Archive for April, 2008
“The School for Life in Chiang Mai was established in 2003 and is located in the mountains of the Doi Saket, which, by car, is about 45 minutes from Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. The School for Life was founded by Khun Thaneen “Joy” Worrawittayakun and Prof. Dr. Juergen Zimmer in 2003. It provides a home and education for children in difficult circumstances. 140 such children have found a new home here by May 2006 and many more would like to come from around Thailand.
The School for Life creates jobs for local people, providing employment in farming, civil works or child care activities. Following the community development approach, adults are included in project work which target local key issues such as recycling or organic farming.”
Pedagogy: Discovery Learning
“Children, when they are not hindered, actively steer their own learning processes. They are curious, motivated, learn through trial and error, prefer a connection between “theory” and “practice” and opportunities for “learning by doing”. The children’s farm can act as a basis station for discovery voyages á là Jules Verne. Gaining knowledge, skills and abilities serves the continuation of the children’s projects. The pedagogues no longer function as lion tamers who try to get the entire class to jump through a hoop, they act more as stimulators, developmental advisors, and assistants in the research and discovery voyages.”
Please take some time to visit the other areas of the website to learn more about this amazing, inspirational learning centre.
“The editors of National Geographic Kids— the award-winning magazine for 6- to 14-year-olds—are proud to bring you NG Little Kids, the National Geographic Society’s first magazine for 3- to 6-year-olds and their parents. Packed with teaching tools to help parents inspire a love of learning in their children, NG Little Kids, brings animals, nature, science, and just plain fun to the littlest learners.
Everything you need to help your preschooler become a bright, curious explorer can be found in the pages of NG Little Kids. Captivating animal stories develop prereading and reading skills as well answer questions about kids’ favorite creatures. Features about different cultures bring the world to your child and inspire a sense of understanding. Interactive experiments introduce simple science, and fun puzzles and games teach logic, counting, and so much more.”
Mix colours with your preschooler and teach them how to make new ones, with this easy to follow science experiment.
Explore — Games, Animals, Science and Experiments, Crafts and Recipes, Parent Tips.
“From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It’ll teach you something, it’ll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.”
Intro:
Downloads available HERE for free.
“One day (in 1967), respected educator and author, Bill Martin Jr, called to ask (Eric) Carle to illustrate a story he had written. Martin’s eye had been caught by a striking picture of a red lobster that Carle had created for an advertisement. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? was the result of their collaboration. It is still a favorite with children everywhere.”
Mr.Bill Martin Jr reading “Brown Bear, Brown Bear”
“Ages 3-5. A picture book full of rhyme and repetition that will appeal to preschoolers. The big brown bear lumbering across the two-page spread sees a red bird “looking at me” the vibrant bird sees a bright-yellow duck, and so they go, each animal more appealing than the next. Literal-minded children may have some problems with a purple cat or a blue horse, but most will just enjoy pointing out their favorite pictures and joining in on the singsong verse. Carle’s large collages bursting with color are perfect for the text. Sure to become a favorite in nursery schools and kindergartens.” IC, Booklist, December 1, 1983
Bring your story book to life with the help of templates for Brown Bear, Brown Bear.
The official website of Author/Illustrator Eric Carle.
Welcome to Sustainable Everyday Project’s catalogue of cases which presents “postcards” of promising cases of social innovation towards sustainability.
It’s purpose is to
• empower the promoters of such initiatives (the “creative communities”) giving them the possibility to exchange ideas and experiences
• encourage citizens to participate in such initiatives, to launch similar one’s or implement new promising solutions and to become, themselves, “creative communities”.
• involve a wider audience in a discussion on new ideas of well-being and on how it is possible to promote it starting now.
Category: LEARNING
Sleepyheads. Portraits of Daydreamers.
Sleepyheads “are the creation of graphic artist Christopher David Ryan. No stranger to daydreaming himself, Christopher began to find inspiration in the very act of doing so. He began to take notice of the daydreamers that surrounded him on a daily basis… on the train, in cafes and on the sidewalks. The result, a book; “Sleepyheads, Portraits of Daydreamers”, a 64 page book of simple drawings depicting daydreamers encountered on NYC’s “L” train, between the Bedford and Union Square stops, during the early months of 2006. Simple in their delivery, the images leave room for the viewers participation… to share in the daydreaming.”
Chidlren daydream too! Ask them to illustrate whatever it is that those daydreams involve or represent —- why not make a book, just like this one —
“8+5=13″ via Hello You!
photos via flickr + docublog12
“A leading figure on the emerging Taiwanese art scene, the poet, writer and video maker Tseng Yu-Chin revisits childhood memories in his work: moments of happiness, sorrow, pain and confusion. Tseng creates poetic yet disturbing images in which the innocence of childhood comes up against adult assumptions. In 2004, he made Who’s Listening, a video cycle consisting of five scenes where children play along with his premise. In the first segment, the children look into the camera, one by one, and watch out for the moment when they will be sprayed with milk. Feeling a little uneasy, experiencing a mixture of shame and sadness, they give in to the game and end up smiling. Tseng Yu-Chin explores the psychology of the everyday. In I Hate Assumption, he filmed children getting ready for school, apparently sleepwalking, with their mouths open, their eyes closed and their heads thrown back. His images shake up our patterns of perception.”
I found a short video for you to watch. “Who’s Listening” is currently on exhibit at the Musée d’art Contemporain de Montréal.