Playful Learning Archives - home is where my story begins...

Using Light in Photography

Becca — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 18:30:00 +0000

I’ve always been a bit afraid of using direct sunlight in photography. Everything I read about light says that direct light is a no-no. It washes out the subject and creates hard shadows. Well, I’m finding that sometimes rules are meant to be broken, when you understand why you are breaking the rules. For example, the other day when I walked into my classroom, I noticed that the light was perfectly hitting my rocks and water bowl. I have a tiny little window on my classroom door and the sunlight was coming in through that one little spot. The rest of the room was still dark and I thought it made the water and rocks really stand out. I snapped this picture and I love the combination of light and dark.

On a different day, when the water jars were set up, I noticed how the light really reflected in our water jars. Again, direct sunlight was not supposed to be ideal, but in this situation I really love it. I also love the transparency of water and glass. In Reggio Emilia (a place in Italy that has inspired teaching in a different way of teaching from our traditional American approach) transparency is one of the key pillars. The idea of transparency in education is inspiring in SO many different ways.

I’ve been playing around with collage in my light-filled photos as well. I think collage is a great way to tell a story. On the computer I use the collage feature in Picasa, which is a free photo editing program. On my phone I use Pic Stitch or PhotoGrid. Both apps have been fun to play around with.

I’m kind of loving these light-filled photos, even though they break all of the rules. I’m such a rebel!

Happy light-filled photo taking!

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Playful Learning – The Art Of Teaching Online Workshop

Becca — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 19:00:00 +0000

Hey, teacher friends! I’ve signed up to take an online class.

Playful Learning is one of my favorite websites, books, and blogs. I first took Mariah’s Playful Learning Spaces class several years ago and I was hooked! I couldn’t wait for Wednesdays, each week, when Mariah would send out new videos and lessons. I was inspired and have made changes in my home and classroom that have stuck with me for years. It was money and time well spent!

Well, there is a great offer right now! If you sign up for The Art of Teaching workshop, you get the Playful Learning Spaces workshop for FREE!!! The Art of Teaching workshop costs $48 and you get the $78 Playful Learning Spaces for $0! Use the code ADDSPACES at checkout to apply the discount.

The Art of Teaching workshop will focus on theory, building community, and creating engaging lessons and I CAN’T WAIT to get started. The class starts on MONDAY, so you only have a few days left to register. I’d love to have a few teacher friends do this with me! It’s a great opportunity to connect with one another through the online forum and assignments. I’m not sure if this one will be Reggio Inspired, but most of Mariah’s work tends to be inspired by the Reggio Emilia philosophy of education. If you know me, you know I can’t stop talking, reading, and learning about this. Here’s your chance to jump on board with me!

Click on the picture at the top of this post, or the button below to learn more about this online class or sign up! I’m so passionate about this, that I’ve become an affiliate!

Happy learning!

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Grow Your Own Pizza, Lemonade, and A Sensory Garden

Becca — Sun, 13 Jul 2014 16:37:00 +0000

I get so excited each week when my friends at LeapFrog update the Learning Path app and website. New activities are posted every week and the app will even sort them out by age of your child. This week there are a few different activities I’ve written and photographed on the website. (Squeeeel! I get SO excited to see me work on LeapFrog!) One of my favorites is the Grow Your Own Pizza activity.

My Lemonade Stand thematic exploration is also on there. This was one of my favorite activities to take the photos for. Lemons and lemonade are just so pretty.

My Summer Sensory Garden was my favorite activity of ALL TIME to put together, and now my garden bench looks so pretty.

I hope you’ll stop by the LeapFrog Learning Path Website and check them out. I also have a LeapFrog Pinterest Page where I post some of my favorite activities from the website.

Happy learning!

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My Playful Living Room

Becca — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 14:00:00 +0000

Yesterday I shared two of my favorite Playful Learning classes. Playful Learning Spaces was the first eCourse I took from Mariah. I signed up for this class a few years ago and fell in love. The Playful Learning style is exactly what I want in my home, the homes of my students, and in my classroom. I have shared the books and eCourses with countless parents in my classroom over the years.

Today, I’d like to share a space in my own home that has become a family favorite. Welcome to our living room.

When my kids were really little, I thought of this as a formal space. I had really beautiful lamps and over priced pillows with really pretty tassels. Guess what… no one ever went into the formal room! They knew I’d freak out if they used my pillows in their forts. There were no games or puzzles in this room, and really nothing to do except sit. In my brain, I was planning how I could add a bonus room above my garage because the kids needed a place to play. Then one day, it came to me. I had plenty of space in my house. We just didn’t use it. Long story short – I sold the fancy stuff on Craigslist, bought some fabric to make pillows and curtains, and hit Target for lamps, cheap decor, and an ottoman to throw our feet up on.

Just like that, we had our bonus room.

I moved all of the board games and magazines into this room too. Yes, we even broke down and bought a tv, so it could be a video game space when my son had friends over.

Then, Mariah came along.

One of her Playful Learning eCourse lessons was about looking around your house to find unused nooks, and make way for playful learning. At the time, my son kept all of his guitars, stands, music, and amps up in his room. I decided that if they were downstairs, where we all live and play, he’d use them more. As a result, he does in fact play more. I play more often too. Just yesterday I grabbed a guitar, flipped to Amazing Grace, and played just for fun. My daughter even ran down and picked up a guitar to join me. It was only 3 simple chords and 10 minutes of time, but it was something we did together. More importantly, it was something that we wouldn’t have done together if the guitars had been hiding upstairs.

Why, yes, there is even a microphone in this space! Call us crazy!

If you have kids, you know exactly which songs we are hearing belted out these days.

Let it go. Let it go. Can’t hold it back any mooo-ooore. Yep, that microphone plugs right into the guitar amp and there is some serious Frozen going on! My daughter has also been taking piano lessons and we had just enough space to fit a small keyboard. It’s not fancy, but it does the trick.

I’d have to say that creating this Playful Space for music has added some noise, but it’s a joyful noise.

Happy music making!

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Playful Learning Ecademy – Writer’s Notebooks and Playful Learning Spaces

Becca — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 04:35:00 +0000

I was talking to a friend the other day about a great e-course on starting a Writer’s Notebook. The course is designed to be used with 6-11 year olds. I have used it in my classroom of first graders and I have also used it with my Girl Scout troop of third graders. My friend, who teaches third grade, was really excited to try this out. She purchased the e-course and came running over after the lessons to tell me how excited and motivated her kids were!

(Click on the picture for more information.)

I’ve used Writer’s Notebooks in my classroom for about 10 years. It’s harder when I teach kindergarten, but I make modifications because I think it SUCH A HUGE part of the writing process, even for very young children. It was really cool, using this with third graders and hearing about it being used in other third grade classes. It really shares the message that it’s easy to live a writerly life, even if you don’t consider yourself a writer. There is nothing to be afraid of when if comes to writing! The girls in the video do a great job of inspiring young writers and showing them how much fun writing is!

After spending time talking about the e-course on Starting a Writer’s Notebook, I decided to re-watch the Playful Learning Spaces e-course that I had taken a few years ago. When I first took the course it was something I signed up for, along with a group of moms and teachers who I had never met before. Mariah sent us a video each week and we shared pictures of the playful spaces we created in our homes as a result of her lessons. Well, I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I was for Wednesday afternoons! I knew the videos would arrive in my in box by the time I got home from school and I absolutely loved watching the videos and beginning to look around my home, thinking about changes I could make.

It’s been a couple of years since I took the course, and Mariah has totally revamped the video series. The lessons were absolutely amazing! The content was the same as I had remembered, but some of the videos and photos were new and updated. I just loved this course and was inspired all over again!

(Click on the photo for more information.)

Seriously, if you are a parent or teacher then you really need these ecourses in your life. I will be sharing one of my favorite Playful Learning Spaces on my blog tomorrow.

Happy learning!

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