Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/teacher-intentionality-bringing-the-spirit-into-early-childhood-education/5024628/
“I remember when I was little … there is this picture of me and my siblings. My mother bought a house with a garden in the back. She did not garden but it was already there, so my mom let us play in the garden and there is this picture of us just simply covered—face, hands and legs—in mud and smiling looking like we are having the greatest time. I want to be that child again.” (Interview with Caroline Buss, February 20, 2017).
How many of us have memories like this from our childhood? Moments where we were allowed to just completely explore the world independently. No rules. No thoughts to consequences, just total and complete exploration, investigation, curiosity, imagination, discovery and FUN. I bet if we all really thought about it most of our favorite childhood memories come from these types of experiences.
So why has early childhood education removed these types of experiences from young children’s learning? We all know, understand and believe that children learn best through play and yet there still seems to be something missing.
As early childhood professionals we are constantly hearing about “the whole child.” In our work with children we need to make sure we address ...