As I remain in my pjs a little longer this morning, I’m reminded of how lucky I am to get these periodic breaks throughout the year. But like I say every year, I believe everyone should be entitled to the same.
We’ve definitely created a culture here where the daily grind and being busy or exhausted is valued and time to ourselves to do what we love can be frowned upon. (If you’ve ever been scared to put in for vacation time, you know what I’m talking about.)
However, if you’ve ever traveled abroad, you know that this mentality is not prevalent everywhere. For example, when I found out that one of my family members in Italy had lost their job for the summer, I inquired with a very worried, “Oh no. Is she ok? What is she going to do?” And in response, I got an “Oh yes, she will take a bread making class and do yoga.” Thank you for the reminder Marco.
So as I began a list of things that I wanted to get accomplished this week for Indi-ED, I also decided to look for an art class to take and to make sure that I spent some time being creative and doing things simply for joy’s sake.
As I started searching I began stumbling across all of these really exciting looking spring break and summer camp classes for kids: Nature Camps, Gardening Camps, Pioneering Camps, Play Camps, Stop Motion Animation Camps, Acting Camps, Pottery Camps, etc. and that got me thinking…
WHY ARE THESE EXPERIENCES ONLY ENCOURAGED DURING OUR ‘BREAKS’?
We agreed in the beginning that we would be sharing some ideas with the intention of creating a discussion and today’s blog will be just that. No judgment. Keep an open mind, and you may just change your mindset.
As adults, we have far more choices on how to balance our time than kids. But you have to consider, why are we only allowing the ‘cool’, ‘fun’, ‘enjoyable’ or interest based learning to happen during our kids’ ‘breaks’? Aren’t some of the topics covered in some of these camps some of the more relevant and interesting topics? Don’t kids learn much more when they have a choice and are interested in the topic that they’re exploring? Aren’t the processes that they’re learning through much more enjoyable than sitting in a traditional classroom desk all day?
SO WHY DO WE INSIST ON SUBJECTING OUR KIDS TO THE MUNDANE DEFINITION OF ‘LEARNING’ FOR THE OTHER 180 DAYS OF THE YEAR?!
In my opinion, it’s not because we lack the resources, it’s because our schools lack the resourceful attitude and creative perspective.
Contrary to popular belief, kids do not have to be tied (figuratively) to a chair in order to learn.
Which is another reason why I’m so excited for Indi-ED next year, these types of experiences (remember the importance of those from last week’s blog) will not only be encouraged, but expected regularly!
I think my husband is quite entertained as of late as I snap pictures everywhere of things that generate ideas of how we’ll link learning to ‘fun’ next year.
We could learn perspective and geometry through photography. We could learn botany through gardening. We could learn math through an investing club. We could learn cooperation through collage. We could learn entrepreneurship through community service.
These are just a few pictures from my last week but I think you get the idea, the list goes on and on!
Our students will get to choose, experience, break as necessary, and enjoy the process of learning every day of the year-not just because it’s spring break.
How are your kids spending their spring break? Or perhaps you evaluate how your kids are spending all of their days? Whatever you do with your time, enjoy it!
