"One of the most important things children need is to explore their imaginations in unstructured time." ~Catherine Steiner-Adair, Ed.D, clinical psychologist.
On Thursday of our first week back after winter break, the above quote was definitely our motto of the day! We allow a large two hour block of unstructured time in the middle of the day and our classroom comes alive with inquiry, curiosity, cooperation....learning. The following is one little snippet from our day:
On Thursday of our first week back after winter break, the above quote was definitely our motto of the day! We allow a large two hour block of unstructured time in the middle of the day and our classroom comes alive with inquiry, curiosity, cooperation....learning. The following is one little snippet from our day:
In one area of the room a boy discovered that a small stuffed monkey had hands and feet that 'stuck' to a metal dish from the Drama centre. He then went around the room testing different surfaces to see if the monkey stuck to those too. He realized that there were magnets in them and he began to add as much metal as he could find, so that it was one mass of objects sticking together. He showed a couple of his friends and they joined in, all wanting a turn.
Noticing this going on, we found some other materials that we had been saving to offer for just such an 'aha' moment of magnetic discovery: a sensory bin of magnetic and non-magnetic items to test, a set of small magnets, a Magnetix set with rods and metal balls, and a set of small magnets with distinct poles.
Noticing this going on, we found some other materials that we had been saving to offer for just such an 'aha' moment of magnetic discovery: a sensory bin of magnetic and non-magnetic items to test, a set of small magnets, a Magnetix set with rods and metal balls, and a set of small magnets with distinct poles.
The resulting focus and determination on their faces as our students spent time experimenting with magnetic force of varying degrees was impressive. Throughout this whole process students were selecting and using materials to carry out their own explorations, which is curriculum expectation 2.3 in Science and Technology. To us, this is a clear demonstration of that original quote promoting the importance of unstructured play time.