in based on what they are doing during free play, then teachers plan a theme based on those interests. Then, with the kids, we would explore that theme in depth for a week or two. If it was jungles, for instance, we'd decorate the room like a jungle, pull out all jungle related stuffed animals, puzzles, and books, and do jungle related projects and stories. I think I wrote up one example of a space theme on my blog years ago. It was really fun, and the kids were definitely more excited about projects based on their interests.
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