Our Tribe

Our Tribe

Thursday 17 May 2012

Early Learning

I'm really enjoying our relaxed week. Today was little builders at Kingdom Faith Church where somehow I managed to reverse into another car, fortunately she was also reversing so there was no damage. The boys coloured, food crafted and made sun catchers. The actual skill needed for all these things is fairly minimal but I'm sure that it's since we've been attending here that they have become more interested in making things. Bean even picked up a glued piece of paper yesterday without too much caution.
We had good good friends to lunch who helped us eat leftovers and play wildly. Lots of running around, garden exloring, climbing, hide and seek, full body learning.


Plum has napped today presumably because she slept 14 hours last night, with feeds of course. This seems to be a regular occurrence and she is often the last to rise. I wonder why it is third that sleeps so long? Not that the boys slept bad, just early risers.


Today's news seems to bring to light the
detrimental effects of an early school age. Of course this is not news to early childhood practitioners. It still amazes me that Joe Bloggs thinks our children have to be in school for Reception class, that is 4, when it is actually the term after they're five and not necessarily in school just in schooling. This means Bean is not legally required to be educated until September which is the equivalent of Year 1. As if we could stop him learning before then! But this is discussing formal education. Sit down learning. I must impart knowledge to you that I think you should know right now. Please don't talk to me about skeletal structure and planetary systems we don't cover that until next year and you're too young to understand that now.
It just seems that some people find it hard to comprehend the 'less is more' approach: slowly slowly; and fail to see that it is detrimental to peoples social development as well as mental health, self confidence, personal responsibility, autonomy etc etc. Maybe I have studied it for too long so it has become second nature, obvious, or maybe I watched play succeed and structured learning crush too many but I am in full support of more freedom to play, freedom to learn.

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