Laying a foundation for learning...

As a mom with a background in Early Childhood Education I am very passionate about laying a solid foundation for my children when it comes to education. My teaching philosophy and classroom management style go hand in hand with how I parent and raise my child. It is my hope and desire to provide my children with spaces within our home that they stake as their own. Spots where they can play, experiment, and grow. These spaces also have to adapt and change as they grow. For awhile now I've been looking forward to creating a new space for AG to "learn" in. So here are some new areas in the Edwards household that our geared towards AG...

First up, is his play space. (Which we created over the summer in a corner of the den.) This space now contains two bulletin boards that will most likely change with the seasons for right now. As AG gets older these will be come more detailed and interactive. For now, less is more. Learning at this age is all about exploration and at his pace. My goal right now is exposure to different pictures, texts, and vocabulary. The first board contains calendar photos from my collection. Three are taken from Williamsburg and the top right is taken from Berry. All relate to the fall. And AG has had experiences at Berry/will have experiences at  Williamsburg this fall. The next one just contains the vocabulary word "Fall" at the moment. As we do different things this fall we will put pictures of AG up on this one. The first big thing that will be highlighted will be Mountain Day next weekend. I'm also thinking we'll put a collection of leaves collected from Berry around the edges. (Once they change!) 

Second, is a space dedicate to "art/writing". This would be a very early version of what an elementary school teacher calls "the writing center". The small, white, magazine stand is the perfect size for AG's "writing center". It's a separate space from his play table. It contains his materials. As he grows this will be expanded to contain a variety of materials but for right now Color Wonder Paper and Markers are perfect! And they make Mom very happy because they are mess free. Ha. The space for magazines is the perfect spot to keep AG's books from the library. This is in addition to the book basket on the floor in his play area that I fill with books from our personal library.  His writing center will be getting a coat of fresh paint in the coming weeks. Along with his Mom's old toy chest from when she was little. The toy chest contains different manipulatives that are in individual containers.

Third, AG's having his morning juice while pondering what toys he sees out. We rotate his toys in and out. Every couple of weeks we pull stuff out of the attic and put stuff up. I do this for several reasons. One, it cuts down on the space looking cluttered, it provides variation, it gives AG time to appreciate what he has, he gets excited to see something he hasn't seen in awhile, etc. I try and put stuff out that are similar in nature. In November, I'll probably go ahead and pull out his Little Drummer Boy set and Nativity set so that he can get two full months to play with them since they are seasonal.

The last space that has become an "AG space" is the fridge. Right now I'm doing things seasonally. So, here are calendar photos representing "Fall". The top space on the fridge will always contain a picture of a real piece of art. I love Norman Rockwell and this is one of my favorite pieces by him. The spot below will always be a picture of art taken from a children's book. We currently have checked out the book that this picture is taken from. I showed AG the picture in the book and then pointed to the fridge. He smiled, laughed, and pointed with me. He totally connected the two things and it was fun to watch his brain process what I was showing him. I have quite a collection of calendar photos to pull from and am always on the hunt for new ones. I look forward to changing these out every few months.

That's my biggest project from this last week. Next up, I'll be showcasing the shutter now hanging in the back hallway. Stay tuned. :o)