This month we have been focusing on Language development. From speech to reading to writing we’ve focused on building a love for literature. Literature is beyond a school readiness skill. Reading and writing are skills that will not only help you succeed in the real world – but can help you escape the real world!
As we prepare for Halloween the children have been asking a lot of questions about the real world vs pretend. Although Halloween is a fun time for make believe adventures, it’s a time many children learn to face fears and decipher what is “real.” Adventure Academy encourages both make believe and real adventures.
Adventure Academy is one of the programs through Mi Families (“my families”). Mi Families provides educational and recreational resources for families and those who work with families. Adventure Academy is our developmental child care and tutoring program for infants through pre-teens. Recently our adventures in learning have had a “Fall on the Farm” theme.
We’ve had field trips to dairy farms, apple farms, pumpkin farms… and when not out on an adventure we’ve created our own adventures at our home-based-center. We’ve explored the world of farming in the fall using our senses. We’ve created an “invitation to play” with hands on materials. Many of our props came from the Mother Goose Time farm-kit.
Mother Goose Time is one of the curriculums our students enjoy. MGT provides theme based learning materials and supplies for “invitation to create” art experiences. While our younger students explore the supplies, our middle students and use them for story telling, and our older students use them for further research.
Our older students are encouraged to engage in play with their younger peers then pick a topic (such as produce, or farm machinery, etc…) to research then write about. Middle students often ask for help writing down the stories they create from their open-play. The youngest students are learning words associated with the materials.
From learning how to use sounds, to identifying words that go with objects, to using words to tell or read a story … Children learn to love literature. The power of our multi-age classroom is seen when a little one asks an older child to read to them and the older child shines with confidence and shares extended knowledge on the stories topic.
Our multi-age classroom is a stage before age program that encourages developmental steps without forcing ones direction. Each child develops at a different rate and in different directions. Focusing on their strengths and interests fosters a lifetime of “loving learning”. Learning to love education opens doors for future occupations that sometimes closes on students when the focus is only on school readiness skills.
If you’d like to learn more about Adventure Academy’s educational philosophy email Christi@MiFamilies.com. We are enrolling more child care and tutor time students for our winter sessions starting after the new year. Can you believe it’s the holiday season and therefore almost a new year?! Subscribe above to see how we celebrate the holidays. Find us on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, etc to network with our other parent and provider members!
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