About this column:
Opportunities for engaging, exploratory discoveries exist in our everyday lives. Each week, Linda Semel shares suggestions to take advantage of unexpected learning a daily, lifelong activity. Linda has more than 30 years of experience in education. She designed and implemented an early childhood curriculum at Baker Demonstration School in Wilmette. Linda was the Kindergarten Art teacher at North Shore Country Day School in Winnetka, and taught at Francis W. Parker School in Chicago. She has also been a member of the Glencoe School Board Caucus, the Glencoe PTA and the Glencoe Junior Kindergarten Board. She has been a volunteer with the Winnetka Alliance for Early Childhood Education, North Shore Special Education District and The Field Museum's Cool Globes Project. Linda attended a summer immersion program in Landscape Architecture at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Glencoe has been home to Linda and her family since 1980.One of my favorite locations in the area is the Glencoe Beach, right now, in October, following the hectic summer season. Take a gently sloped walk down the path and access the wide, smooth stone steps to the expansive area from which the seasonal crowds have dispersed. Pass the limestone structure and emerge next to the beach house, constructed in 1928. Sounds of the water lapping at the edge of the sand and migrating birds calling to one another are readily discernible in the quiet, natural setting of the lake's edge. If you have the chance, gather your kids, grab a bucket, take a camera, …
What is the primal appeal that young children experience while experimenting and messing about that can completely engage their attention? Might it be the tactile nature of materials? Or the immersion and intersection of the senses? Perhaps the unintended consequences of experimentation or the unpreditcable outcomes of a self-directed activity? Playing around with some simple materials you have at home or might discover outside, can provide a wonderful opportunity to augment your child's experiential education. As children explore materials with delicate encouragement and direction, take a …
This column, Everywhere, Everyday Education, will suggest opportunities for playful, informal, everyday learning, as well as shared ideas, community events, activities, accomplishments, news or concerns regarding learning and education. Friends and families are invited to engage in playful dialogue. Learning can happen anywhere, anytime -- on the way to the beach, while biking, walking the dog or sharing a snack in town. This Week's Teachable Moment This message applies to anywhere, wherever you might be. It will be unique to your particular environment or experience. You might be out walking…
