Am reading this book
while sitting on our deck
that overlooks Otter Creek
and wondering why we bring so much of our education indoors. When our 19 year old was in middle school, he made a telling observation during the winter. Why was it, he wanted to know, that school keeps us indoors during the sunniest and best part of the day. I have to wonder the same thing. All the research notes the importance of exercise, novelty and movement on the learning process. Especially during the winter, when it is not uncommon for people to miss the sun, feel a bit sluggish and want to hibernate, we should be getting both young bodies and the bodies of us not-as-young teachers up and out and moving.
This all springs to mind in the middle of a warm summer's day, thanks to Chip Wood's Yardsticks and here is Chip's site.
Yardsticks provides a guide for where children are developmentally from ages 4 to 14. Each age level begins with a description of children at that age, followed by descriptions of physical, social-emotional, language and cognitive guide posts for that age. These same areas are then broken down into patterns that are likely to emerge in school in terms of development, along with suggested ways to engage this age group within the curriculum. There is an extensive set of resources, a birthday cluster exercise, two introductory chapters covering Developmental Considerations, and an explanation of viewing Yardsticks as Broad Guidelines.
I am finding this book an excellent resource as a teacher, and wish I had my hands on it back when our kids were younger. I leave with the two opening quotes:
How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were? –Satchel PaigeIn order to be treated fairly and equally, children have to be treated differently. –Melvin Konner