Definition of a Learning-Rich Environment

Homeschoolers have a language of their own that may sometime be confusing to outsiders or newbies. One such term is a learning-rich environment. For some, the term may seem self-explanatory. For others, it may sound intimidating. They may wonder, if I don’t create the perfect environment for my kids, am I going to be a homeschool failure? Fortunately, the definition of a learning-rich environment may vary from family to family, but all definitions will probably encompass a setting in which children are encouraged to learn through natural curiosity and exploration and in which the tools for doing so are provided. Some common components of a learning-rich environment may include some of the following: Books in Relation to Homeschooling There probably isn’t a homeschooling family on the planet for whom a learning-rich environment will not include access to books. To create a setting in which natural learning can take place, children of all ages should have easy access to a variety of reading materials. Easy access may mean bookshelves placed low where young children can reach them. Rain gutter bookshelves provide a highly visual storage idea, which often encourages young readers to explore. Easy access also means placing books in high traffic areas of your home. You may have bookshelves in bedrooms or  your living room (or even your dining room) or you may use your coffee table to strategically place books you think will interest your children. A variety of reading materials may include books, magazines, graphic novels, or comics. It may include biographies, historical fiction, non-fiction, and books of poetry. A learning-rich environment will include ready access to the written word and the freedom to use the materials at will. Its important to teach children how to properly care for books, so you may wish to start with providing free access to sturdier reading material such as cloth or board books if you have young children. Tools for Expressing Creativity A learning-rich environment will typically include ready-access to tools for kids to express their creativity. Depending on the age of your children, these tools may include: Play-doh or modeling clayArt supplies such as paints, brushes, or chalksMusical instrumentsCameras -- digital or videoCraft supplies such as glue, pipe cleaners, pom-poms, or construction paperHandicraft supplies such as knitting needles or crochet hooks, yarn, sewing notionsBlocks or LEGOsBlank paper and crayonsOld magazines and greeting cards In order to encourage self-directed creativity, it is best to allow open access to art supplies and tools for creative expression. To offset the potential for disaster, you may wish to consider having a specific area in your home for art or leaving only water-based and washable art supplies openly accessible  (just skip the glitter). You might also consider teaching your children to cover their work surface with a plastic tablecloth and provide smocks (over-sized t-shirts work well) for art projects. Tools for Open-Ended Play and Exploration A learning-rich environment will also have the tools necessary for open-ended play and exploration. Dry beans can make the perfect math manipulatives, but can also double as the substrate for a sensory box. Old boxes of varying sizes can be used for building a fort or creating a stage for an impromptu puppet show. Preschool and elementary-aged children can enjoy self-directed learning and play with items like dress-up clothes; old dishes and cookware; or small notepads for playing restaurant or store. Children of a variety of ages will enjoy having access to items such as: Binoculars or a magnifying glassA microscope and/or telescopeField guidesA child-friendly computer or laptop with safe-search options Older kids may enjoy taking apart non-working electronics and appliances. Just be sure to take the proper safety precautions first. The idea is to provide the tools to let your children’s imaginations and natural curiosity take over and direct their playtime. The Value of Learning Stations Learning stations are not necessary for a learning-rich environment -- particularly if all the elements of the stations are readily accessible to children -- but they can be a lot of fun. Learning stations or learning centers need not be elaborate. For example, a math station may consist of clear, plastic box filled with items such as: RulersA plastic clock for learning to tell timeCounting bearsRegular playing cards (adaptable for a variety of math games)Buttons for countingTangram piecesA set of plastic shapesA set of diePlay money We had a writing center that was made up of a tri-fold presentation  board with a variety of writing helps (such as a word wall of common words and a printout of a hand with the 5W  questions, â€Å"Who, what, when, where,  and why?†). The board was set up on a table which held a dictionary, thesaurus, a variety of paper, journals, pens, and pencils. You might also consider creating learning centers such as: A reading nookA kitchen centerA science/nature study centerA geography center Again, learning centers don’t have to be elaborate. They can be stored in cabinets; boxes or baskets; on top of a bookshelf; or on a wide windowsill. The key is to make the elements of the learning station visible and easily accessible so that students understand that they are free to explore with the items. Creating a learning-rich environment can also be as simple as a purposeful use of your home and materials. For example, if you have an interest in astronomy and would love to share that with your children, pull out all your astronomy books and place  them around your home. Let your children see you studying the stars through your telescope, and point out to them some of your favorite constellations. It also may mean simply capitalizing on the everyday learning moments and demonstrating through your actions that learning never stops and isnt confined to the 4.5 hour/180 day school year (for example) that your state requires. It may mean simply being okay with the potential mess and with the kids using all those great math manipulatives that you purchased at the homeschool convention for something other than their originally intended purpose. And with any luck, you may discover that creating a learning-rich environment is more about your attitude than the articles in your home.

Strikers Played A More Transformative Role During The...

Strikers played a more transformative role during the progressive era. The strikers were the face of grievances facing workers. They gathered and fought for the rights they thought they deserved. They were able to accomplish demands that had plagued their lives for years. Without the use of striking or unionized assemblies, a push for rights would have been lost in the aggressive and influential employers. The reformers and push to give workers’ rights came about from the loud voice of strikes. The Anthracite Industry is one such unionized group that transformed the work of miners. The Shirtwaist factory workers is another group of strikers that helps prove that strikers played a more transformative role. These two groups embody the spirit of transformation towards a better working life. Anthracite coal mining consisted of differing levels of skill and precision that could be lucrative depending upon the miner’s luck. A coal miner would be lucky to find steady employm ent, or to even survive to the day’s end. The procedures involved in preparing the coal from the mines to the shipping was filled with dangers that led the â€Å"industry† as â€Å"one of the world’s most hazardous.† Mine owners to maintain â€Å"overhead costs† and keep mine workers in the industry, would tactfully engage in underemployment. This left workers in state of constant need for more work, or higher wages to offset working part-time. These Anthracite miners were largely paid more than the average miner, butShow MoreRelatedOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagespoints both before the year 2000 (the collapse of the Soviet Union, the reunification of Germany, the surge of globalization from the mid-1990s) and afterward (9/11, or the global recession of 2008) when one could quite plausibly argue that a new era had begun. A compelling case can be made for viewing the decades of the global scramble for colonies after 1870 as a predictable culmination of the long nineteenth century, which was ushered in by the industrial and political revolutions of the late

Learning The Hard Way Essay Example For Students

Learning The Hard Way Essay Afer complenting my first two years of college in a tiny junior college in Kentucky, I enrolled in Illinois State University, confident that I would well, because I haad sone well in the past. The size of the place was a bit daunting. The first challenge was finding a parking space. Where before I had parked ion a tree-lined street and walked the short distance to the main calssroom building at Bthel junior College, now I was confronted with acres of parking spaces which seemed miles from the classroom buildings. Classes were not just up one hall or down the next, as I had grown increasingly oneous. Unike Southerners who greet everyone, including strangers, with Hey! people rarely spoke. On a campus of over 10,000 students, I felt completely salone. Years later, as a graduate student at increasingly larger schools, I recalled feelings overwhelmed by the size and (seeming) indifference of ISC. One defining moment got me off to a terrible start, adn I never recovered. During my very first class at Illinois, I walked into a classroom and took a desk among thirty other students. After the instructor, a thin, balding male, called roll, he looked up adn asked, Is there anyone whose name I didnt call? I put up my hand, and he walked over to my seat. What is your name? he asked, pencil poised to write. Cindy Horne, I replied. How do you spell that? he asked. H-a-w-e-r-n? No, sir. H-o-r-n-e, I replied. H-o-r-n-e? he repeated. Yes, sir. then your name is notHawern, he mimicked. Your name is Horne, he said, barking it out in one short, explosive syllable, a way I had never heard. The other students laughed, and he turned and walked to the front of the class. But my face flushed deep scarlet, and my eyes dropped to my notebook. For a long time, I did not look up but fought back tears adn retreated somewhere inside a feeling that I was completely out of place. What might for him have merely been an innocent attempt at humor by poking fun at a Southerner to break the ice of the first-day jitters, deeply humiliated me. I must REALLY be stupid, I thought, to not even know how to pronounce my own name! Today, I would pronbley laugh. Then, I was deeply ashaned. I never finished class. I dropped out of the university before the term was over. i suddenly felt inadequate, and no amount of study restored my confiednce. Two years later, I returned to Kentucky, enrolled in a small liberal arts college, completed my bachelors degree, and wernt on to become an art teacher. I had many good teachers, but I learned a great lesson from that insentive man with the roll book, a lesson which has helped shape my educaitonal philosophy. I am glad I learned that lesson, even if it was painful at the time. Its has made me a better person.