Early Learners...

One of the great privileges of being a parent is witnessing, close up, the flourishing of a young mind. But that’s not the only benefit. In trying to make the world a more interesting and comprehensible place for their child, parents often find their own intellectual interests rekindled. - Michael Schulman


Our Early Learners group has been busy the past week, with a get together on Fri (to compensate for the holiday Monday), and one today. The group is really starting to mesh and the comfort levels of the kids are really starting to increase.

We spent some time chatting about Canadian birds on Friday with a morning mixed with both hands on and circle activities. I was amazed at how much the kids already knew about a lot of the bird species, and it reminds me of just how much kids absorb in everyday life. As far as I know, none if the families had done any previous "study" on the topic, yet the kids all had different and interesting information to share. The kids all participated in a show and share, we listened to bird songs on cd, and viewed accompanying pictures. Then we jumped into a hands on "Bird French Toast" recipe and Pine cone bird feeders. The weather was still nice enough to accommodate a bit of outdoor running around, so we played a few rounds of bird freeze tag, and "What time is it Mr(s) Bird?"
The kids did great, and are really getting the feel for and gaining ability to work within a group structure.

Today, we spent the morning engaged in pretend play. Our leader ran the kids through a series of games to get the using their imaginations as animals, the weather, feelings and using props. She also introduced the kids to the idea of an imagination envelope where they could place their hand inside and pull out whatever they wanted, and an imagination crown where when wearing it, you could be wherever you wanted to be. It was excellent. Pretend play is really not a strong area for me and Aislinn and Tara tend to be very realistic in their play possibly due to this.
I am amazed every time we drive away, at the different things the girls are given the opportunity to experience, especially when different adults lead them in activities!
I am already planning ahead to next year about how fun it would be to revisit a lot of these same ideas and see where the year has taken them in their learning maturity!

All in all, I am really enjoying our group, and Tara begged me (in tears) to stay today! I can't remember how I managed to distract her, but I know both girls will be raring to go again next week!