The Scientists have been very busy lately. We have been learning and reading about Native Americans and their culture. We have talked about Native Americans caring so much for the earth, and about their efforts not to waste any of their resources. This is so much like the Jewish value of Shomrei Adamah, being Guardians of the Earth.
We have learned about the symbols the Native Americans used, and even seen pictures of their dwellings decorated with these symbols. This week, the Scientists used some of these symbols to tell their own stories. The children found it very exciting to be able to "write" without having to worry about spelling or writing lots of English words. The creativity could just flow!
There are so many happy and productive things going on in our classroom that sometimes it is hard to fit in all of the activities that the teachers have planned. For example, we learned about Native American symbols last week, and Barbara, Judi and I thought that we'd encourage the children to use these symbols to tell their own stories in the next day or two. But we found that the children were engaged in so much self-initiated fun and creative play and exploration that we decided to respect their wonderful imaginations and creativity, and to wait for another day. What a simple way to meet a number of goals!
How great on so many levels! What a cool experience for the kids to be able to write with symbols- that must be freeing for them, as well as challenging and creative. I bet they were concentrating hard on using their symbols!
ReplyDeleteAND that they were not pushed too quickly into the symbol writing before they were ready. They still got there but only after they had plenty of time to follow their interests through exploration and play. It is so wonderful to know that our kids are getting to guide their own learning, with lots of teacher guidance and support OF COURSE! TBSCC ROCKS!!