Don’t forget to read aloud from non-fiction books. Tap into your child’s interest and
read aloud the topics that motivate them. Always remember non-fiction doesn’t
have to be boring! Exploring and pursuing your child’s interest can help them see the
real world as surprising and intriguing as the make-believe world of fiction!
Imagine this…
Saint Francis of Assisi channelled through the penmanship of Pope Francis invites EVERYONE into a conversation about how we are shaping the future of our planet because it affects us ALL.
LAUDATO SI is not just for Catholics around the world but far more importantly it is a call out to ALL religious leaders in the entire world calling for their support in creating global wellness of our civilization and of our planet.
What is LAUDATO SI?
LAUDATO SI is a historic INVITATION to EVERY single individual on the planet because it is at the human level that regenerative responsibilities will flourish.
WITHOUT A DOUBT, I SEE.
It was through Rudolf Steiner’s research on the connection between the brain,
thinking and the hands that I fell in love with his quote “All culture and art is created
by the hands.” I love this!
As an experienced early years educator I have observed over decades, young
children engaged in fine motor exploration and have come to truly believe their little
fingers are at work are like “10 Little Thinkers.”
Subsequently, it is through fine motor skills that our young learners develop their
cognitive abilities and is commonly known as “hands-on” learning. However, the development of fine motor skills is so much more than mastering the tripod pencil grip for writing, it is more about the expression of the child’s spirit, thoughts and ideas.
This Hands On Project is simply to fill the clear plastic bottle with different objects. As always consider your child’s age and development when setting up an invitation to play. Always arrange the materials in baskets and wooden bowls on a wooden tray as an invitation to play and to invite boundless curiosity and thinking.
Did you know?
Fine motor skills refer to how we use the smaller muscle groups in
our bodies to perform tasks. The most common examples involve the
muscles in the hands, fingers and wrists. Children use their fine
motor muscles to tie their shoes, write their name and cut paper with
scissors.
When a child develops their fine motor skills, they’re also mastering
their coordination. Using the smaller muscles requires thought, action
and precision
“Stand aside for a while and leave room for learning, observe carefully what children do, and
then, if you have understood well, perhaps teaching will be different from before.”
Loris Malluguzzi was correct. I watched with fascination as my great niece collected flowers and
leaves in her basket, she took her time and seemed to gather each flower and leaf with a certain
reverence and respect. Watching her filled my heart with great joy.
Think about something as ordinary and everyday as walking along the footpath to
take the letters from the letterbox. Now – take that same walk with a three year old
and the trip to the letterbox is like no other! The mundane footpath becomes a sort
of festival of wonder. The trip to the letterbox becomes a hundred times more
interesting. Watching children awakens our own capacities for wonder and
knowledge.
Walk with your child, at your child’s pace. I live on a steep hill, so it was a slow
walk and a climb. My great niece held her mother’s hand so that she didn’t
tumble down the hill.
Encourage your child to pay attention to the environment with all their senses.
Take as long as your child wants. Let the walk be about connecting with the
environment and enjoying the time together, rather than being a Q&A or about
getting to the end.
Science is observing, making inferences and testing hypotheses, classifying and integrating and communicating insight.
Children are natural scientists.
Sorting and Classifying
Thinking deeply
Science is a basket of flowers while being a basket of colour, shape and texture.
Oh what fun is to discover the little libraries in a suburb not far from our house!
And the most darling thing about the discovery was to observe the little libraries being used!
At the first the little library was an elderly woman with her trolley, she retrieved a book from her trolley and swapped one book for another.
At another little library, I watch a backpacker select a soft cover novel and place it into her backpack. I wondered what travels both she and the book would have together.
I love this notion of community library.
I love the idea of circulating books especially pre loved and well thumbed stories amongst strangers and loved ones.
Children and Papua New Guinea Canoe Shield
Let’s face it, children love all things that float, especially boats.
So you can imagine a child’s fascination with an old canoe shield! This one has been in our home for many years and measures over a metre high and wide.Apparently, shields bearing large wooden faces or masks at their centre were erected in the prow of large war canoes used in the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea. The purpose of the canoe shield was to protect the canoe paddlers from enemy spears.
By exploring the artworks of other cultures, you are giving your child the benefits of increasing their cultural awareness and developing stronger empathy for other ways of life.
PS. My family are keen fishermen. I wish there was a shield that protected me from seasickness!
Art by the Masters and Creativity
Let’s explore the contribution of Art and Creativity to childhood and consider the role of our homes as galleries. The Sale Bins at the National Art Galleries and Modern Museums of Art have always held immense attraction to me. Why? Because for around $5 I have been able to purchase a Picasso!
I have used a professional framing studio to frame my prints for hanging on the walls of my house. With a meagre budget, my first prints were block mounted and later I had the prints matt laminated and framed. I preferred to frame the prints without glass because if soccer balls were to ever ‘accidently’ get kicked in the house I would not need to replace the glass. As art was hung in the bathrooms, the laminated prints could manage the steam and wet conditions without damage. Without glass, the framed art was very light to carry and easy to mount on the wall.
During Art conversations at school, my children could effortlessly rattle off the names of several of the great Art Masters and could identify their styles of painting because they lived in a house with Art. Looking at art was a daily occurrence because it was there on the walls, on all the walls.
A few years ago, my son and his partner built their first house and took several of the prints with them to hang on the walls of their new home. Their young friends who visited would comment on the art and the art provoked conversations about childhood, the great masters of the art world and styles of art like abstraction and surrealism.
This over-sized print by Andy Warhol hung in their kitchen. I liked to think Jackie Kennedy, the glamorous former First Lady of America contributed to many late night dinner parties and conversations about food and wine.
