In the Lifestyle of Learning pilot program for "Seven Seasons to LYFE" we have entered into "Season 6 – Liberate Your
Child’s Uniqueness." We have been
observing our children and looking at their unique gifts, talents, interests, bents
and dispositions up to this point. We have been
learning that there is "healthy play" which provides a vital foundation for children to
develop a strong ability to self educate and "unhealthy play" which produces
self focus and boredom in the child’s soul which leads to many problems.
This week we are focusing
primarily on peculiar bents and dispositions in our children. I have noticed that Daniel is developing a
pattern of inventing games.
Several months ago he began
to think about the LEGO board games that are in the stores. He has never played one, so he went to the LEGO website and studied the information on the games that they offer. It would be easy to look at this as silly,
but he is learning to research through ths process. From there he went through the process of discovery, asking himself, “What if I put this piece with that piece?” and entered into imagining
what it would be like to use certain LEGO pieces together as part of a game. From there he created a base model of his first game. He brought his sister, Alina, into his
imagination and creative process as they began to play the game that he had
started. Together they came up with new
ideas, trying this and then trying that, challenging
themselves to make the games more elaborate and fun. The two of them then brought Tiana into this process with the game and the three of them began to ask “What if we this or added that?” and further
modified the game. They spent hours and
hours playing what turned into three separate games that they had worked
together in (1) discovery, (2) imagining, (3) creating, and (4) challenging
themselves in. They all had participated
in the four elements of healthy play together.
The story isn’t finished as Daniel is now continuing on with this
three-part game, turning it into one big game.
He is continuing in discovery,
imagining, creating and challenging himself and will do so until he is
ready to play the game again. He is
engaging in healthy play.
Recently I noticed that
Daniel and Alina were playing a game with the die cast cars from the movie, "Cars." They were rolling dice, counting
things, etc., it was very interesting.
Yesterday Daniel and Alina taught me to play the game. It was a really fun game, and I am not saying
that just because he is my son, though anything he does IS fun to me.
When I began to ask Daniel questions I learned that he was playing with his "Cars" cars when he began the process of discovery, asking himself, “Which race car is best?” He then began to imagine and create a race track, create actions that would happen when a player landed at each car, and create rules to the game. Daniel then challenged himself by playing the game and making small modifications to make it more fun to play. Again, there is that healthy play.
Daniel’s imagination led him to another area of learning as he desired to make a trophy for the winner of
the game. For the first time experienced Daniel making something with Polymer clay. He began
with discovery, asking what would happen if he pressed the polymer clay this way or rolled it that way. He
imagined that if he did things a certain way it would look a certain way then he began to
create what he had imagined. He found out that his ideas didn't quite work out the way he had imagined and had to challenge himself and, begin the process over again, asking what would happen if he did this or that just a little different. It took a little trial and error for him to get
the look he was hoping for. He continued
using all four of the elements until he was satisfied with the trophy and
this is what he came up with.
This is Daniel's drawing of the layout of his game. He sat down and drew this out before he put the game away the first time so that he wouldn't forget the lay out and what some of the pieces do when he puts the game together next time. The next part of this project will be to write about it and keep a journal of his projects as they grow.
Some of the things I am learning about
Daniel's bents and dispositions are that he enjoys playing quietly, either alone
or with his sisters. He is happy to do both. He pursues his
interests with imagination toward unique expression as well as copying other ideas to a point and then launching off of those things or things he has experienced. When
Daniel has created something, he enjoys using or playing with his creation just as much as going through the
creative process. He enjoys playing his
games over and over as well as bringing others into the process of creating and playing with the final result.
I am so glad that play is such a vital part to education, it's something my children enjoy and LOVE to do. They excel at it!
Books we are reading in Season 6 are Get to Know Your Children and WWOL Book 2 - The Unit-of-Life Learning Model
