“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”
~ Benjamin Franklin
I feel that the above quote quite accurately describes how the Kairos curriculum framework works. I have always loved the in-depth engagement of a one-month theme. Any subject can be taught during those several weeks and each theme is carefully selected to meet the children’s needs at the stage in their development. I have taught several grades over the last decade but teaching Grade 3 is one of my favourite classes as the curriculum lends itself to all kinds of practical experiences, such as house building, measuring, farming etc.
Last year I ended the year with the theme of farming with my Grades 3 and 4 class. One of the purposes of the theme is to create a relationship between the children and the earth, as a nine-year-old child can at this time begin to feel disconnected from people around them. The theme opens itself to all kinds of experiential learning, as well as much needed “grounding”, through literally taking children back to the soil. Through this exploratory and essential experience, the children learn about the importance of soil, gardening, growing food, and our relationship to the environment. We started by clearing and weeding an area in the school garden. Finding earthworms along the way and making rows to plant our seeds that had been germinating in the classroom. Children’s faces lit up as they watched tiny seeds sprout and grow into tall plants with fruit such as tomatoes, hundreds of green beans, chillies, maize etc.
The theme transformed into a magical process that children were involved in wholeheartedly, so much so, that they continued to look after our garden this year. The class loved harvestingthe vegetables and enjoyed tasting them and were proud of their hard work.
Through the practical experience of this theme, children learned a valuable lesson that everything they need to survive on this planet can be found on earth. By learning new skills children become confident, discover their passions, and explore new ideas whilst experiencing a sense of joy and achievement at school.
After all, “You’d never want to get on a plane where the pilot learned to fly from
worksheets.”~ Proverb unknown
~Teacher Sidrah