Doing School vs. Power of Play

 The whole concept of 'doing school' is a hard one to escape from, especially in this age of high competitiveness and desire to give our children an edge or just satisfy family members who are skeptical of anything other than traditional education.  Even if those aren't temptations for you, we oftentimes wonder just how to teach our little one's who are so eager to learn about the world around them and do so in a way that is appropriate for their age.

Once we let go of our preconceived notions of what learning really is, we can embrace the power of play and the role that it plays in learning and start to move away from the often-times less effective notions of 'doing school'.  Heather over at Sprittibee recently wrote an article on her journey with her preschoolers that I wanted to share with you!

My Early Homeschool Journey: From Doing School to the Power of Play

When I first started homeschooling, I thought that it wasn't school unless it looked like school, felt like school and sounded like school. I sat the littles down (only four and two at the time) and pointed to the white board where we drew letters and pictures, said our Pledge of Allegiance and I marked my teacher assignment planner with attendance, checking off each hand-written preschool lesson. I even gave the kids a sticker for a well-done day and set up little school desks for them. We were by all appearances "doing school."

I had to laugh when I read this and remember back to the first couple of weeks after I had been pulled out of school.  We were totally trying to replicate 'school' at home and were getting so frustrated when it wasn't going smoothly.

She goes on to write:

At first, it was fun and new for them, and Mom felt comfortable in her "in the box" public-educated roots ... passing on the legacy of a schoolroom education to her wee tots. It wasn't until the wonder of "doing school" wore off that the kids began to buck the system, and Mom began to burn out. The teacher lesson books all had to be weeded out because they were written for classrooms. The busy seat-work exhausted the kids before we could get to the real fun of projects, activities, dress-up play and reading aloud. [Fun is the key word there ... and I'm convinced that it is linked to your memory!]

To read the rest of the article, click here.

article excerpt and photo used with permission