One thing hasn't changed, yet. Babies are born and a child begins to learn at birth. How we fill this "empty vessel" has been debated since Plato. Do we fill this vessel with information or do will we nurture some intrinsic seed to unfold? By exposure to multi-sensory experiences, children effortlessly acquire social, language, motor and thinking skills. By exposure to traditional methods, children can link the concrete activities that engage them(hands-on-learning) to abstract concepts. "Things before words, concrete before abstract." (Pestolozzi) Why not consider plucking the best fruit from both sides of the tree? Childhood is a period of rapid intellectual growth. It is a time to awaken the senses. Education for the very young must begin by nurturing children's constant activity and interaction with the physical world. Friedrich Froebel, the German educationalist and 'inventor' of kindergarten, encouraged play as the, "...highest expression of human development in childhood for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child's soul." He believed that children should be free to discover, to learn at their own pace, and to draw their own conclusions...to learn through play. And what child resists play? |
"You know more than you think." With these eight words, Dr. Benjamin Spock changed attidudes toward child-rearing. Trust your instinctive nature to play. |
Froebel's philosophy of education rested on four basic components: free activity, creativity, social participation, and motor expression. Self-directed activity fostered creativity and invited social interaction. Learning by doing engaged motor expression. Through play, a child will develop physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Froebel's approach is simple with profound influence.* |
*For more information on Friedrich Froebel, his educational philosopy and system for teaching children, I recommend Inventing Kindergarten by Norman Brosterman. You may also read more about the Children N'Art program by clicking on the icon below. |
Children's education n'art. |