Our Work

In the Montessori world, play is often called “work” because a child’s job is to play. Through play, they are engaging with the world, exploring, and investigating. Play and work are not two separate things. There need not be separation from working on letter sounds and playing with a doll, both are equally important and so we call it all work. Young children are drawn to activities that challenge what they know and through repetition gain a better understanding of concepts. That said, I still use the word “play” often in my classroom as well. I’m not always a rule follower but I do have a deep understanding and believe in the importance of a child’s work. Here I will use the words work and play interchangeably. 

In my classroom at Bluebird, we do not force lessons, instead we invite and the children have the option to decline. We prepare the environment with activities in hopes of inspiring focused work. Work is self-chosen and as long as it is respectful of people and materials, it’s usually a go. It is the job of the adults to find activities that entice them and to introduce new concepts. For some that looks very school-ish and for others it looks very different. It could look like art or nature walks or jumping on trampolines. We find out what sparks their interests and from there all of the “academics” can be covered. Remember, we are learning constantly.

How can this translate to home? Beautifully, I say, and the key to it all is OBSERVATION. Finding new ways to present material is a wonderful challenge for us adults. You know your child best and when at home can more easily make those accommodations. You do not need to replicate a classroom in order to homeschool. I highly recommend spending some time researching “deschooling.” This is a term widely used in the homeschool community and one that is essential in this journey. By readjusting our attitudes about what learning looks like, the world opens up.

Now, some of you may be at home with your children completely by choice and others may be readjusting to make it all work. Some of my posts may be obvious to you but I am hoping that some also give you ideas. When my children were younger it was important for me to balance reading about things I was already doing with new ideas. I needed that reassurance that I wasn’t completely floundering on my own. I hope I can be that for you. 

As this blog is just getting started I am still figuring out how and what to share. I’ll do my best to post about practical ideas, the internet is vast and overwhelming! As I no longer have young children in my house, many of the photos will be old ones and ones I have taken at Bluebird. 

Please leave a comment and introduce yourself!